Governor Brown's Realignment: A Trojan Horse for Local Governments

◼ Realignment: A Trojan Horse for Local Governments - Michael D. Antonovich, Los Angeles County Supervisor at Fox&Hounds

Democrat and Republican governors across the country are working to cut costs and lower taxes, but Governor Brown’s plan to level California’s $26 billion deficit – the result of several years of out of control government spending – is a “realignment” proposal that not only extends the previous administration’s ineffective tax hikes, but also irresponsibly shrugs the state’s financial burden onto the shoulders of cash-strapped county and municipal governments, creating a real threat to California’s economic recovery and public safety.

In April, Brown signed into law AB 109 - the public safety realignment bill - essentially launching a Trojan horse style attack on local governments and ensuring catastrophic consequences for Los Angeles County’s criminal justice system.

Set to take effect October 1st, this would shift responsibility for convicted felons and parolee supervision from the state prison system to county resources, transferring the state’s legal obligation to already overcrowded local jails and stressed law enforcement agencies -- without fully paying for the increased burden....

By pushing state responsibility onto the backs of local governments already slumped under the weight of a flat economy and unemployment rate at around 12 percent, California washes its hands clean of responsibility to its citizens. Despite some of the highest income, gas, sales, and business taxes in the country, the state remains blighted by a bloated bureaucracy’s tradition of spending more than it has. Even a constitutional amendment guaranteeing realignment funding can’t save existing programs from plundering.... Read the rest