Committee backs bill to expand Fulton County access to Atlanta detention center amid concerns about staffing, maintenance and costs

The Senate Public Safety Committee voted to advance Senate Bill 7 after a lengthy hearing that centered on whether giving Fulton County greater access to the Atlanta City Detention Center (ACDC) would help or worsen documented problems at the county jail.

Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat (referred to in testimony as "the sheriff") told the committee the county faces operational, staffing and facility limitations at the Rice Street jail and argued the ACDC asset could be used to better separate mental-health populations and improve conditions. "We don't have problems at Fulton County. We have opportunities," the sheriff said, and described ACDC as a facility designed for direct supervision and with infrastructure better suited to some detainee populations.

City officials, represented by the Atlanta Law Department, said the bill as written could undercut the city's negotiation leverage in the intergovernmental agreement (IGA) and did not fully account for Atlanta’s vision for justice reform. The city noted that many costs related to ACDC — including maintenance and operations — carry legal and financial implications for the city if the facility receives additional county detainees. The city law department also told the committee that 702 beds were currently allocated at ACDC but staffing shortfalls limit how many beds are operable.

The Southern Center for Human Rights opposed the bill, urging the committee to address underlying staffing and supervision deficiencies that the Department of Justice linked to violence, unsanitary conditions, inadequate medical and mental-health services and unconstitutional segregation. "All of this is going to depend on staffing. Everything revolves around staffing your physical facilities," said Blake Feldman, senior policy counsel for the Southern Center.

Sheriff Labat and other witnesses described ongoing efforts — a "jail blitz" and a county feasibility study — and said ACDC's direct-supervision design and underused medical units offer opportunities. Testimony included operational details from the sheriff: the county had previously housed as many as 3,600 people at Rice Street, had reduced population but still had major zones and pipes out of life-cycle, and had offline beds because parts of the building require repair. Labat said the county currently pays the city $50 per detainee (noting that total costs after staffing and services are higher), pays Cobb County about $80 per detainee (which is inclusive of staffing/meals), and that an eventual $150 per-detainee rate for the city was intended to encourage an exit plan.

The committee also heard that the ACDC was designed to house up to roughly 1,314 people with modern systems and that the county's Rice Street facility was older and needed major lifecycle investments. City and county witnesses disagreed over whether additional ACDC access would resolve or exacerbate issues; the city emphasized that adding beds without sufficient staffing and funding would not address DOJ-identified problems.

After discussion Vice Chair (unnamed in the transcript) moved a "do pass" recommendation and Senator Wicks seconded. Committee members counted five hands in favor and two opposed; the chair announced the measure passed and will go to the Rules Committee. Testimony left open a range of follow-up questions about staffing plans, funding commitments from Fulton County, the terms of any revised IGA and which party would be responsible for maintenance and contractor payments if populations increased.