In a vote late Tuesday night, the California Legislature radically rewrote voter-approved Prop 36, the state’s six-year-old treatment-instead-of-incarceration law, to allow jailing of people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses. The trailer bill containing the changes, SB 1137, is now awaiting the Governor's signature. If it is signed on Friday as expected, DPA is prepared to file suit as early as Monday.

Daniel Abrahamson, DPA's director of legal affairs, warned, “The Office of Legislative Counsel and probably even the Governor’s own lawyers have told him that this bill is unconstitutional. We have asked the Governor to do the right thing and veto SB 1137. However, if he allows the bill to become law, we will challenge it in court and are confident that it will be struck down."

The legislative maneuver to undo Prop 36 came just days after the Governor announced a special legislative session to address the state's prison crisis. Politicians say they are working to resolve the dangerous state of California's overcrowded prison system, but their actions contradict these claims. SB 1137 would alter Prop 36 to exclude many nonviolent drug offenders from the program--many of whom will instead receive jail or prison terms--and permit the incarceration of people who are in Prop 36 treatment.

Margaret Dooley, DPA's Prop 36 outreach coordinator, said, "What elected officials did Tuesday night was reprehensible. They unlawfully overrode the expressed will of the people of California and did so despite the state's own studies proving that the program is working. SB 1137 reverses the state's only effective prison reform in a decade and sets a precedent that would allow legislators to rewrite any voter initiative they happen to disagree with."

In 2000, 61 percent of California voters approved Prop 36, permanently changing state law so that all eligible nonviolent drug possession offenders must be given the option of state-licensed treatment. Since the initiative passed, over 60,000 Californians have graduated Prop 36 treatment and taxpayers have saved $1.3 billion. According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, numbers of nonviolent drug prisoners are down dramatically thanks to Prop 36.

This successful initiative is important not only for California, but for other states that are considering Prop 36 as a model for alternative ways to deal with drug use. The movement to protect Prop 36 is strong--SB 1137 was met with vocal opposition from Drug Policy Alliance Network and other advocates in the legislature, as well as treatment providers, program graduates, and reformers all over California.

The next step as DPA moves to protect California's groundbreaking initiative will be a legal challenge. This corruption of the voters' will must not be allowed to stand, and DPA will continue to fight for Prop 36.