LANSING -- The state would close and privatize a 1,300-bed prison in Ionia and three juvenile detention facilities and make significant cuts to prison support staff under budget bills moving quickly through the Legislature.
The changes are part of a budget being built by lawmakers that adds big cuts and privatization incentives to what was largely a standpat spending plan put forward by Gov. Rick Snyder.
Snyder and Budget Director John Nixon proposed a 3% bump in the general fund to $9 billion, signaling a shift to reinvestment after years of austerity. But House and Senate lawmakers -- spooked by a reported dip in anticipated state revenues -- have identified more than $100 million in additional savings.
Despite signs of a recovery, "there are a lot of unknowns out there," said Rep. Chuck Moss, R-Birmingham, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. "Unknowns basically tell us that we need to be cautious."
Major changes to the budget Snyder recommended include:
• In the House version of the Department of Corrections budget, closure of the Michigan Reformatory in Ionia and shifting of its 1,300 inmates to a private prison at an estimated net savings of $7.1 million.
• In the House version of the Department of Human Services budget, closure of three juvenile justice facilities and transfer of their 90 residents to private facilities for a net savings of $4.3 million.
• In the Senate version of the Corrections budget, elimination of 580 supervisors, secretaries, librarians and other support staff to save an estimated $58.8 million.
• In the Senate version of the Human Services budget, privatization of all child welfare services in Kent County, except child protective services. Anticipated savings are not specified.
• In the House version of the Human Services budget, requiring a three-county pilot project to privatize Medicaid eligibility determination.
Sen. Roger Kahn, R-Saginaw, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said he expects the Senate version of the general fund budget will put spending at about $130 million below what Snyder recommended. Cuts recommended by the House, though different, also exceed $100 million.
The Senate has approved all budgets except for higher education and general government, which are expected to be approved today. The House has approved all but the School Aid Fund budget, also expected to be approved today. Differences between the House and Senate versions, which are significant, are to be resolved by a conference committee.
Though nothing can be finalized before the May 16 revenue-estimating conference -- where economic experts predict how much tax revenue the state is likely to collect -- the Legislature is on track to meet its self-imposed June 1 deadline for completing a budget. No budget had been approved that early for decades until last year, when Snyder pushed for a process that, for a change, didn't flirt with a state government shutdown as the Oct. 1 start of a new fiscal year approached.
Kahn said some cuts could be restored if reports at the revenue conference show tax receipts continuing to recover from the levels of the recession. He said he's "becoming more optimistic" that's the case.
The proposed cuts to Corrections and Human Services have alarmed public-sector unions that won language in their recent contracts giving them a defined role in identifying ways the state can save money.
Union leaders say privatization efforts attempted under former Republican Gov. John Engler were largely failures, and they can recommend other ways to save that don't primarily involve the loss of public-sector jobs.
Moss said much has changed since Engler tried to step up privatization efforts, including the high legacy costs associated with state employees. It makes sense to see what savings can be found by contracting out, he said.
But the budget changes also concern administration officials, who say they aren't sure where adults and juveniles in facilities slated for closure are supposed to be housed.
The House cut off funding for the Ionia prison effective Oct. 1. However, "without an alternative bed space, we wouldn't be able to close it without overcrowding other facilities," said John Cordell, a spokesman for the Corrections Department.
It's expected most prisoners would move to the private former youth prison in Baldwin, which closed in 2005 and is frequently cited as an example of a failed Engler privatization initiative.
But Cordell noted legislation to allow such a move has not yet been approved.
The 580 staff positions the Senate would eliminate involve performance of important Corrections functions, Cordell said. It's possible to "start jeopardizing prisoner safety, officer safety and public safety when you make deep cuts," he said.
Ray Holman, legislative liaison for UAW Local 6000, said the state's three public juvenile detention centers typically house the most troubled youth who couldn't be successfully placed in private facilities. Their additional needs make comparisons of the per diem costs between public and private facilities meaningless, Holman said.
But Rep. David Agema, R-Grandville, chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on human services, said there are private facilities that can handle the 90 juveniles at significantly lower costs.
Holman said cuts to the prisons budget are on top of the elimination of 100 vacant probation and parole officer positions in Snyder's budget recommendation. The cuts come amid renewed concerns about supervision of offenders and the suspension of a probation officer following a fatal baseball bat attack in Farmington Hills. The suspect in the April 16 attack, a probationer, had failed to report but had not been picked up.
"There's nothing more fundamental for government to do than protect its citizens," but the budget moves Michigan in the opposite direction, Holman said.
Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, said GOP lawmakers howled with outrage under former Gov. Jennifer Granholm after an incident like the one in Farmington Hills.
But they've said nothing about the incident in which Tucker Cipriano, 19, along with an accomplice, allegedly killed his father, Robert Cipriano, and severely injured his mother and brother, she said.
Now, "they're actually saying we can cut more money out of the system," Whitmer said.
Sen. John Proos, R-St. Joseph, chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on corrections, said public safety is paramount in any spending decisions related to the prison system, followed by value for taxpayers.
"This is a budget that has for decades built up layers of bureaucracy and silos of responsibility that make it very challenging," Proos said.
Daniel Manville, an assistant professor and director of the Civil Rights Clinic at MSU College of Law, said cutting library services for prisoners could lead to heightened tension and discipline problems, as well as lawsuits by prisoners guaranteed access to law libraries by judges interpreting the U.S. Constitution.
More Details: Big budget changes
The state House and Senate are expected to complete passage of all budget bills today, with both making big changes to what Gov. Rick Snyder recommended, including:
House version
• In the Department of Corrections, closure of the Michigan Reformatory in Ionia.
• In the Department of Human Services, closure of all three juvenile justice facilities.
• In Human Services, requiring a three-county pilot project to privatize the process of determining eligibility for Medicaid.
Senate version
• In Corrections, elimination of 580 supervisors, secretaries, librarians and other support staff.
• In Human Services, privatizing all child welfare services in Kent County, except protective services.
More Details: Next steps
With the state House and Senate each expected to finish up their versions of the 2013 state budget today, the Legislature is on track to beat last year's May completion of the budget, which was the earliest in three decades.
What's next:
• At a May 16 revenue-estimating conference, economic experts will give their assessments of how much tax money the state can anticipate -- crucial information for finalizing the budget.
• Conference committee meetings will be held in May to work out differences between the House and Senate versions of the budget.
• June 1 is the Legislature's self-imposed deadline for sending a completed budget to Gov. Rick Snyder.
• Sept. 30 is the absolute deadline because a state government shutdown would result if a budget is not in place before the next fiscal year starts Oct. 1.
**This information is being shared by Citizens for Prison Reform for purely informational purposes.
Citizens for Prison Reform
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