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March 21, 2023
Last week, an amendment was added to the House Appropriations Committee’s budget bill, which will be debated and voted on by House lawmakers during an all-day floor session on Wednesday. The bill, totaling around $13.4 billion, includes provisions to transfer 120 state inmates to a private prison located in Arizona.
The amendment, sponsored by Rep. John Fitzpatrick, R-Anaconda, would authorize about $8 million over the next biennium for a contract with private prison giant CoreCivic, which operates five facilities in Arizona — primarily the Central Arizona Florence Correctional Complex. CoreCivic also operates the Crossroads Correctional Center in Shelby.
CoreCivic has announced that it will bill the state $90 per day for each inmate, covering travel expenses as well. However, it is important to note that the actual amount may exceed this figure due to an amendment aiming to align the compensation with prevailing wage laws. In the past few months, lawmakers and state officials have engaged in discreet discussions with CoreCivic, exploring potential solutions to address the overpopulated prison system.
House Speaker Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, said Tuesday that Republicans are not planning to amend House Bill 2, essentially the state’s budget, on the floor Wednesday. So unless Democrats, who largely have opposed the plan to transfer inmates, are able to gather bipartisan support to remove it, the appropriation is likely to remain in the bill as it heads to the Senate.
According to a spokesperson from the Montana Department of Corrections, Fitzpatrick introduced the amendment last week as an urgent solution to tackle the capacity problems in state prisons and correctional facilities. Currently, there are approximately 250 to 290 individuals being held in county jails, waiting to be transferred to either a prison or a community corrections facility.
According to Fitzpatrick, the purpose of this amendment is to provide the department with the ability to remove individuals from the Deer Lodge state prison while simultaneously decreasing the current inmate population in county jails.
He added, “As soon as the bill is signed, we will immediately have bed space.”
Last week, the amendment was voted against by all Democrats and two Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee. Critics of the proposal raised concerns about the need to expand the state’s contract with CoreCivic or potentially establish a new one, considering the availability of other options in the near future.
“I don’t think this is the best bang for our buck,” said Rep. Emma Kerr-Carpenter, D-Billings. “I think there are alternatives in state that are better bangs for our buck.”
According to a memo from Fitzpatrick, there are various options available that could potentially address the issue. However, these options may not have specific bills associated with them, and it would likely take a few years for them to become a reality. One option is to utilize 51 beds in community corrections, such as pre-release centers for individuals on probation or parole, which are already authorized in the current version of House Bill 2. Another idea is to allocate funds at the state prison to reopen the lower security F Unit, potentially freeing up 62 beds by the end of the year, according to Fitzpatrick’s estimation. There is also a proposal to fund the creation of 32 new low-security beds at the prison’s “low-side” units, although this may take longer to implement. Additionally, there are other plans in consideration that could potentially increase the number of available beds in the near future.
Fitzpatrick mentioned that CoreCivic offers a contract option which entails purchasing 120 beds at a time. He also stated that the company quoted a per-day rate of $95, contrasting the $90 mentioned in the amendment.
During the committee, Kerr-Carpenter questioned the necessity of sending individuals out of state when we have nearly 110 beds readily accessible within the upcoming year.
In addition, she observed that even though visitation at Montana State Prison was permanently halted last year, relocating inmates to Arizona would weaken their ties with family and the community, thereby potentially raising the likelihood of reoffending.
In a broader sense, Democrats have highlighted the amendment as evidence of the Republican party’s priorities as the budget progresses through the Legislature.
“I find it unbelievable again that the Republicans have given away the farm to wealthy, well-connected in some cases, out-of-staters, while turning their backs on everyday Montanans and the businesses that have been here for decades,” said Rep. Mary Caferro, D-Helena, at a press conference Tuesday. “Rather than just invest in solving the problems facing Montana workers and their families, Republicans chose a much different priority, writing checks for nearly $8 million for 150 Montana inmates to a private for-profit prison in Arizona, decreasing their chances of having successful reentry by losing connection with their families.”
Republicans argue that the state should not delay adding more beds to the system when the option is already available. They point out that the state prison is consistently understaffed, regardless of whether new beds are accessible.
“This is just a math problem,” Rep. Bill Mercer, R-Billings, who chairs the budget subcommittee that oversees the Corrections Department, said in committee last week.
Generally, most of the debate has been about logistics. Few have mentioned that CoreCivic, in Arizona and elsewhere, has been dogged by litigation challenging everything from its stock reporting practices to the humanity — or lack thereof — with which it treats the people incarcerated in its facilities.
Maggie Bornstein, a lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana, who has previously taken CoreCivic to court, stated that from her perspective, CoreCivic is exploiting the vulnerabilities of our state government. She further added that CoreCivic’s actions reflect a nationwide pattern of prioritizing profit over the rights and dignity of the individuals they incarcerate.
The company’s revenue is also decreasing, and the Crossroads facility in Shelby lost $4 million in 2022.
Last week, Rep. Llew Jones, a Republican from Conrad and Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, mentioned that the state has an advantage with CoreCivic because of their pre-existing connection with the company in Shelby. Although they were unable to expand capacity in Montana, they informed lawmakers that they could provide additional space in Arizona.
In 1998, the state entered into an initial contract with CoreCivic, which has been subsequently renewed multiple times. One such renewal occurred in 2018, when Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock signed a two-year extension with the company, after they initially requested a ten-year extension. In return, CoreCivic agreed to return $34 million in fees amidst a state budget crisis.
