SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Legislators hoping to avoid a federal takeover of California's overcrowded prisons approved a $7.3 billion plan on Thursday to add beds and beef up rehabilitation programs. The bill, negotiated by Democratic and Republican leaders, passed unanimously in the Assembly but barely got the required two-thirds majority in the Senate with a 27-10 vote. The plan, which now goes to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, would add 53,000 beds for inmates, including 13,000 at county jails. It would also boost rehabilitation programs, including education and job training, and let the governor continue to transfer thousands of inmates out of state....
