By Matthew Spolar
Concord Monitor
CONCORD, N.H. — Does Gov. John Lynch want to privatize the entire state Corrections Department? Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Morse says yes, despite objections from Lynch’s office that no such plan exists.
In a statement released Thursday, Morse said Lynch wants to take more drastic steps than those being looked at by his committee, which is exploring the privatization of sections of the department by giving the commissioner authority to send up to 600 inmates from the Concord prison to other facilities.
“It’s come to my attention that Governor Lynch wants to go even further with reforms and has a plan to privatize the entire Corrections Department,” Morse said. “It’s also my understanding that a Request for Proposal (RFP) is scheduled to go out in June which will enable the state to accept bids on the governor’s plan.”
But Colin Manning, Lynch’s spokesman, said Morse’s understanding that the governor has a plan to privatize the entire department is wrong and he didn’t know where Morse got his information. Senate spokeswoman Carole Alfano said Morse’s press release said all he wants to say at this time.
Earlier this year, Lynch put out a request for information to explore any and all options for saving money in the Corrections Department.
Asked if the governor wants to privatize the department, Manning said “no, not entirely.”
But, he said, Lynch “believes that we should be open to any public-private partnerships that may exist.” Lynch’s office is readying a request for proposals, Manning said, but questions about what services might be privatized or when it will be put out to bid remain unanswered.
Manning said the ideas still floating around include building a new, privately run North Country facility that could house inmates from the Concord prison and out-of-state facilities. The governor has wanted for some time to close the aging Concord prison because it is inefficient to run and maintain, Manning said.
The request could also include the construction of a privately- run women’s prison, Manning said, along with public-private partnerships for other aspects of the Department of Corrections.
Morse said the Senate would support privatizing the entire Corrections Department, but “we’re also expecting a full vetting of the issue.”
“Today, I’m calling upon the governor to share the specifics of his proposal with us now, instead of waiting until June,” Morse said.
Jay Ward, political director for the state employees union, said Morse’s statement was the first he’d heard of any such intentions by the governor. The State Employees’ Association represents about 500 corrections employees, he said.
“It’s very disturbing,” Ward said. “We’ll be looking for it now.”
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