A source within the state legislature has confirmed that lawmakers have a plan to reduce over-crowed conditions within California's prisons.

As it stands, elected officials intend to request that the year-end deadline to trim an additional 10,000 inmates be extended.

Some believe the reduction could be safely reached through a variety of rehabilitation programs- but only if the state is granted more time.

It will be up to a three-judge panel to decide one way or another.

For now, the time crunch is still on, and unless a yes vote is obtained, the state has less than four months to come up with a plan B.  Gov. Jerry Brown last month put forward a proposal that involved sending these inmates to out of state facilities, private prisons and county jails.

In theory this is a viable plan, until you consider the $730 million price tag to taxpayers in the first two years alone. Members of the State Assembly shot down the plan before it even reached their desks.

Democrats in the Senate, however, felt a plan that outlined rehabilitation was a more prudent approach.

Brown reportedly made the request to the three-judge panel earlier this week.  If the Dec. 31 deadline can be extended, the state will agree to allocate about $400 million on rehabilitation efforts.

This will include improved access to mental health services and could include things like vocational training and drug rehabilitation programs.

If the request is shot down, members of the legislature will reconsider spending money to house these inmates elsewhere.   Some elected officials are optimistic.

The primary goal, they said, is a long term solution.  Offering rehabilitation may be the best way to bring both sides of the table together.   Programs that are aimed at reducing recidivism are the best way to ensure that down the road, the state doesn't wind up right back where it is now.

Elected officials have said they are committed to addressing the prison overcrowding and jail overcrowding issue.  They have also said they will find a solution that does not involve releasing nearly 10,000 felons onto the streets.

It is unclear when the judges will release their final decision.