Amador County – Assemblywoman Alyson Huber’s bill to delay closure of Preston Correctional Youth Facility for six month will be heard next week by a committee in the California Assembly.

Huber on Friday announced that she is “pushing ahead on her efforts to stop the current closure proceedings” at Preston, and her Assembly Bill 8 will be heard by the Assembly Committee on Public Safety, in a hearing set for 9 a.m., Tuesday, March 15, at the State Capitol.

Introduced by Huber last December, AB 8 “seeks to temporarily halt the closure of the Preston Youth Correctional Facility. The measure delays the closure process at any youth facility for a period of six months.”

Huber said: “During this time frame the Legislature and the Governor can examine the decisions” of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, “as they begin to address how to best serve the youth offender population.”

Huber, (D-El Dorado Hills) said “AB 8 also states that employee staffing may not be cut, instead keeping staff at levels the same as before the closure was announced last October.” Reductions in staff and inmate population numbers have already started at Preston.

Huber said: “This will not be an easy fight, but it is the right fight for Amador County and for the dedicated employees and their families who have given so much to Preston and to the state of California.” She said: “I hope to convince the Committee that it is not in anyone’s best interest, including the youth we are rehabilitating, to close down the most successful facility in the state, without a thorough and fair evaluation.”

Letters of support for AB 8, to be submitted to the Assembly Committee on Public Safety, can be e-mailed or posted to Huber at P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.