senator mark leno who couldn't join us today as been quoted as saying, quote, there's been no evidence to suggest long prison sentences deter or limit people from abusing drugs. in fact, time behind bars and felony records often have horrible, unintended consequences for people trying to overcome addiction because they are unlikely to receive drug treatment in prison and have few job prospects and educational opportunities when they leave. this legislation will help implement public safety realignment and protect our communities by reserving prison and jail space for more serious offenders. commenting on the fact 13 other states have moved in this direction, senator leno has said, quote, in fact, the experience of these other states when treating drug possession as a health issue has resulted in better public safety outcomes which can result in safer communities. george, why don't we start with you. you've dedicated post of your adult life to fighting crime and trying to make communities safer as the elected district attorney of san francisco, you've committed yourself to that, and yet

the panel began, you shared with me that your organization has previously supported a measure that mark leno brought forward to lower the punishment for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana to a misdemeanor to an infraction. in this case your organization is essentially opposed to it. what do you say to mr. adelman and mr. gascon? >> i think one of the things i want to point out is that in terms of the changes currently taking place in california's criminal justice system is that we have embarked on a very, very large experiment and that's called realignment. prison population in california is going to approach by -- or sometime next year the federal mandate of 130,000. we've already released some 50,000 individuals to serve their time locally, and these offenses that we were talking about here are currently in the list of offenses that were to be served in county jails now. and if the notion here is to provide services and treatment to these individuals from a practical point of view, and i lean heavily on my experience as a misdemeanor prosecutor for all those years when we did po

[applause] >> tal, let me follow up and just say opponents of mark leno's measure would say it's not the amount of drug that somebody is in possession of, the fact that they're using drugs indicates they've got to find a way to supply themselves with ongoing, you know, sources of drugs or by taking the drugs, they're going to place themselves in a state that makes them more likely to commit crime. is this a valid argument? >> well, i think there are -- i think not everybody who uses drug is a drug addict. and there's a segment of the population that recreationally uses narcotics and don't necessarily need treatment and they certainly don't need a felony conviction. that having been said, if you are an addict, it doesn't make any sense to turn you into a felon addict. we just heard that person before very eloquently talk about spending most of his life incarcerated. and he's made it. but the fact of the matter is, encumbrance of a felony conviction is so debilitating. countless of times you run into people who can't get housing, can't get education, can't get jobs, it's a trap. if we

senator mark leno who couldn't join us today as been quoted as saying, quote, there's been no evidence to suggest long prison sentences deter or limit people from abusing drugs. in fact, time behind bars and felony records often have horrible, unintended consequences for people trying to overcome addiction because they are unlikely to receive drug treatment in prison and have few job prospects and educational opportunities when they leave. this legislation will help implement public safety realignment and protect our communities by reserving prison and jail space for more serious offenders.

. >> welcome, everyone, to the 2012 justice summit, i'm mark leno and so wish key be with you today but i'm attending to my legislative duties in sacramento. council, i thank you for your interest in criminal justice and all your energies and efforts on its behalf. we know this is an issue that is of great importance to the state of california and to the nation. of course we have the opportunity to yet again lead the way here in california. we're offering a bill this year, s.b.-1506 which would redefine the crime of simple possession of a drug from felony to misdemeanor. there are 13 other states, and the federal government which already do this and in the 13 other states, we have the data that shows that we get better results, better outcomes, meaning safer communities, and surprisingly the states include not only the large eastern states of pennsylvania and new york, but also states like mississippi, south carolina, west virginia, wyoming, iowa, all of which use this mid deem charge rather than felony. and what we find in these 13 other states is that there are higher rates of drug tr

