Analysts: Calif. bill targeting child molesters for long prison terms would cost many millions
By Don Thompson, APSaturday, May 22, 2010
Calif. bill aimed at molesters would cost millions
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A corrections department analysis of a bill being considered by California lawmakers found that mandating life sentences for some child molesters and lifetime parole for others would cost tens of millions of dollars annually after the first decade.
The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst puts the ultimate tab at hundreds of millions of dollars each year, some of it to build new cells for sex offenders serving longer terms.
The projections come as an Assembly committee prepares to consider on Friday whether the state can afford the bill introduced after a paroled sex offender’s rape and murder of Chelsea King and another Southern California teen.
The sponsor says his bill will have a relatively low cost for the first decade and is worth the money to protect children.
