The Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES — California prison officials are opposing legislation that would increase media access to inmates, saying it would cost too much money to facilitate interviews.
In a letter dated Thursday, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said the bill would “create significant new costs and increase workload.”
Emily Harris of Californians United for a Responsible Budget, which opposes heavy prison spending, said officials are overstating the costs in hopes of persuading budget-cutting lawmakers to scuttle the legislation.
“This is a last-minute effort to quash the bill,” she said.
The bill has already passed the Assembly 47 to 22, and it was approved by a Senate committee last month.
Full story: California prisons object to expanding media access to inmates