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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCBS) -- Some 3,600 prison guards face layoffs and 19,000 inmates could be released, if voters don't approve next week's special election budget propositions, according to the Department of Corrections.
Matthew Cate, Secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, issued that warning Friday ahead of Tuesday's election.
Since his department employs the majority of state employees, it will be the hardest hit as Governor Schwarzenegger seeks to layoff a total of 5,000 state workers, said Cate. If that happens, the governor would in effect commute the sentences of 19,000 prisoners, he said.
KCBS' Bob Melrose Reports
"The governor's not considering the release of murderers or violent sex offenders," Cate said. The prisoners would likely be low level offenders who would be sent back to county jails, many of which are already overcrowded. Others would be illegal immigrants turned over to federal immigration authorities.
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