Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Jail Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate debate opens on jail-funding change to allow capital depreciation in core rate
Summary
First substitute SB 50 would let the core rate committee consider capital depreciation for county jail facilities when setting the core rate used for jail contracting and reimbursement; sponsors said the change is optional, committee-driven and intended to account for true costs, while critics warned about fiscal exposure and implementation details.
Senator Thomas, sponsor of the first substitute to Senate Bill 50, told the Utah State Senate that the bill would "allow discretion for the core rate committee ... to include the capital depreciation cost of jail facilities," a change he said reflects recommendations from a legislative fiscal study and the appropriations subcommittee. The bill does not itself appropriate funding, the sponsor emphasized; any change to the core rate would go through the usual appropriations process.
Supporters said including capital depreciation would more accurately reflect the counties' costs when housing state inmates. "The purpose of this bill is simply to include in the core rate the opportunity to include these things ... in fairness because it's part of the true cost," Thomas said. He and other backers noted the Senate Fiscal Analyst estimated a modest change to the core rate (the sponsor reported the current core rate at about $41 and estimated an increase of about $2.50 if depreciation were included).
Opponents and questioners pressed for detail on how depreciation would be calculated, whether land appreciation or sale proceeds could create downstream claims, and how the change would affect municipalities and county finances. Senator Bramble and Senator Hilliard sought clarification on "the basis in the method of depreciation for purposes of cost reimbursement," and whether the statute's current language would need further revision to handle bond- or sale-related proceeds.
Floor exchange clarified program mechanics: Senate staff and the sponsor described that jail contracting (where counties voluntarily accept state-contracted prisoners) and jail reimbursement (where counties must house sentenced individuals by court order) both start from the core rate but are paid differently — contracting beds receive the full core rate, while reimbursement has historically been set at 70% of the core rate. The sponsor told senators that counties now sometimes "house inmates on cots" because the state system is over operational capacity and that county participation is critical to avoid building thousands of new state beds.
Procedural action on the measure recorded that the first substitute was ordered for third reading after a roll-call motion to read for the third time received 26 yes votes, 1 nay and 2 absences (motion to read; transcript did not record final floor passage on the substitute within the provided segment). The sponsor and multiple senators urged further technical work on depreciation methodology and on the appropriations implications before any funding decision would be made.
The matter remains subject to further committee and appropriations review; the bill would not automatically increase payments without separate legislative appropriations.
