Legislature(2001 - 2002)
04/10/2002 01:40 PM Senate JUD
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SB 231-CORRECTIONAL FACILITY EXPANSION
MR. JERRY BURNETT, staff to Senator Lyda Green, sponsor of SB
231, noted that Senator Green was unable to attend due to
illness. He explained that SB 231 provides a regional approach to
expanding correctional facilities throughout Alaska. It provides
for approximately 1200 prison and jail beds in a variety of
communities throughout the state. The question of the need for
additional jail beds has been settled by the legislature twice in
the last five years. In 1998, the legislature passed legislation
authorizing the Anchorage jail and an 800-bed facility at Delta,
which was not built. In 2001, the legislature authorized another
800-bed facility in the Kenai Peninsula and that was not built.
Clearly, the intent of SB 231 is to build community acceptance of
expanded jail facilities and to work with the municipalities to
finance and provide the facilities. He informed members that each
of the municipal bodies named in the bill have sent resolutions
in support of the bill. He offered to answer questions.
SENATOR COWDERY asked if the number of beds in the bill represent
the actual needs.
MR. BURNETT said the numbers represent the need expressed to
Senator Green by the Department of Corrections. She worked
primarily with the Mat-Su Borough and the Department of
Corrections to prepare SB 231. Some of the numbers, such as 64
additional beds at the Juneau facility, have to do with the type
of facility and location. The Mat-Su Borough has three
facilities: Palmer Pre-Trial; Palmer Correctional Facility; and
the Point Mackenzie Farm. Each facility will have a different
number of beds depending on the physical structure and the
specific needs of the community.
SENATOR COWDERY asked if prisoners are housed at particular
facilities based on the severity of their crimes.
MR. BURNETT replied there are medium security facilities and pre-
trial facilities.
SENATOR THERRIAULT said according to the bill the average capital
cost for all beds may not exceed $155,000 per bed, adjusted for
three percent inflation a year and asked how long this
authorization will apply and whether it will just be on the books
if a community chooses not to exercise it ten years from now.
MR. BURNETT replied:
As the bill is currently written, that would be the
case and I believe that Senator Green is certainly
amenable to making adjustments to that, either here or
in the Finance Committee as this goes to Finance.
There's a very large fiscal note that you might have
noticed in your packet although the fiscal note
somewhat exaggerates the extra cost here because you
have to do something with these prisoners, assuming
that there really are 1200 - a need for 1200 prison
beds. The fiscal note doesn't discount the alternatives
so something is going to be done with them.
SENATOR THERRIAULT thought that issue should be addressed by the
Finance Committee but suggested putting the authorization on the
books with an adjuster so that 10 or 15 years from now someone
can't build something that obligates the state.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR noted the annual three percent would have a
compounding effect.
MR. BURNETT said Senator Green would be amendable to re-wording
that provision or include phase-in dates for the facilities in
the bill.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked if Senator Green consulted with former
Senator Frank Ferguson on this legislation.
MR. BURNETT said he did not believe she did.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR took public testimony.
COMMISSIONER MARGARET PUGH, Department of Corrections, verified
that Margot Knuth was available via teleconference, and said they
were willing to answer any questions.
MS. MARGOT KNUTH, Strategic Planning Coordinator, Department of
Corrections, thanked the committee for hearing SB 231 and said it
represents a regional approach to expanding prisons and jails.
The Administration supports the concept of regionalization.
Alaska has distinct needs for both jail beds and for prison beds.
SB 231 recognizes those two parallel needs and contains a select
number of beds in the right locations. She noted the number of
beds in Fairbanks and Bethel will just keep up with the jail
needs of those communities. The expansion would allow those
facilities to house pre-trial felons and inmates with short
sentences. The expansion will not bring home prisoners from that
area with lengthy sentences. Those inmates will serve their
sentences in the state's prison facilities at Spring Creek,
Palmer, or Wildwood.
