Guards oppose plan for Calif. inmates

[Judi Lynn]

Oct. 30, 2006, 10:38PM
Guards oppose plan for Calif. inmates

By DON THOMPSON Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Two state employee unions sued Monday to block Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to ship some inmates to other states to ease crowding in the nation's largest state prison system.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation signed contracts this month to use private prisons in four states to house 2,260 medium-security inmates at an estimated cost of $51 million a year.

The California Correctional Peace Officers Association, representing prison guards, and the Service Employees International Union Local 1000, representing other prison employees, say sending the inmates out of state to private prisons violates the state Constitution.
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The lawsuit says Schwarzenegger overstepped his powers when he declared the emergency and awarded no-bid contracts to GEO Group Inc. of Florida and Tennessee-based Correctional Corporation of America.

Such emergency declarations should be reserved for use after disasters that weren't predicted, said Chuck Alexander, executive vice president of the guards' union.
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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4298734.html