State weighing cost-cutting plan to release 38,000 inmates
3:41 PM | May 7, 2009

California officials are weighing a plan to save hundreds of millions of dollars by commuting the sentences of 38,000 state prison inmates, including all undocumented immigrants now incarcerated.

They also are considering closing prisons and sending other inmates to county jails, according to a copy of the proposal obtained by The Times.

The plan is part of a series of cost-cutting proposals drafted by the Schwarzenegger administration to deal with the state's escalating budget shortfall and the potential failure of May 19 ballot measures that would raise revenue. The shortfall could quickly swell to at least $14 billion, officials have said.

“By releasing prisoners prior to the end of their sentences, many offenders will serve little to no time at all in a state prison or other incarceration for the commission of felonies,â€