MS. KNUTH advised members that the provision for the Mat-Su
Borough in SB 231 should refer to "facilities" because the number
of beds identified would be placed in the Palmer Correctional
Center, the Mat-Su Pre-Trial facility and the Point MacKenzie
prison farm.
COMMISSIONER PUGH informed members that error was corrected in
the Community and Regional Affairs Committee Substitute.
MS. KNUTH said SB 231 also includes four community jail projects,
which are overdue. Alaska has 15 community jails and all of them
need capital funds. The four in SB 231 were selected because
they have the highest utilization rate. She stated SB 231
provides a good, holistic approach to Alaska's prison needs and
should enable all of Alaska's prisoners to come back to Alaska,
thereby keeping funds in the state. For those reasons the
Administration is generally in favor of SB 231. She offered to
answer questions.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked which jails are community jails.
COMMISSIONER PUGH said the last four on page 2 (Dillingham,
Kodiak, Kotzebue and the North Slope Borough).
MR. DAVID GERMER, Assistant Manager of the Matanuska Susitna
Borough, affirmed the Mat-Su Borough has three facilities within
its borders and the Borough has experienced very few, if any,
problems associated with those facilities. The Borough has found
Department of Corrections employees to be good members of the
community. The Borough also recognizes that various communities
across the state have needs for expanded correctional facilities
and believes it is important that those needs be addressed. The
Borough supports the concept of expanding existing prisons, as
well as jails.
MR. GERMER noted that expansion was considered when many of the
jails were first constructed. In some places, the infrastructure
is already established. The Borough also understands from the
Department of Corrections that the prisoners who are incarcerated
close to their families and support networks have a better chance
at rehabilitation than those housed a long way away. In addition,
the economic impact associated with returning prisoners to Alaska
should be shared statewide; rural and urban Alaskans should
receive the economic benefits associated with jail and prison
expansions. He repeated that the Borough's interactions with the
Department of Corrections has shown the Department to be a very
responsive agency. The Borough firmly believes that facility
expansion should be publicly operated and managed. The Mat-Su
Borough supports SB 231 because it appropriately addresses the
overcrowded prisons and jails through a regional approach and it
spreads the economic benefits across the state of Alaska. He
noted the Ketchikan, Saxman, Fairbanks, Kenai, Juneau, Bethel,
Kodiak, Seward, Mat-Su and Palmer governments have passed
resolutions in support of SB 231.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR noted that Deven Mitchell was available to answer
questions.
MR. DEVEN MITCHELL, Debt Manager, Department of Revenue, told
members there is one technical issue with the Spring Creek
project. At present, bonds are outstanding for the Spring Creek
facility so it would be difficult to issue additional bonds with
a different structure if the City of Seward was going to be the
conduit or issuer of those bonds. Those bonds will mature in 2006
so if the legislation has a sunset date for that project, it will
have to be later than 2006 otherwise it would be excluded from
the financing.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR said that goes back to Senator Therriault's
question of how long the authorization will remain outstanding
and whether the legislation should contain a time limit.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked for more detail about the Spring Creek
situation.
MR. MITCHELL explained:
The Spring Creek facility has State of Alaska
certificates of participation outstanding on it. They
have been advanced, refunded once, and then [currently]
refunded a second time so the bonds that are currently
outstanding through 2006 couldn't be refunded again
under the tax code. So, if you were to issue new bonds,
there's already a lien, if you will, placed against the
Spring Creek facility. There's a lease in place
providing security to bond purchasers so you couldn't
refinance with a different issuer until those bonds
[reached] maturity. You could issue those bonds on a
parity basis per the existing bond agreement but you'd
have to have the same issuer, which, with this
legislation, it would be the City of Seward. The
current issuer is the State of Alaska.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked if that means that project would not be
able to go forward until the year 2006.
MR. MITCHELL said that is correct.
MR. BOB HERRON, representing the City of Bethel, stated support
for SB 231. He noted Bethel houses the Yukon Kuskokwim
Correctional Facility as a regional jail. Bethel is a hub for
about 20,000 who live in that region. The city council is in full
support of the legislation and asks the committee to move the
bill to the next committee of referral.
