The seemingly endless effort to solve California's prison overcrowding got more complicated Friday when a panel of federal judges presented a settlement proposal that already appears to be falling apart. A court-appointed referee outlined the proposed settlement last week, calling for a gradual reduction in the state's inmate population by 2011. That plan, as originally outlined, tried to strike a balance: It would avoid an immediate early release of inmates by seeking alternate punishments for some offenders, diverting parole violators to treatment programs and making more prisoners eligible for programs that could shave time off their sentences. Prison overcrowding has become a serious issue in state prisons such as Mule Creek near Ione, where some inmates have been delineated to sleeping in bunk beds in the prison gymnasium.

The settlement proposal has been criticized by Republican state lawmakers who could try to block any deal. It also was failing to win support from local law enforcement and county officials, who fear they would end up caring for criminals who otherwise would be sent to state prisons. "The settlement appears to be dead on arrival," said state Senator Mike Machado, a Linden Democrat, who has his own concerns about the plan. The stakes for the state are high: The federal courts could order an immediate release of tens of thousands of inmates or a cap on the prison population, something lawmakers and law enforcement groups want to avoid. At the same time, the proposed solutions will cost billions as the state faces a $15.2 billion deficit and cuts to basic services. Lawyers representing police chiefs, county sheriffs, probation officers, district attorneys, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration and inmates' rights attorneys were expected to ask the three-judge panel for more time to continue negotiations.