Schwarzenegger

In response to severe overcrowding in the state’s prison system, the Legislature enacted Assembly Bill No. 900 (2007-2008 Reg. Sess.), the Public Safety and Offender Rehabilitation Services Act of 2007 (Assembly Bill 900 or the Act), authorizing the State Public Works Board (board) to issue up to approximately $7.4 billion in bonds for the construction and renovation of prisons to be operated by California’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).

Plaintiffs, Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety, Gail Brown, and Matt Gray, initiated this taxpayer lawsuit against Arnold Schwarzenegger, in his capacity as the Governor of California, James Tilton, in his capacity as the Secretary of the CDCR, and John Chiang, in his capacity as the State Controller, asking for declaratory and injunctive relief to bar implementation of Assembly Bill 900. Plaintiffs allege the proposed bonds will violate article XVI, section 1 of the California Constitution (article XVI, section 1 or the state debt limit), which prohibits the Legislature from creating any debt that exceeds an allowable maximum without obtaining a two-thirds vote of the Legislature and a majority vote of the…