Committee defers full rebuild of Hutchinson Correctional Facility, approves department plan minus central unit rebuild

The Joint Committee on State Building Construction on Nov. 18 recommended the Kansas Department of Corrections' (KDOC) five‑year capital improvement plan but explicitly left out a proposed full rebuild of the Hutchinson Correctional Facility central unit.

KDOC officials told the committee the agency is managing growing prison populations and a range of deferred infrastructure needs. Keith Bradshaw, executive director of contracts and finance for KDOC, and James Skidmore, director of capital improvements, described immediate needs and longer‑term options during the committee hearing. Bradshaw said the department's facilities condition assessment identified roughly $80 million in near‑term repairs at Hutchinson and said a full replacement of the central unit was estimated at $452.5 million.

The department presented two principal options: (1) a phased replacement that would start with the central unit — a $452.5 million bond request that would add about 400 beds and, according to agency estimates, provide male bed capacity through roughly 2030 — or (2) a set of smaller projects including replacement or renovation at other sites and two 200‑bed units at Winfield (estimated at $187 million) to add capacity.

Committee members pressed KDOC on details. Several lawmakers raised cost, timing and alternatives to new construction. Senator Francisco and others said they wanted more information before endorsing large bond authority for a full rebuild. Representatives and senators questioned how long repairs would hold, whether cells meet contemporary standards and how added bed capacity would track with population projections. KDOC said previous studies date to 2021 and that updated population projections were not yet available.

After extended discussion, committee members voted to recommend the department's capital plan with one explicit exclusion: the committee did not recommend the KDOC request for bonding authority to rebuild Hutchinson's central unit at this time. The motion approved the department's other rehab, repair and construction items. The committee recorded a unanimous recorded count for that recommendation.

The committee also heard a request from KDOC for other FY‑27 funding sources and discussed the department's use of gaming revenue transferred to the Correctional Institutions Building Fund and state general fund appropriations already directed at repair projects. Members and KDOC staff discussed using a mix of bond authority and pay‑as‑you‑go funds for different items and agreed further briefings would be appropriate before considering a full rebuild request during regular session.

The committee's action does not forbid KDOC from returning with a rebuild proposal; rather the panel chose to defer approval of the central‑unit bond until members receive additional information on costs, alternatives and population projections.