By Andy Davis
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — When the Legislature meets next year, it will dole out an estimated $311 million in surplus general revenue and leftover General Improvement Fund money.
The Arkansas Department of Correction hopes to get almost two-thirds of that.
 (AP Photo/Danny Johnston) |
The department is sending Gov. Mike Beebe a request for $200.7 million for prison construction projects from the state’s General Improvement Fund. The bulk of that - $153 million - would pay to build two 1,000-bed prisons. The state Board of Corrections approved the request Tuesday.
“Everybody fully realizes how big this mountain’s going to be,” said Correction Department spokesman Dina Tyler.
While the department probably won’t get all the money it’s asking for, “we do have an obligation to make requests when there is a real need,” Tyler said.
“We’re glad to see the Department of Correction be very, very upfront about what they’re facing,” Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample said.
But he said it’s too early to say what the governor will recommend.
“We know every session we’ll get far more requests than we have [General Improvement Fund] dollars,” DeCample said. “As always, it’s just going to be a matter of looking at them in their totality and prioritizing them.” As of Tuesday, more than 1,000 inmates had been sentenced to prison but were in county jails, waiting for prison space to become available. That number is expected to grow in coming years along with the state’s inmate population.
“There’s no way you could look at that backup, that’s growing bigger every day, and fail to see the need,” Tyler said.
State agencies send requests for General Improvement Fund money to Beebe, who will then make a recommendation to the state Legislature.
DeCample said, “We’re going to explore all the ways to address the prison overcrowding issue we have in this state.” He said the governor has long advocated alternatives such as drug courts, which allow offenders to complete judicially supervised treatment programs, sometimes in exchange for avoiding a felony conviction or having their record expunged.
During the last legislative session, the state had $937 million in surplus revenue and leftover General Improvement Fund money, most of which went to construction projects and other one-time expenditures. That year, the Correction Department requested about $50 million but was allotted only $18.8 million, said Sheila Sharp, the department’s assistant director for administrative services.
For next year’s legislative session, the department is requesting $153 million to build two 1,000-bed prisons. However, the Board of Correction has also discussed building one 2,050-bed prison and hasn’t settled on which option to pursue.
Also on the department’s wish list is a $12 million expansion of the department’s McPherson Unit, which houses women, near Newport, a $6.5 million upgrade of the meat processing plant at the Cummins Unit near Grady, and a $6 million sewage plant at the nearby Tucker Unit and Maximum Security Unit, north of Pine Bluff. The department is also requesting $12.5 million to make bond payments on previous construction projects.
Copyright 2008 Little Rock Newspapers, Inc.