That said, the governor wasn\u2019t starting from scratch when he changed the prison\u2019s name in 2023 to the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center and announced the plans for the new complex.<\/p>\n
Inmates had produced an award-winning podcast<\/a>, kept up a newspaper<\/a> and hosted visits and games with representatives of professional sports teams well before then.<\/p>\n Eric Allen, 32, who works for the newspaper and as an anchor on a video program called Criminal Justice News, has been incarcerated at the prison for about two and a half years.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was really interesting to see someone invest that in incarcerated people,\u201d he said of the new buildings.<\/p>\n Getting to this moment wasn\u2019t guaranteed. Newsom had to overcome criticism<\/a> from legislators who didn\u2019t initially want to provide the money he requested to fund the project, as well as from others who wanted to spread the money used for the complex across the state system.<\/p>\n Newsom acknowledged that pushback and said it would have \u201cfelt like nothing\u201d to distribute the hundreds of millions of dollars in that way.<\/p>\n \u201cWe needed to be smash-mouth,\u201d he said. \u201cWe needed to do something bold and big.\u201d<\/p>\n State Sen. Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, said he would much rather see that money used to support the implementation of Proposition 36<\/a>, which voters passed in 2024 to strengthen penalties for retail and drug crimes.<\/p>\n \u201cGiven the tight budget that we have, every dollar that is spent on one thing cannot be spent on something else,\u201d he said Friday.<\/p>\n The final price included demolition, design and construction, said Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson for the Governor\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n The governor eventually secured more than $380 million for the project, but an advisory committee led by former Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg recommended reducing the overall cost.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is justice?\u201d Steinberg said in a speech during the ceremony. \u201cWhen people commit a crime, accountability is appropriate. At the same time, no human being who serves time should ever be forgotten or forsaken.\u201d<\/p>\n Newsom, who is in his final year as governor, waxed about how the new complex represented a major mindset shift. Before the center was built, prison officials also demolished a wall that had separated parts of the prison since the 1850s.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe needed to break down, yes, the physical wall, but we also needed to break down the mindset,\u201d he said, \u201cthat frankly had put us in this box.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published February 20, 2026 at 3:14 PM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n Gov. Gavin Newsom enters an auxiliary room to meet with local media at San Quentin Learning Center on Friday. JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com Reforming aspects of incarceration<\/p>\n
Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg visit at the opening of the San Quentin Learning Center on Friday. JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com <\/p>\n
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