Flanked by public safety officials, Brown defended his plan to shift responsibility for some inmates from the state to counties. He also pushed his strategy to pay for it; a handful of tax extensions and a voter-approved funding guarantee:
"This is a permanent response to a long-festering problem and for that reason, we need a vote of Californians to lock this into the constitution."
Merced County Sheriff Mark Pazin joined Brown:
"This year, without this state constitutional amendment, we are looking at financial amputation."
Public safety realignment is opposed by many Republicans, like Assemblyman Jim Nielsen who says it would mean the release of inmates:
"There are other ways that we must balance this budget by not putting our families at personal risk and by aggrieving victims."
