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Joint Budget Committee trims, partially funds Department of Corrections supplemental requests
Summary
The Joint Budget Committee split several Department of Corrections supplemental requests, approving partial funding for local jail reimbursements and medical caseloads while denying a prison caseload increase; members pressed the executive for a population‑management plan.
The Joint Budget Committee on [date not specified] split a package of Department of Corrections supplemental requests after hours of debate, approving partial funding for some items while denying or postponing others.
Justin Braque, Joint Budget Committee staff, told members the DOC asked for $10 million in the current supplemental to pay contract clinical workers filling vacant state positions because hiring state FTE has proven difficult. “They’re having trouble hiring state FTE,” Braque said, adding that clinical contract staff cost about twice as much as a state full‑time equivalent on average.
The committee voted 4‑2 to deny the department’s broader prison caseload request to put additional state beds online, with Senators Kirkmeyer and Representative Taggart objecting. Members who opposed full approval said the administration has offered little evidence of plans to increase releases or reduce admissions; members who supported new beds warned of rising costs to counties and the local jail backlog.
On narrower items the committee split the difference: a motion to pay reimbursements to local jails at 50 percent of the requested amount carried 4‑2, as did a separate motion to fund half of DOC’s medical caseload supplemental. Senators and representatives emphasized these partial approvals were a short‑term measure intended to avoid immediate service interruptions while keeping pressure on the executive branch to present a longer‑term plan.
Committee staff also recommended delaying action on an unfunded payroll liability shortfall (S‑5) until staff and the department could clarify what payments are being captured in the state’s 10 percent total‑compensation figure. Braque told members the Department had used transfers from other line items in prior years to cover medical services shortfalls and that the state’s total compensation calculation does not consistently include overtime or unbudgeted incentive pay.
Other smaller supplemental actions on the Corrections package were approved largely per staff recommendation, including a reduction tied to a line item originally set for a consent‑decree response and targeted operating and industry line‑item adjustments.
The committee’s votes leave some matters unresolved: the executive branch may seek a comeback on denied items, or the General Assembly may address them during figure setting. Several lawmakers said they want an explicit plan from the administration for managing prison population growth — including parole practices, treatment access and community corrections capacity — before committing to major ongoing spending.