The state’s current contract with CoreCivic is in effect until June of this year. The total length of the contract, including renewals, is not to exceed 30 years, it stipulates.
According to reports filed with the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices, CoreCivic, represented by influential lobbyist Mark Baker, has allocated approximately $21,000 this session for lobbying efforts solely focused on House Bill 2 at the Capitol.
During a prior visit to the facility in Shelby, Mercer informed lawmakers about the possibility. Carolynn Bright, the communications director at the Montana Department of Corrections, mentioned that the department has engaged in preliminary discussions with CoreCivic to assess the availability of temporary beds in case the need arises.
The prospect of the CoreCivic transfer first arose at a budget subcommittee meeting on Feb. 9. DOC Director Brian Gootkin and others appeared before the committee to present different ideas to add capacity to the prison system.
According to Gootkin, our facilities are completely packed, and to make matters worse, the county jails are overcrowded with an additional 250 inmates.
The Department of Corrections (DOC) presented three choices: the introduction of 51 new community corrections beds, the establishment of a 60-bed pre-release facility in Flathead County, and the creation of a 68-bed treatment unit for sex offenders. Mercer brought up the topic of transferring to Arizona, which had been previously discussed, and inquired why it was not included among the options.
According to Gootkin, our current approach involves collaborating with the governor’s office and the budget office. We believe that addressing the issue within our system is the initial step towards relieving the situation. Our focus is on providing treatment to these individuals, rather than merely housing them, as we consider it to be a more effective solution.
Gootkin added that the state has had challenges with out-of-state prison transfers. During the administration of Gov. Marc Racicot, the state contracted with a private prison provider to send 258 inmates to a facility in Texas. But the arrangement ended following a breakdown in relations between the company and the state and allegations of poor conditions at the company’s facility. (Some of those 258 inmates were subsequently transferred to a facility in Arizona operated by Corrections Corporation of America, now known as CoreCivic).
However, according to Gootkin, a staff member from the department has visited the facility in Arizona.
After the hearing, Mercer has stated that the Arizona transfer is now being considered as a fourth option. As proposed changes to House Bill 2 were made available online after the transmittal break, an earlier version of the amendment suggested a continuous allocation for a transfer to CoreCiivc. However, this amendment was later removed and replaced with Fitzpatrick’s amendment.
On Monday, Mercer expressed uncertainty about our capacity in the future as we move forward in the interim, acknowledging that our current need is only temporary.
The plan has not been fully embraced by DOC yet.
“The solution to the DOC’s capacity issues will probably involve multiple approaches, and one potential aspect could be the transfer of inmates to facilities located outside the state,” expressed Bright from the DOC.
In addition, there is a more extensive policy inquiry at hand. During this session, lawmakers have introduced bills to heighten various criminal penalties, despite the growing support for sentencing reform, even among certain Republicans across the country.
According to Mercer, a former U.S. attorney, he sees no contradiction between managing crowding in state prisons and implementing tough-on-crime laws.
He stated that, from his perspective in his professional career, the state has consistently lacked sufficient prison space. Furthermore, he noted that the state’s justice system tends to lean towards minimizing the use of incarceration, even for shorter periods of time.
According to him, the movement to decarcerate fluctuates and becomes highly charged depending on one’s philosophical beliefs.
“Yeah, that is not my philosophy.”
—Arren Kimbel-Sannit
Bill Report
House Bill 334, sponsored by Rep. Laurie Bishop, D-Livingston, passed its initial vote on the Senate floor Monday, 47-3. The proposal would excuse K-12 students from attending school if they’re experiencing mental health issues — an addition to state law that Bishop argued was critical to ensuring the health and safety of Montana youth. Sen. Keith Regier, R-Kalispell, proposed an amendment on the floor stipulating that those mental health needs be “medically diagnosed.” Bishop spoke in opposition to the change, but it narrowly passed with 26 Republican votes. HB 334 is scheduled for its final Senate vote Wednesday.
Senate Bill 99, sponsored by Sen. John Fuller, R-Kalispell, passed out of the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday, a day after its second hearing. The bill, which broadly bans gender-affirming medical treatments for transgender minors and prohibits the use of public funds for those services, passed the Senate chamber in February by a comfortable margin, despite an outpouring of opposition from transgender Montanans, parents and medical providers. The House Judiciary Committee tacked on two amendments drafted by Rep. Casey Knudsen, R-Malta. The changes clarify the restrictions on public funds and shorten the window of time when a provider could be sued by former patients, their guardians or estates. The bill passed along party lines, 13-6, and now proceeds to the House floor.
Vote Viz
Senate Bill 30, which repeals the Montana Clean Campaign Act, received support from a majority of Democrats and a divided group of Republicans in the Montana House of Representatives. This legislation aims to address the unenforceability of the 2007 campaign finance reform, after it was invalidated by a district court judge last year.
Heard in the Halls
“I come up with ideas. I think they’re all great. I talk to my wife, and she reminds me that most of them aren’t. I talk to you guys, and you remind me that some of the other one’s aren’t. But some of them are good ideas. And through that process some of those good ideas get across the finish line.”
—Rep. Neil Duram, R-Eureka, in explaining his vote Tuesday against Senate Bill 176, legislation to make most interim policy committees partisan.
On Background
Montana’s contract with Core Civic for the Crossroads facility
Montana To Move Its Inmates In Texas Prison To Other States: For more on Montana’s first foray with sending incarcerated people to out-of-state private prisons, see this story from the now-retired state capitol hound Bob Anez. (The Associated Press)
