House Appropriations hears Department of Corrections FY26 budget, staffing and operating changes

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 said personnel services are the largest line item — $513.1 million, or 67% of DOC’s FY26 request — and that the department is recommending 4,890 authorized T.O. positions (with 403 vacancies as of Dec. 30). Westcott noted base salary and benefit increases account for a $33.3 million personnel services increase in FY26, and that turnover and vacancies remain concentrated at isolated sites such as Angola and Hunt.

On vacancies and recruitment, Westcott and Bickham said the department has reduced peak vacancies from roughly 800 two to three years ago to the low 400s but continues to see high turnover. They described targeted “special interest” pay rates and civil service adjustments that have improved starting pay (they said starting pay with overtime can reach about $40,000 annually for correctional officers) but said retaining staff remains difficult because of working conditions, remote locations and summer heat in older facilities.

Lawmakers also asked about local housing of state adult offenders and daily per diem rates paid to local facilities. Westcott told the committee local beds cost local governments $26.39 per day, compared with DOC’s incremental marginal cost of about $10 per additional offender; committee members discussed pending legislation to raise the per diem to $35 and higher tiers thereafter and were told each $1 increase in per diem would cost the state approximately $5.8 million annually.

DOC officials said average cost per offender per day under the FY25 enacted budget was roughly $102.55 after removing canteen funding in the example shown to the committee. Other pressures outlined in the presentation included a projected $29.1 million in risk management interagency transfers and $34.2 million in health‑care contracts included in “other charges.” Westcott said overtime has been historically high and one driver of supplemental requests, while acquisitions and major repairs declined in FY26 because one‑time items were removed.

The department told the committee that some operational shifts are tied to Justice Reinvestment Initiative savings and that distribution formulas for savings were revised in 2022 (percentages to state general fund, LCTCS and DOC grants were described). Westcott said closures of three reentry centers and transfers of about 500 female offenders to LCIW produced a $5.8 million decrease in local housing funding between FY25 and FY26.

Committee members asked about specific facility needs (for example, a chapel at Allen Correctional Center) and whether capital outlay or private fundraising mechanisms had been pursued; Westcott said prior capital requests had not succeeded and a Prison Chapel Foundation had been discussed as a fundraising vehicle but had not been revived.

Ending: DOC officials provided supplemental materials and said additional metrics are available in the back of their presentation. The committee did not take formal action during this hearing segment.