Joint Budget Committee approves supplemental for county jail reimbursements after cash-flow debate

The Joint Budget Committee approved House Bill 1546, a Department of Corrections supplemental for county jail reimbursement and a medical contract, after extended questioning about delayed county payments and department cash flow.

Committee members said the matter is urgent because counties reported unpaid invoices. Chad Brown, chief financial officer for the Department of Corrections, told the committee, “If this doesn't get approved and we don't get the additional funding, the same problem is gonna continue to happen.” He said the department had “approximately about $44,500,000.0 committed right now that needs to be paid.”

The committee’s discussion centered on two issues: (1) insufficient monthly disbursements that leave the department unable to meet commitments, and (2) administrative breakdowns in county communication that delay invoice processing. Brown described one recurring operational problem: when county contacts leave, invoices are sent to outdated email addresses and payments stall until the department receives updated contact information.

Senator King, who flagged county concerns, asked whether approving the supplemental now would ensure counties are paid within 30 days. Brown replied, “Yes, sir. If they send their invoices back to us in an appropriate time, ma'am.” Senator Irvin pressed the department on administrative fixes, saying the communication shortfall “should be an easy fix” and urging the department to assign staff or technology to prevent future lapses.

The department said it is working with the Department of Finance and Administration and the governor’s office on both near-term cash flow and longer-term process improvements. Committee staff and the Department of Corrections discussed the governor’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year, which would increase the county jail reimbursement appropriation by $9,000,000 — from about $25.7 million to roughly $34.8 million.

Members asked the department to provide a plan outlining how it will fix the administrative process; the department did not commit to a specific deadline in the transcript but acknowledged it was “working on it right now.” The committee approved the supplemental following those exchanges.

The vote was recorded by voice with members responding “Aye” and no opposition recorded in the transcript.

The committee noted this supplemental is intended to get the department through the current fiscal year; members also discussed that prison construction and other policy actions could alter future county jail costs.

The committee moved on to other items after adopting the supplemental.