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Senate committee hears bill to study consolidation and out‑of‑state placement for long‑term inmates
Summary
Senate Bill 126 would direct the Department of Corrections to study cost reductions from consolidating facilities or placing Alaska prisoners with seven or more years remaining in out‑of‑state facilities; the committee asked for additional data and set the bill aside for further hearings.
Senate Bill 126, presented to the Senate State Affairs Committee on April 8, would authorize the Department of Corrections to investigate potential cost reductions by consolidating existing correctional facilities or by designating placements of certain prisoners in out‑of‑state facilities. The sponsor explained that the study would focus on prisoners with seven or more years remaining to serve and would require annual estimates of cost savings; the legislature could appropriate an amount equal to the savings estimate for education purposes.
Ryan McKee, staff to Senator Rob Yundt (the bill sponsor), read the bill's statutory change into the record: "Section 1 AS 33.30.061 adds a new subsection to section 1," including a clause that any prisoner sent out of state must be housed exclusively apart from non‑Alaska prisoners and a requirement that the state estimate annual cost savings.
Department of Corrections officials said the proposal raises policy questions and that the department has statutory authority to use out‑of‑state contracts when needed. Kevin Worley, director of administrative services for the Department of Corrections, and the department commissioner participated in the hearing. The department provided preliminary data in response to committee questions: as of the preceding Monday there were about 792 prisoners with seven or more years remaining; the department cited a per‑inmate cost of $202 a day (approximately $73,730 per year); reported occupancy is about 81% on paper but operationally about 95% because of classification and separation needs; Palmer Correctional Center has about 514 beds and is currently reported as full; and the department said there are currently a small number of Alaska prisoners housed out of state (the transcript cited six but the department said it would confirm exact counts).
Officials said an out‑of‑state placement exercise would require an RFI/RFP to determine which facilities would accept the specified population, and some out‑of‑state facilities decline to accept certain offense types (for example, sex offenses). The department noted other cost factors — transportation, continued parole hearings and maintaining Alaska‑only cohorts — that affect the net savings calculation. The department did not take a formal position on the policy; officials said the question is one for the legislature.
Committee members asked for additional data, including breakdowns by offense type for those with seven or more years remaining, deferred maintenance at facilities, staffing and overtime costs and a clear estimate of historical and projected cost differences between in‑state and out‑of‑state care. The committee set SB 126 aside for further hearings and asked sponsors and department staff to provide the requested information.
No formal committee vote on SB 126 occurred on April 8; the bill was set aside pending the department's follow‑up information and further committee review.
