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Bill to expand prison vocational construction work draws mixed reaction from unions and DOC
Summary
House Bill 572 would let Montana Correctional Enterprises undertake larger construction projects and expand vocational programming at Montana State Prison; DOC officials framed the change as a way to create pre‑apprenticeship training tied to industry demand, while unions urged sideboards to prevent competition with private contractors.
Representative John Fitzpatrick presented House Bill 572 at the department's request, describing changes to Montana Correctional Enterprises that would raise the construction-project threshold for inmate crews from $200,000 to $1,000,000, remove a dealer network requirement for some sales and broaden language to allow more tailored vocational and educational programming.
Fitzpatrick said the goal is vocational training that matches private‑sector demand and leaves the prison's work focused on prefabrication or other tasks that would not directly compete with local contractors: “The bill and its changes are not seeking to build a construction program that's going to be competing…
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