[applause] we have a surprise hear from senator mark leno, who i believe has not made an endorsementuld you like to make an announcement? >> speaking of better looking -- >> it is my pleasure to join mr. mayer and our chief on this auspicious occasion. i think all the kind and generous words have been said. if you look on this wall, joanne, you can see the threshold to get on this wall is rather high. with some exceptions, we have got police chiefs, fire chiefs, mayors. i have been discriminated against because i am gay, jewish, but never for being estate center. i asked, how and why going to get on the wall? -- when am i going to get on the wall? he said soon. it is my pleasure to join in with the celebration and take a moment to recognize your unique accomplishments. chief hayes-white is the only chief to have served in all 42 different stations. i think that says something for your hands-on leadership style, that you have not only earned your stripes, made your way up the ladder in the department, but also have brought to us a motherly touch that is uncommon. congratulations to yo

. >> reporter: these numbers come as mark leno is leading a critical job in the legislature, crafting a budget next friday. he says it will be done on time. to spare k-12 education, the governor is counting on a november sales tax hike. >> we're all very concerned, not so much concerned as focused on the passage of the governor's measure in november. we're talking about $8.5 billion worth of solutions. >> reporter: that same field poll shows if there is a battle between the governor and lawmakers over the budget, by a wide margin, voters would side with the governor. in sacramento, ken pritchett, ktvu news. >>> state officials and game wardens had a couple of unexpected arrivals on their hands. the odd way this pair ended up in state custody and what one man may have been doing to unload them. >>> it's been a delay in the case of a morgan hill man accused of kidnapping and killing 15-year-old sierra lamar. angela torres will be represented by an attorney from the alternate defenders's office, because ken mandel is leaving the case, citing an unspecified conflict the interest. the hear

state senator mark leno urged california to go ahead and implement that law.n a poll, 46% agreed with the decision, 46% disagree. >> mitt romney had things to say about yesterday's supreme court decision on health care. >> and there are both men stretching the truth a bit. >> you're going to hear about these claims about the law in this election season. and you probably heard some before. let's start with the president. if you're one of the more than 250 million americans who have health insurance, you'll keep your health insurance. and this will only make it more affordable. >> fact check? most have their plans through their work. and companies will be free to switch plans and they can drop coverage, but they'd have to pay a $2,000 per employee tax for doing that. let's take a look at what mitt romney said. >> obama care raises taxes on the american people by approximately $500 billion. oak yauma care cuts medicare by $500 billion. >> in taxes romney left out the fact that most of the money will be coming from people making more than $200,000 a year. and ther

san francisco state senator mark leno says the passage of governor's tax hike is crucial to saving education. >>> more details now, our ktvu field poll shows bleaker numbers when it comes to the legislature. just 19% of those surveyed said they approve of the job state lawmakers are doing. 64% disapprove. the state legislature hasn't had an approval rating above 80% since 1988. >>> the unemployment picture brightened with the latest picture from labor numbers. applications dropped by 12,000. jobless claims also fell slightly. on wall street the dow finished with a 46 point gain after being up as much as 124,000. the shares dropped after ben bernanke said spending is holding back the economy. >> notably households and business still appear quite cautious about the economy. >> reporter: bernanke offered no immediate action to fuel the economy. the fed chairman also told the economy in congress the european economic crisis still poses risk to the u.s. financial system and needs to be monitored very closely. >>> in 15 minutes one bay area city that appears to be bucking the trend and seeing a bi

san francisco state senator mark leno says the passage of governor's tax hike is crucial to saving education. >>> more details now, our ktvu field poll shows bleaker numbers when it comes to the legislature. just 19% of those surveyed said they approve of the job state lawmakers are doing. 64% disapprove. the state legislature hasn't had an approval rating above 80% since 1988. >>> the unemployment picture brightened with the latest picture from labor numbers. applications dropped by 12,000. jobless claims also fell slightly. on wall street the dow finished with a 46 point gain after being up as much as 124,000. the shares dropped after ben bernanke said spending is holding back the economy. >> notably households and business still appear quite cautious about the economy. >> reporter: bernanke offered no immediate action to fuel the economy. the fed chairman also told the economy in congress the european economic crisis still poses risk to the u.s. financial system and needs to be monitored very closely. >>> in 15 minutes one bay area city that appears to be bucking the trend and seeing a bi