Federal receiver presses state (CA) on prison health facilities

[flashl]

California legislators fear being rushed into a decision on the $7-billion plan during a difficult budget year.

SACRAMENTO -- -- Federal Receiver J. Clark Kelso put state lawmakers on notice Monday that he could not wait long for their approval of his $7-billion plan to build healthcare facilities for prison inmates.

Kelso, in testimony to a state Senate committee, told legislators that he wants to cooperate with them in his plan to bring state prison healthcare up to constitutional standards.

But his firm tone underscored the receiver's power to seek permission from a federal judge to move forward if the Legislature delays.

...

U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson appointed Kelso in January. He has said he wants to turn around the prison healthcare system -- in which inmates wait too long for care and get poor treatment in inadequate facilities -- in three to five years.

LA TImes