New law will make facilities smoke-free

Publication Date: 2005-05-27

• Author:David M. Drucker
• Publication:Inland Valley (CA) Daily Bulletin

Prisons, the only state buildings left in California that still permit smoking, are going smoke-free July1 thanks to a law designed to reduce taxpayer-funded medical costs and protect the health of nonsmoking inmates.

Signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last fall after passing the Legislature with wide bipartisan support, Assembly Bill 384 prohibits smoking of all tobacco products by prisoners, visitors and prison staff including correctional officers whether inside a building or in the yards used by inmates for exercise and recreation. The only exception is for staff residences on prison grounds.

"If inmate health is better, the medical expenses of the prison system will be less, and that's good for taxpayers," said the bill's author, Assemblyman Tim Leslie, R-Roseville.