Politics: No on Prop 6

Prop 6 is an initiative statue to require that the state government allocate at least $965 million a year for law enforcement.

When I examine propositions, I visit five of the major newspapers (San Diego Union-Tribune, Los Angeles Times, San Jose Mercury News, San Francisco Chronicle and Sacramento Bee) of California to see what they have to say. On this proposition, they all are opposed.

The Sac Bee says:

This initiative writes into law new crimes, increases penalties for old crimes, and mandates more spending for police, sheriffs, district attorneys, probation and parole. But it provides not a single penny of new funding to pay for it.

The Legislative Analyst's Office estimates this measure will cost close to $500 million in new general fund spending in its first year with an increase of tens of millions of dollars annually in subsequent years. It will require another $500 million in capital expenditures to build new prisons to house new felons kept in prison longer.

It means less money for schools, health care, parks, roads or any of the other state's important priorities. We can't afford it.

The SF Chronicle described its concerns this way:

While Californians who are concerned about crime might be tempted to approve any shopping list of toughened penalties put before them, they should consider that the current laws are overcrowding prisons to the point that the state is at the risk of a federal takeover of the system. Also, the intervention and prevention programs funded by this measure may or may not prove to be the most efficient and effective use of our scarce resources.

I'll be voting No on prop 6.