Federal Judge OKs Plan for Seven Prison Medical Facilities in California
On Monday, a federal judge approved a plan for the state's prison health care receiver to begin constructing up to seven new health care facilities statewide as part of an effort to bring the quality of care for prisoners to a constitutional level, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
It remains unclear how construction of the new medical facilities will be funded because the Senate has twice rejected receiver J. Clark Kelso's proposal to have the state issue $7 billion in bonds for the effort (Clock, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6/17).
However, Kelso, who is appointed by a federal judge, has the power to bypass the legislative process and order the money to be appropriated from the state's general fund.
Sites under consideration for the new prison hospitals include Stockton, Tracy, Folsom, Solano and as many as four others in Southern California (Smith, Stockton Record, 6/17).
Kelso's office has submitted notices to state, federal and local agencies on Monday to begin an environmental review for building a 1,500-bed medical facility in Otay Mesa in San Diego County (San Diego Union-Tribune, 6/17).