A group of lawmakers met at the State Capitol Tuesday to talk about withholding the state budget allocation for the Department of Corrections. The move comes after the agency opted last week to shutter more than a dozen work centers and relocate inmates to a prison in Granite.
State Rep. Bobby Cleveland, R-Slaughterville, says he has “a real problem” with the Department of Correction’s transparency. He argues the agency gave little notice to lawmakers about the closure of 15 community work centers across the state.
During its monthly board meeting last week, the Board of Corrections unanimously approved a consolidation plan. Under it, the state will lease a privately owned prison in Sayre. Inmates from the Oklahoma State Reformatory will be moved to the Sayre facility, and inmates at the work release centers will be transferred to Granite. Interim Director Joe Allbaugh said during the meeting this move would prevent the department from asking lawmakers for additional money.
But Cleveland, the House Public Safety Committee’s vice chair, says legislators are talking about possible recourse now that the contract is finalized.
“It’s already signed, so what can we do?” Cleveland asked during an interview.
“And the only option we have is: we hold the purse. We can cut their budget, give them less money when they ask for it next time,” he said.
There’s been no official motion to deny funds at this point.
“We’re talking through our options. It was really embarrassing,” Cleveland said, referring to lawmakers with work centers in their districts. Cleveland said several did not know about the consolidation plans and received concerned calls from constituents who rely on the inmates' cheap labor.
In a statement, DOC spokesman Alex Gerszewski says it costs the agency $17.6 million to provide labor to those 15 communities and says it can no longer afford to support the “inefficient operations of the work centers.”
"Currently, Oklahoma Department of Corrections must find $11 million before the end of this fiscal year to balance the budget. Additionally, the DOC will be starting next year $38 million in the hole. The only way for the agency to stay afloat in times of financial disarray is to consolidate and reduce the footprint it has across the state," Gerszewski said.
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