Associated Press
EFFERSON CITY, MO. — Missouri counties could be getting be getting millions of additional dollars from the state for housing inmates in their jails.
The state reimburses counties a fixed amount per day for each inmate who ultimately is convicted of a state crime.
That reimbursement rate had been $22 until it was cut to $19.58 by senators who were looking for savings in a tight 2011 budget.
The 2015 budget passed Thursday by the Legislature increases the state’s inmate reimbursement rate by $3, to a total $22.58. That will cost the state an additional $5.3 million in the upcoming fiscal year.
The budget now goes to Gov. Jay Nixon. It takes effect July 1.