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| Independent review of prisons needed |
| By azcentral.com |
| Published: 01/20/2014 |
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A spate of articles and opinions in The Arizona Republic has revived the debate over whether private, for-profit prisons are saving Arizona taxpayers money. In a recent opinion, Rep. John Kavanagh argues that the biannual cost comparison study that he helped to remove from statute is unnecessary due to new figures from the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (“Private prisons are keeping money in taxpayers’ pockets,” Viewpoints Saturday). Building upon this new information, we would like to invite Rep. Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, and his fiscally conservative colleagues to draft and support new legislation requiring an independent and objective cost and quality comparison review. Building upon the Department of Corrections cost comparison formula, this new bill would include all the specific factors that the representatives believes make private prisons cheaper —construction costs and pensions for guards. It would also factor in the costs that are absorbed by the state — medical care for prisoners, monitoring and enforcement of the contracts, and costs associated with defending against and settling lawsuits for mistreatment. Finally, it would look at the total costs over the life of the contract, in many cases lasting 20 years. These reviews should take place regularly —at least every two years— since the private prison contracts allow them to raise their per diem rates annually. Read More. |
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