In response to Governor Newsom's failure to #CloseCAPrisons in the #CABudget,  join CURB in demanding Newsom commit to closing at least 5 more state prisons, starting with the urgent closure of CRC Norco. Sign the petition TODAY bit.ly/closeCRC 

Full action toolkit to contact the Governor and the #CALeg here: bit.ly/closeCRCtoolkit

 
Despite a budget deficit of as much as $73 billion and the potential to save more than $1.5 billion annually by closing more prisons, as well as billions more in infrastructure repair costs, the governor’s proposal includes only minimal cuts to prison spending by closing 46 housing blocks across 13 state prisons, resulting in savings of $80 million, a tiny fraction of CDCR’s $14.5 billion budget and overall bed capacity.

Instead of cutting from CDCR, the budget includes massive reductions in funding to essential programs and services in other departments including $2.5 billion in cuts to health care services, $970 million in cuts to education, $493 million in cuts to environmental programs and much more.

In response to inaction in the state budget, CURB’s Executive Director Amber-Rose Howard says: “If the administration can't select a prison to close, we are prepared to advocate for closure at specific prisons across the state. Closing entire prisons, starting with a prison like the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco (CRC), is a sensible step towards significant cost savings.”

 
Why CRC?

 
While some towns have resisted prison closures for economic reasons, the call to shutter CRC has existing community support. Prison closure is part of the city’s official legislative platform and has been supported by local lawmakers. In 2021, CURB named CRC Norco as a top state prison to close based on a survey of more than 2,000 incarcerated people. Read more in the petition linked here. 

The time for action is now! Governor Newsom must commit to closing at least five more state prisons, starting with the urgent closure of CRC Norco. Take action today!