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House Appropriations hears Department of Corrections FY26 budget, staffing and operating changes
Summary
House Appropriations reviewed the Department of Corrections’ FY26 executive budget recommendation — $768.5 million for DOC operations and $1.2 billion total correctional spending — and questioned staffing, vacancy and overtime pressures, per‑offender costs and cuts to one‑time repairs and acquisitions.
Zion Wilson, budget analyst with the House Fiscal Division, presented the FY26 executive budget for the Department of Corrections (DOC), reporting a recommended DOC operations budget of $768,500,000 and noting correctional spending of $1,200,000,000 for adult and juvenile systems. Wilson said $707,700,000 of DOC funding is from the state general fund, making up about 92.1% of the department’s budget, and that incarceration programs account for roughly 58.2% of DOC spending.
Why it matters: Appropriators pressed DOC leaders on staffing and recurring costs as the department shifts one‑time equipment and repair items out of the FY26 request, cuts that create a net $20.8 million reduction in state general fund compared with FY25 and a $54.5 million drop in acquisitions and major repairs largely tied to removal of one‑time equipment purchases.
Committee members pressed DOC leaders on facility staffing and retention. Secretary Gary Westcott and undersecretary Thomas Bickham…
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