MR. JOHN WILLIAMS, Mayor, City of Kenai, informed members he is
representing the City Council and the community of Kenai who
support SB 231 as written. He pointed out the City of Kenai is a
first class home rule city with extra territorial powers so it
has the ability to issue bonds and construct beyond its
boundaries. He noted Wildwood is just outside the boundary of the
City of Kenai but the city has legal authority to operate it. Mr.
Williams said passage of SB 231 will put the issue of private
prisons aside. The issues of prisoner location and post-
incarceration location came up during a recent attempt to build a
prison in Kenai. Those issues will be resolved as prisoners will
be spread across the state. The use of existing infrastructure is
very important at this time when the state needs to control the
growth of government and expenditures. The issues associated with
requirements to relocate Alaskan prisoners to Alaska will be
taken care of.
MR. WILLIAMS said the question of whether the community would
support a prison has come up in former hearings. The community
voted overwhelmingly in opposition to a private prison. However,
he believes it is an absolute fact that the community will
support the addition of 256 beds at Wildwood. He repeated the
city council has discussed SB 231 at length and endorses the
concept of spreading beds throughout the state.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked Mr. Williams if he is aware of any state
prison facility ever built in Alaska where the state waited for
an advisory vote from the community before it was built.
MR. WILLIAMS said not to his recollection.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR said he doesn't remember any advisory votes on
the Spring Creek or Lemon Creek facilities either. He noted that
once a prison is built, every community that has one wants it
expanded. Chairman Taylor thanked Mr. Williams and took testimony
from Kodiak.
MS. LINDA FREED, City Manager of Kodiak, informed members the
Kodiak City Council and the Kodiak Island Borough passed a
resolution in support of SB 231. Kodiak serves as the regional
jail facility for all of the Kodiak Island Borough and part of
the Alaska Peninsula. They appreciate the regional approach in SB
231 for all of the reasons previously stated. SB 231 is very
significant for Kodiak as it is running a state contract jail in
partnership with the state in a building that is over 60 years
old. Kodiak is in a position where it either needs to rebuild or
close the facility because of liability issues. At this point,
Kodiak must pick up the entire liability cost for that facility.
As the jail ages, the liability to the City of Kodiak and its
taxpayers increases exponentially. The City believes that
rebuilding the facility will be a cost saving measure for the
state as well as Kodiak. Without this facility, the state will
incur incredible transportation costs for prisoners. The City of
Kodiak is committed to putting land into this project and it is
hoping to build a multi-use facility with a police station so it
will absorb some of the costs identified in the fiscal note. She
urged members to pass SB 231 to the next committee of referral.
MR. STEVE SWEET, representing Public Employees Local 71, stated
support for SB 231 and said by expanding existing facilities, the
state will save thousands of dollars by not having to duplicate
existing infrastructures. He questioned why Alaskans can't use
the $20 million to house prisoners in Arizona. Alaska contractors
and residents should benefit by building the new expansions for
the correctional facilities. He noted if the state hopes to
rehabilitate prisoners, it is extremely important they be near
their families for support. He stated the expanded prisons should
be operated publicly, by professionals. It makes economic sense
to expand existing facilities.
SENATOR COWDERY asked Mr. Sweet if the administrative sections of
the existing prisons would be adequate to cover the expansions or
whether those sections will have to expand also.
MR. SWEET said he believes there is adequate administration in
place.
SENATOR COWDERY announced that the committee would hold the bill
until Chairman Taylor returned and that the committee would take
up SB 302.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR said he is seriously concerned about the issue
raised by Senator Therriault that there be some limitation placed
on two provisions within SB 231. The first is the unlimited
aspect of authorization and whether some parameters should be
placed on that provision. The second concern is whether or not
the bill should contain an automatic ratchet on the 3 percent. He
felt that is a fiscal matter that should be taken up by the
Senate Finance Committee. He then announced that he would hold
the bill in committee and bring it up again the following day and
adjourned the meeting at 2:58 p.m.
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