Legislative fiscal and corrections officials outline prison capacity shortfall; House Bill 5 includes multiple DOC building and repair requests

Legislative Fiscal Division analyst Walker Hopkins told the joint subcommittees that Montana has seen large increases in its offender population since the COVID dip and presented projections used to justify multiple construction and repair requests in House Bill 5. Hopkins said the department's budget and capital needs are driven primarily by the number of convicted offenders who require secure beds and that increases in violent convictions often mean longer sentences and more pressure on prison capacity.

Hopkins walked the committee through historical average daily population data and the MARA forecasting model the LFD used, noting that the secure population has rebounded quickly since COVID. He said the state currently contracts beds out of state and cited contracted capacity in Arizona and Mississippi; later presenters and the director of corrections said the department currently had hundreds of inmates housed out of state and hundreds more backlogged in county jails.

Director Brian Goodkin (Department of Corrections) told the committee that the system has been “stressed for decades” and said House Bill 5's proposed capital package is intended to replace aging housing units at Montana State Prison (MSP) and add capacity. A&E and DOC staff presented two capital development components (CD01 and CD02) that together would add additional housing pods at MSP and pay for required campus infrastructure upgrades, including a substantial primary power and distribution upgrade. Staff described CD01 (additional pods and connecting/support buildings) and a separate infrastructure ask that would increase primary power and utilities; committee discussion referenced roughly $11.5 million to extend primary power lines and a separate $20 million entry for utility upgrades in staff comments.

Slaton Construction's Tony Ewalt said constructing hard bed space at facilities of this type typically averages in the range of $150,000 to $200,000 per bed when support spaces and perimeter infrastructure are included. DOC Chief Financial Officer Natalie Smitham told the committee that current per‑inmate annual operating costs differ by placement: out‑of‑state contracted beds cost about $90 per day (roughly $33,000–$40,000 a year depending on the contract), while housing an inmate in an in‑state DOC facility is roughly $50,000 per year because in‑state custody more often includes medically complex and higher‑security inmates.

DOC staff reviewed a suite of repair and replacement projects also included in HB 5. Those included MR 7 (generator replacements for Montana Correctional Enterprises buildings, $200,000), MR 16 (continued repairs at Warm Springs/Zenthopolis, $200,000), MR 23 (roof replacement for an MCE building, $1,350,000), MR 28 (completion of perimeter security at the Montana Women's Prison, $600,000; committee staff told members that recent bids on the prior appropriation came in well below expectations), MR 31 (utility-tunnel and heating repairs at Pine Hills, $1,200,000), MR 34 (gravel pit equipment generator replacement, $180,000), MR 43 (toilet room accessibility and fixture upgrades, $200,000), CD 4 (comprehensive mechanical system replacement for the MSP high side, $4,750,000), and CD 25 (renovation for a construction education program, $4,000,000).

On women's corrections, Director Goodkin said Montana has essentially one women's prison and “it is bursting at the seams.” He described discussions about a build–lease–own option for a new women's facility and preliminary work that could repurpose existing Riverside space to temporarily hold about 60 women now backlogged in county jails. Committee members asked for demographic breakdowns the department said it would provide, including Native American representation, mothers of young children and offense types; the director said the female population’s recent growth is driven more by drug‑related offenses, while male growth is driven more by violent convictions.

Committee members and A&E staff discussed procurement and bundling strategies; several legislators urged that the state bundle generators and other repeat purchases and take advantage of the contractor already working at MSP to keep costs down. The committee received clarification from legal counsel that, under statute, authority for program expansion (including staffing) should be provided in the same biennium to authorize construction projects; DOC staff said operational staff funding would be proposed in HB 2 when facilities come online. No committee votes were taken during the hearing; agency staff promised follow‑up on specific questions about staffing, facility square footage and detailed bids.