Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/proposition-47/)
Several programs created throughout Southern California in the wake of Proposition 47 in 2014, which called for releasing certain non-violent and drug offenders from state prisons, are beginning to bear fruit.
City Council members Tuesday approved a $218-million budget for the 2016-17 fiscal year that includes millions in new spending even though the city’s projected revenues are expected to fall more than $4 million short of its expenses.
When California voters overwhelming passed the ballot initiative calling for the release of non-violent drug offenders from state prisons, they were told more than $100 million would be available for rehabilitation services. But the current budgeted amount is drastically less.
While officials up and down the state are positioning themselves to take advantage of grant money aimed at helping newly released nonviolent drug offenders stay clean and out of jail, Orange County officials have been missing in action.
Organizing efforts and local restorative justice programs spearheaded by Orange County groups like Santa Ana Boys and Men of Color were highlighted at a forum at UC Irvine Wednesday evening.
In 2014, California’s Proposition 47 gave non-violent criminals a new lease on life, but they are running out of time to clean up their criminal records so they can more easily find jobs and housing.