Just posted on the official website of Republican Assemblymember Bill Maze (AD 34) is an op-ed showcasing his support of a legal motion pending before a federal three-judge panel that is considering whether to impose a maximum amount of prison inmates California may house at any given time.

Maze, along with 30 of his GOP colleagues, opposes a federally-mandated "cap" on housing prisoners bestowed a custodial sentence. The 31 Republican lawmakers are actively working to block a decision that could result in a mass release of convicted felons back onto the streets of California.

Here is the take on this very important public safety issue by Assemblymember Bill Maze:

California’s prisons house some of the most dangerous criminals in the nation, with more than 85 percent of the male inmates behind bars having committed serious or violent crimes.

If the federal courts succeed in weakening our state’s mandatory sentencing laws, thousands of serious and repeat criminals currently serving time could soon be out on the streets.

Right now, a panel of three federal judges is considering imposing a cap on the total number of inmates serving in our state’s prisons. They are acting under a never-before-used federal law that gives them the power to consider setting a population cap to reduce prison overcrowding. If they take this action, dangerous criminals could be released into our community and California families would be the first ones placed at risk.

Taking this irresponsible step is not only dangerous, but also unwarranted since the Legislature has already taken significant steps this year to address the overcrowding in our prisons. With the safety and security of our communities on the line, we simply cannot sit back while these three judges, appointed by Jimmy Carter, ignore the responsible work we have done and impose their own extreme political views.

To defend our bipartisan prison reforms and protect families from the early release of thousands of inmates my Assembly Republican colleagues and I are taking legal action. We recently filed a motion with the federal courts seeking to intervene in this case, to provide a voice for the vast majority of Californians who want these criminals kept locked up behind bars where they belong, not out on the streets.

Under the federal Prison Litigation Reform Act, which sets the guidelines judges must follow when considering a prison population cap, “any state or local official, including a legislator . . . shall the have right to intervene” in such a case. I was pleased to see that our motion was recently granted by the courts and that my colleagues and I will now be allowed to intervene.

This important victory means Assembly Republicans are now full participants in this case. Our legal counsel will be there every step of the way filing legal briefs defending our prison reforms and participating in court arguments defending our tough-on-crime public safety laws.

As this case moves forward, there are two important factors for the courts to consider. Federal law requires that lawmakers be given an opportunity to fix any deficiencies the courts may find with current prison operations before imposing a population cap. By passing Assembly Bill 900, lawmakers have answered their call, adopting reforms to build the additional prison capacity required to reduce overcrowding. I remain confident that the courts will recognize that our reforms are significant, and give them the chance to succeed.

Under federal law, the courts must also certify that a population cap will not harm public safety. We know from the experiences of other states that the risks associated with releasing thousand of inmates before they have paid their debts to society are very real. Consider that when a judge in the city of Philadelphia imposed a population cap to reduce overcrowding in the 1980s, over 9,700 former inmates were arrested on new charges during one 18-month period, committing 79 murders, 90 rapes and 1,113 assaults.

However you look at it, a population cap is bad news for California and dangerous for hard working families. Now that we have been allowed to intervene in this case, my Assembly Republican colleagues and I will work hard to protect the interests of California families and keep criminals behind bars where they belong.