Assemblywoman Megan Dahle and Senator Brian Dahle visited Susanville on Thursday, meeting with local residents to discuss the planned closure of the California Correctional Center in June of 2022. The visit is part of the pair’s ongoing effort to reverse the decision made by state authorities and to help ensure a future for the institution.
“The facility is the second-largest employer in that community and my home county. There was no transparency in this process, or consideration for the devastating effects on the local economy or future safety of the public as more criminals are released,” explained Senator Dahle in a message to his constituents.
“Assemblywoman Dahle and I wrote a letter to the Governor and Department Secretary Allison expressing our concerns and absolute opposition to closing the California Correctional Center in Susanville.”
According to Dahle the decision was made with no input from the community, employees or elected officials.
“Our offices informed about an hour before the public announcement,” he added.
All of this despite the fact that a 2020 independent infrastructure report found that CCC was the highest priority for repairs, in part because it had the lowest-cost beds.
“If the state is trying to save money by closing prisons, why is it closing the most cost-effective facility?”
Dahle said that an independent report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office this February listed four prisons as strong candidates for closure based on their age and cost and CCC was not on that list.
“If these independent reports were wrong, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation needs to say why and explain their decision-making.”
According to the CDCR closing CCC will not affect the number of crews in the invaluable inmate fire program, but Dahle points out that it’s just hard to see how that is true.
“If you have half the capacity for training, you’ve created a huge bottleneck. The state shouldn’t be hobbling this program while California struggles to cope with record-breaking fires year after year.”
“The state made the decision to build many of its prisons in remote communities, creating rural economies that depend on these jobs. If there must be a transition, the state needs to treat local communities as partners and work with them to ensure the change doesn’t leave ghost towns behind.”
Senator Brian Dahle District Office: (916) 464-4201
Assemblywoman Megan Dahle District Office: (530) 223-6300
Brian Dahle (R-Bieber) represents California’s 1st Senate District. Megan Dahle (R-Bieber) represents California’s 1st Assembly District. Both districts include Lassen County.
