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Corrections department seeks specials funding as committee adopts LFC baseline recommendation
Summary
The Department of Corrections told the House Appropriations & Finance Committee it needs supplemental funding for medical, behavioral‑health and facility costs and asked for flexibility on an inmate‑industry expansion; the committee adopted the LFC recommendation for the department's base budget with no recorded opposition.
The House Appropriations & Finance Committee heard the corrections department describe rising costs for inmate medical and behavioral‑health care, facility staffing and utility bills and outlined a supplemental request (initially $7 million) to close fiscal‑year shortages; after discussion members adopted the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) baseline recommendation for the department with no opposition recorded.
Cabinet Secretary Alicia Tafoya Lucero and LFC and DFA analysts told the committee appropriations to the corrections department have increased in recent years while the agency's population trends changed during and after the pandemic. The department said it currently houses about 5,600 people and has statewide bed capacity of about 7,630.
The department requested a $7 million supplemental to cover shortfalls in behavioral health and medical services and to shore up salaries/benefits under inmate management and control (IMAAC). The cabinet secretary outlined a list of austerity actions the department is implementing and proposed alternatives: fully fund the $7 million supplemental with general fund; fund a reduced $5 million supplemental after internal cost savings; or tap the penitentiary income fund as a last resort.
Why it matters: Committee members repeatedly raised staffing, medical and behavioral‑health capacity as public‑safety priorities and asked about investments in reentry and vocational programs that can reduce recidivism. The department described recent investments in education and vocational training, expanded reentry staff and an effort to return commissary operations to a self‑managed corrections industries fund to lower prices for inmates and provide on‑the‑job training.
Key details and numbers - Department population reported around 5,600 inmates; statewide capacity 7,630 beds. - LFC recommended general fund increase of roughly $10 million (3%) over FY25; executive recommended about $15 million (4.5%). - Major programmatic differences: executive boosts IMAAC (inmate management) and reentry funding relative to LFC; LFC reduced some other program lines to right‑size spending. - Department supplemental ask: $7,000,000 (medical, behavioral health, salaries/benefits shortages); proposed compromise: $5,000,000 after internal savings.
Reentry, vocational training and corrections industries Secretary Tafoya Lucero emphasized creation of a reentry program and an ongoing push to expand vocational training and postrelease supports. The agency reported large increases in high‑school equivalency (GED/HiSET) production and said it runs programs that include heavy‑equipment and CDL training, HVAC, culinary training and other trades; the agency also reported partnerships with Workforce Solutions and nonprofit providers such as Goodwill.
The department proposed increasing the corrections industries spending limit by $5,000,000 to expand an in‑house commissary and buy raw materials for vocational shops. Secretary Tafoya Lucero said corrections industries aims to operate on a low‑margin model and reinvest proceeds into inmate pay and program materials. "We want to bring those prices as far down as we can," she said, describing a bid to reduce costs for inmate purchases and to increase training opportunities.
Budget outcome and committee action Vice Chair Dixon moved the committee adopt the LFC recommendation; Representative Chatfield seconded the motion. The chair called for opposition and none was raised, and the motion carried. Committee members asked for more data on medication‑assisted treatment (MAT) rollout and the department committed to providing updated implementation numbers; LFC provided FY23–FY24 counts for pregnant inmates receiving MAT (four in FY23 and two in FY24) and noted the department began a January implementation expansion.
Quotes from the hearing - "We keep a large percentage of our *** offender population at that location," Tafoya Lucero said of a contracted facility housing specialized treatment. - "We've really worked hard to increase vocational training everywhere," she said, describing partnerships for CDL and heavy‑equipment instruction.
What's next The department indicated it will continue austerity measures while seeking a supplemental appropriation in the specials process, and analysts will work with the department to track MAT expansion, vocational outcomes and vacancy‑rate impacts of population movements.
Ending note Committee members expressed bipartisan support for reentry investments and staffing stability, and they signaled interest in using supplemental appropriations to address near‑term medical and behavioral‑health shortfalls while monitoring Corrections' proposed industry expansion for transparency and accountability.
