Moldy, crumbling and uninhabitable — those are the conditions at some of Oklahoma’s prisons.
The state may issue $116.5 million dollars in bonds for repairs and improvements to the facilities. Senator Roger Thompson said maintenance and repairs have been overlooked for too long.
"Whenever we looked at our prison system a few years ago, because of funding to the prison system, there was not even a repair fund until just two years ago," Thompson said.
Rep. Lewis Moore said state prisons’ current sad state is the result of four factors, including overcrowding from Oklahomans serving time related to drug and alcohol abuse.
"Sin is one of the things that we’re dealing with. Then we’ve got poor or neglected maintenance. We’ve got tough-on-crime policies and a population shift from the rural to the urban areas increasing operational costs," Moore said.
Rep. Cory Williams questioned some of the plans for the bond funding, like $4 million for new cars for the Department of Corrections. He said it’s unwise to buy assets that depreciate so quickly.
"The vehicles will be obsolete and retired before the lifecycle of the bond is done. We’re also buying a lot of phone systems in here. The phone systems won’t last 20 years," Williams said.
Supporters say with tens of millions of dollars in bond debt rolling off the books this year, the prison repair bonds won’t add much to the state debt. The bonds will not lead to a large influx of new beds, however, so Oklahoma will still need at least one new prison in the coming years at a cost of up to $400 million.
The legislature has passed Senate Bill 1590, which authorizes the Oklahoma Capitol Improvement Authority to issue the bonds on DOC's behalf. The bill will go to the governor.
