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Sponsor seeks $250 million future corrections fund to address women's prison capacity; advocates urge investment alternatives
Summary
House Bill 833 would set aside $250 million to build a new women's correctional facility and fund short-term transition costs; supporters told lawmakers the state lacks capacity for female inmates while opponents urged investments in behavioral health and alternatives to incarceration.
Representative John Fitzpatrick (House District 76) told the Appropriations Committee that Montana's two biggest executive-branch capacity issues are corrections and mental health and that House Bill 833 responds to repeated interim findings about prison overcrowding.
The bill would set aside $250 million to develop a new women's correctional facility. Of that amount, $30 million would be available for transition costs, the sponsor said, and $3.5 million would be earmarked for design and architecture work once a siting decision is made. The bill lists three development options to evaluate: state-constructed/state-owned/state-operated; private construction with a state lease and state operation (a model used at existing facilities); and private construction…
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