To cut costs, state legislative office suggests closing a Soledad prison.

With projections that California’s prison population will decline each year until 2030 and to reduce spending by roughly $150 million annually, the state’s Legislative Analyst Office has suggested closing an additional prison. One of the prime candidates for closure, according to the LAO, is the Soledad Correctional Training Facility.

“In our analysis of the Governor’s 2026-27 budget proposals for CDCR (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation), we found that the state is on track to have enough excess prison capacity to close an additional state prison,” says LAO Principal Fiscal & Policy Analyst Caitlin O’Neil. She added that the Correctional Training Facility is“a strong candidate for closure.”

“This was for four primary reasons,” O’Neil says. “First, unlike many prisons, CTF does not fulfill a unique function within the prison system – such as providing specialized health care services – that would be difficult or costly to relocate.”

The CTF, approximately four miles north of Soledad, has existed on the property in various forms since the late 1940s, and “does not have modern housing facilities, which are generally considered safer and more flexible to house a wide range of populations as they offer greater visibility for officers,” O’Neil adds.

Third, she notes that CTF is not located near hospitals where people could be transported to receive specialized care, and that it is not equipped to house people who require higher levels of mental health care. Lastly, the aging facility has “high identified infrastructure needs.”

California’s budget bill, Assembly Bill 109, which has been approved by both houses of the State Legislature and is still waiting on approval from Gov. Gavin Newsom, states that, “the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall select a prison for closure and notify the chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee of its choice no later than Nov. 1, 2026. The department shall close the selected prison by the end of the 2027-28 fiscal year. The department shall not undertake facility improvements at any prison that is a candidate for closure.”

Although the LAO recommends closing CTF, the budget bill includes a roughly $1 million infrastructure project for a new potable water well at the facility, so whether it will actually be sentenced for closure in the budget bill’s final form remains to be seen.