By Rick Green
The Oklahoman
OKLAHOMA CITY — Corrections reforms and an examination of some tax credits are front and center on the agenda when the Oklahoma Legislature reconvenes in February.
In recent interviews, House Speaker Jeff Hickman and fellow Republican Rep. Earl Sears, R-Bartlesville, talked about the two issues and their impact on drawing up an increasingly tight budget.
Oklahoma’s growing population of inmates is overflowing state prison space and leading to larger budget requests from the state Corrections Department.
Hickman, of Dacoma, said a shortage of prison guards and a growing inmate population is a recipe for disaster.
“Somebody is going to tuck their child in bed and not come home that night,” he said.
The latest weekly count of state prisoners showed correctional facilities at 104 percent of capacity.
“We are locking up more and more people, but we’re not seeing an improvement in the crime rate,” Hickman said.
More funding sought
The Corrections Department has asked for an appropriation increase of more than $84 million for the next fiscal year. About half of the increase is related to personnel costs and the expense of leasing additional private prison beds.
While the number of Oklahoma inmates has been rising, the number of correctional officers has been falling.
In 2010, there were 22,832 male prisoners and 2,602 female prisoners, and there were 1,900 correctional officers.
In the 2014 fiscal year, there were 24,783 male prisoners, and 2,779 female offenders, and 1,550 officers.
In 2009, the state appropriated $503 million to the department. In the 2014 fiscal year, that appropriation had been reduced to $470.9 million.
Hickman said he expects an increased emphasis this legislative session on finding ways to reduce incarceration rates for some non-violent offenders. He points to Texas, where there has been increased use of drug courts, improvements in the parole system and greater efforts to reintegrate prisoners into society.