US EditionGrowing inmate populations prompt states to look for more prison funding
- The Arkansas Senate rejected Senate Bill 354, a bill to allocate $750 million for a new prison.
- Arkansas faces prison overcrowding, leading to inmates housed in county jails, which prompted the bill.
- The proposed prison in Franklin County would have 3,000 beds, becoming the state's largest facility.
- The vote was 19-10, short of the 27 votes needed; estimates of the project's cost range from $470 million to $1.2 billion.
- The bill's failure creates uncertainty about the project's funding, viability, and impact on local infrastructure.
23 Articles
23 Articles
The Billings Gazette
Prison expansion, out-of-state beds on deck in Legislature's budget debate
Rep. Eric Matthews, D-Bozeman, literally held his nose while voting for the out-of-state prison beds in the state's budget bill during its committee hearing last week.
Wisconsin Examiner
WJFW NewsWatch 12Heads of University of Wisconsin and Corrections defend budget requests to state finance committee
UW President Jay Rothman tells lawmakers that this will be a “make it or break it” budget for the UW system. Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner. Leaders of the Universities of Wisconsin and the state Department of Corrections (DOC) defended Gov. Tony Evers’ budget requests to lawmakers on the Joint Finance Committee during a meeting Tuesday. The hearing marks the start of lawmakers’ official work on the state budget, which will continue …
arkansasadvocate.com
KTLO LLCPrison appropriation bill stalls in Arkansas Senate
Sen. Jonathan Dismang, R-Searcy, presents Senate Bill 307 to the Arkansas Senate on March 5, 2025. (Antoinette Grajeda/Arkansas Advocate)The Arkansas Senate on Tuesday rejected a $750 million appropriation bill to support construction of a 3,000-bed prison in Franklin County. The bill’s failure marked the latest hurdle in constructing a prison in the rural western Arkansas county, which supporters, including the governor, have said is needed to…
Growing inmate populations prompt states to look for more prison funding
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A plan to build a 3,000-inmate prison in Arkansas hit a roadblock in the state Senate on Tuesday, while the Alabama Legislature gave final approval to ensure funding for another mega-prison. The Republican governors in both states have proposed building new prisons as a partial solution to problems in the state corrections system. The proposals come as Republican governors in several states grapple with how to increase f…
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