Senate committee hears Department of Corrections budget pitch emphasizing lock replacements, modular units and staffing

The Department of Corrections presented its amended FY25 and FY26 budget requests to a Senate committee, asking lawmakers to approve a package of spending to replace lock-and-control systems across state prisons, add modular units to expand bed capacity, hire staff and fund emergency facility repairs.

The department asked the committee to consider amended FY25 recommendations totaling $458,700,000 and FY26 recommendations of $144,600,000, according to the presentation slide the commissioner left displayed for the panel. The package included funding for emergency repairs, a ‘‘tiger team’’ to accelerate lock-and-control projects, modular housing units to add beds quickly, and recruitment funding to fill vacancies.

Lawmakers pressed the commissioner and staff on several points: the math behind specific line items, how quickly mobile/modular units could be put in service, whether private prisons should be used more, and how long full lock-and-control replacement would take. "So I think if we have a short-term need to get beds done ... we're probably talking about 5 years' worth of project manager's time here," Representative Williams said while questioning the per-position cost estimates. The commissioner and staff said designs, construction and full replacement of lock-and-control systems are on a multi-year timeline and that some work would be accelerated by using contractor teams and existing state contracts.

Why it matters: committee members repeatedly emphasized urgency. Several members said they want faster timelines and clearer comparisons between using private prison capacity, modular units and in-house repairs so the legislature can weigh costs and speed. "We're ready," Chairman Robertson said in urging speed on lock projects.

Major program elements and fiscal details discussed

- Lock and control replacement: The department described a multi-year program to replace locks and rewiring so facilities no longer rely on keyed systems. Staff said the full program to complete lock-and-control replacements across the system would take about five to six years under the recommended funding and approach. To speed work, the plan calls for contractor teams and a five-person "tiger team" to supplement facility staff; the presentation showed a tiger-team budget line of $1,000,000 in the FY26 proposal. The department clarified the design-and-construction line is separate from the labor teams that install the systems.

- Emergency repairs and maintenance: The package proposed increased funding for emergency repairs and maintenance to keep beds online. Presentation figures discussed in committee included an emergency repairs amount cited around $35,000,000 and additional maintenance funding in the mid-teens of millions for FY26 (figures discussed during Q&A were described as amended FY25 $15,500,000 and FY26 $15,200,000). The department said a backlog figure — deferred maintenance the department has identified — underlies the emergency request and that the backlog has been itemized.

- Modular/mobile housing units and private beds: The department presented two paths to increase bed capacity quickly: expanded use of existing private-prison beds and purchase/deployment of modular units. Committee members contrasted costs: slides and discussion referenced roughly $93,000,000 for 4,126 modular units (discussion participants raised concerns about per-bed cost and total program cost) while one lawmaker calculated roughly $5,900,000 per year to use 446 private-prison beds. The commissioner said modular units could be delivered and on site in about 12 months and that manufacturers said the units could last 20–30 years and be relocated within the state.

- Staffing and recruitment: The department reported substantial vacancies and requested funding to recruit and onboard staff. Presenters said the department is funded to bring on roughly 882 positions in the amendment (phased quarterly, about 110 positions per quarter) and that actual hiring averages about 145 new hires per quarter under current efforts. Committee members pressed whether the request matches the scale of the vacancy problem; the presentation referenced roughly 26,100 vacancies across the system, which lawmakers noted cannot be filled in a single year.

- Contraband interdiction and security operations: Committee members urged stronger action on contraband — particularly cell phones and drones — and asked how staffing levels affect the department's ability to conduct facility sweeps. The department said daily shakedowns and specialized teams are in use, but that contraband operations are increasingly sophisticated and strain staff resources; the department identified managed-access technology designed to limit cellular signals as an important tool but noted some solutions involve coordination with federal partners.

Questions and clarifications lawmakers sought

Lawmakers repeatedly requested clearer cost comparisons and timelines. Several members asked the department to: (1) provide a single plan showing lock-replacement timelines by facility, (2) reconcile design-and-construction line items versus installation/labor teams, (3) inventory the full deferred-maintenance backlog (which the department said is documented), and (4) report back on real available private-prison capacity and how quickly private providers could expand.

Representative Mathis and others pressed the department on the operational impacts of contraband and the burden placed on rural counties when inmates require outside medical care or when county resources are used to address incidents tied to state facilities.

What the department said it would do next

The commissioner and staff said they would provide additional numbers requested by the committee — including detailed timelines for lock and control work, clarifications about the counts and costs per line item, and a clearer reconciliation of private-prison capacity versus modular-unit deployment timelines. The presentation cited ongoing consulting work (GuideHouse, Moss Group, CGL) and the governor's office as sources used to develop the recommendations.

Closing: The committee thanked the commissioner and staff and signaled follow-up subcommittee meetings to probe costs, capacity and timelines before final budget decisions. The panel adjourned after additional questions and a request that the department return with reconciled figures.