Appropriations subcommittee advances Department of Corrections budget, trims some requests

Bismarck, N.D. — On Feb. 14 the Appropriations - Human Resources Division spent its meeting reviewing Senate Bill 2015, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DOCR) budget, and agreed to advance most DOCR items to the committee long sheet while reducing or clarifying several line items.

The committee moved forward planning and operating requests for the department but cut or scaled back some high-cost items and set staffing assumptions for new programs. Senator Mather opened the discussion on prison planning, saying, "I believe we ought to reduce the planning for a, new prison. I think 23,000,000 is way too high." Committee members later agreed to lower the planning/design figure to $20,000,000 for now and require further reports during planning.

Why it matters: The DOCR budget contains capital planning, operations, and program funding that will determine staffing, bed capacity and facility work statewide. The committee’s reductions and directions shape what goes to conference committee and affect how the department will prioritize projects during the biennium.

Committee decisions and key figures

- Pretrial services: The committee agreed to fund 2 FTEs for pretrial services rather than the three FTEs requested in the governor’s budget and to prorate the dollar amount accordingly. Tom Earhart, chief parole and probation officer for DOCR, described the program as a pilot launched in 2020 that provides risk assessments and supervision for defendants between charging and disposition and connects them to behavioral-health services. Earhart said existing pretrial staff are located in Minot, Bismarck, Burleigh/Morton, Ward, Renville, Ramsey, Devil’s Lake, Grand Forks, Benson, Cass and Fargo. Committee discussion noted DOCR currently has roughly 14 pretrial staff statewide and that the governor’s budget proposed adding three more.

- Prison planning and MRCC: Members debated the department’s request for planning and design money for a new facility at the Missouri River Correctional Center (MRCC). Several senators questioned the $23 million planning estimate. Senator Cleary and other members proposed reducing the planning/design line to $20,000,000 and adding quarterly reporting requirements so the Legislature has better visibility into large capital planning work.

- Women’s treatment unit: Michelle Zander, chief financial officer for DOCR, told the committee the women's treatment unit request covers 20 beds at BTC and represents ongoing program funding. She said the agency’s base was about $1,973,700 and the request includes a 4% increase in each year of the upcoming biennium; the total program amount shown to the committee was $2,087,800.

- IT and servers: Amy Brauchak, DOCR chief administrative officer, told the committee the department obtained cost estimates from the state chief information office (NDIT) and characterized them as "spot on estimates." The committee agreed to move a reduced IT maintenance-and-operations request for now — roughly $2,500,000 for application support and about $497,000 for server migration — and to revisit details in conference committee.

- Deferred maintenance (SIF): The committee discussed a $16,000,000 request for deferred maintenance and extraordinary repairs from the State Infrastructure Fund (SIF). DOCR described top priorities such as fire alarm upgrades and fuel-tank replacement. Senators agreed to reduce the SIF figure to $15,000,000 for the long sheet while reserving the right to revisit the amount.

- MRCC temporary housing, county jail overflow and programming: The committee moved over funding for MRCC temporary housing (just over $8,000,000) and a separate county-jail overflow/programming package; DOCR said the county-jail estimate reflects population projections at about $100 per day for overflow housing and includes contractor-run programming in selected counties.

- Equipment and Roughrider Industries: The committee agreed to move equipment funding, including a body scanner request. Of the $2,079,000 equipment total, DOCR indicated $1,089,809 would be SIF and roughly $989,009 federal funds. The committee also restored the Roughrider Industries request to the governor’s full number to allow the enterprise to proceed with planned work.

- Other items: The committee acknowledged roughly $1.11 million in interest that has accrued in the HRCC building fund (Michelle Zander reported the amount) and agreed to carry forward several one-time IT projects if they are not completed by the end of the current biennium.

What the committee directed: Members repeatedly said several items and amounts will be revisited in conference committee and asked DOCR for quarterly reports on large capital projects. Several senators urged restraint on planning costs and asked the department to justify design estimates during upcoming hearings.

Committee voices

Tom Earhart, DOCR chief parole and probation officer: "We provide a risk assessment tool to the to the court to make a determination on risk to the community ..." (description of pretrial services and supervision).

Michelle Zander, DOCR chief financial officer, on the women’s unit: "We currently have 20 women in those beds, and we currently pay $135 a day ..." (explaining the base and requested increases).

Amy Brauchak, DOCR chief administrative officer, on IT estimates: "They were pretty they were spot on estimates. There's no fluff in any of them." (describing NDIT cost guidance).

Chris Jangula, DOCR chief physical plant officer, on deferred-maintenance priorities: he identified life-safety items such as obsolete fire alarm systems and failing HVAC heat pumps as drivers of the SIF request.

Ending: The committee directed staff to draft amendment language and update the long sheet for the full Appropriations Committee. Members said they expect further review when the House and conference committees consider Senate Bill 2015.