Subcommittee votes to abolish positions and shift overtime budgets in Department of Corrections

The House Finance subcommittee voted to abolish a bundle of funded positions in the Department of Corrections and to reallocate part of the savings into overtime to reflect current staffing practices.

The package targeted positions the committee described as funded but unfilled and selected payroll lines where staffing had expanded despite a drop in the inmate population over the past decade. Committee materials and discussion noted that the corrections population had fallen from roughly 2,700 inmates a decade ago to about 2,000 today while overall staffing and budgets had grown in non-corrections-officer areas.

The chair moved the package of position abolishments and corresponding overtime adjustments. Members debated the proposal at length. Supporters argued the state previously managed larger inmate populations with fewer staff and that the proposal targeted administrative and program positions outside core custody roles. Opponents said the committee should hear the corrections commissioner before approving layoffs and raised concerns about forced overtime and effects on staff morale and family life.

The committee recorded the vote on the position-abolishment/overtime package as 5 in favor and 4 opposed. Committee members subsequently approved a separate Commissioner Hanks technical reallocation (a no-cost transfer of line items) unanimously.

Lawmakers said they will continue to request implementation details from corrections leadership, noting that some position lines reflect programmatic requirements or litigation-driven changes in past years. Committee members who opposed the cuts asked that the department be given an opportunity to explain operational impacts before the budget is finalized in later stages.