S.B. 681: COMMITTEE SUMMARY YOUTH CORRECTIONAL FACILITY
Senate Bill 681
Sponsor: Senator Loren Bennett Committee: Judiciary
Date Completed: 9-29-95
The bill would amend the Department of Corrections (DOC) law to authorize the DOC to establish a youth correctional facility with a maximum capacity of 460 prisoners. The facility could house only prisoners committed to the DOC’s jurisdiction who were 19 years of age or less.
The DOC could establish and operate the youth correctional facility or could contract on behalf of the State with a private vendor for the construction and/or operation of the facility. If the DOC contracted with a private vendor for the facility’s operation, it would have to require by contract that the vendor meet requirements specified by the Department regarding security, DOC inspections, programming, liability and insurance, conditions of confinement, and any other issues the DOC considered necessary for the facility’s operation.
Proposed MCL 791.220g Legislative Analyst: P. Affholter
Assuming that the Department did establish a facility with a capacity of 460 beds (as opposed to leasing or converting existing space), the estimated capital outlay costs would range from approximately $20.0 million for a "pole" type facility to $50.0 million for a more traditional "brick and mortar" prison facility. The Department of Management and Budget has estimated costs for the construction of a new youth correctional facility to be $58.0 million. (As a point of information, pursuant to the Management and Budget Act, authorization to plan, design, and construct a new prison facility requires authorization, appropriation, and planning approvals by the Joint Capital Outlay Subcommittee.)
If one assumed that the facility operated at full capacity, anticipated annual operating costs would range from $8.4 million to $20.8 million depending on the amount of programming, and staffing levels provided at the facility. For example, the boot camp program, with increased programming and more intensive staffing patterns, is nearly twice as expensive to operate as a "normal" multilevel prison.
The Department of Corrections currently incarcerates offenders aged 19 and under in existing prison facilities under provisions of current law. As of December 1994, there were 1,317 prisoners 19 years old and under incarcerated at primarily three facilities: Michigan Reformatory, Handlon Michigan Training Unit, and the Riverside Reception Center.
S9596\S681SA
Fiscal Analyst: M. Hansen
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.
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