Those in the Department of Corrections are holding their breaths legislators will pass a budget that takes them through next year.
“We won’t breathe easy until the dotted line is signed,” said Jeremy Barclay, a spokesman for the department.
For good reason.
The DOC was the only department excluded from the two-year budget drafted by legislators last year.
To his credit, Gov. Brownback refused to sign the legislation that cut $8.5 million for this year, and $10 million for fiscal year 2015 from the state prison system.
Instead, Brownback line-item vetoed certain provisions, and the department has been able to keep its doors open by operating on a “minimum” budget.
Legislators made the cuts on the assumption new community corrections programs and changes in sentencing guidelines would result in reduced numbers of incarcerations from those on probation.
TODAY, the Senate has proposed $408.3 million while the House favors $406.5 million for the DOC.
The current budget has been $403 million.
The Senate version calls for 28 additional corrections officers at a women’s facility in Topeka, in keeping with the recommendations of an audit.
House members say half that number is adequate.
The House version also reduces allowances for educational programs at juvenile facilities in Larned and Topeka.
Even so, a middle ground should not be too difficult to find, but does nothing to address the future.
State prisons are at capacity.
