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Oklahoma
State Senate For Immediate Release: May 21, 2010 Lawmakers Call for Additional Funds for Corrections Before Legislature Adjourns Sine Die State Senators Kenneth Corn D-Poteau, and Richard Lerblance, D-Hartshorne, said reducing the Department of Corrections (DOC) budget by three percent will put members of the public and corrections employees at risk. The two lawmakers urged legislative leaders to work in the final days of the session to identify $46 million in additional funding. “With a three percent cut, DOC will be forced to reduce staffing to 71 percent,” Corn said. “All corrections employees will be forced to take 23 furlough days next year. With some prisons already understaffed, this makes a bad situation even more dangerous. $46 million is what they need just to maintain an essentially a stand-still budget. It would be wrong for us to go home before we address this critical issue.” Lerblance said he was also concerned because the 2011 DOC budget numbers were based on zero growth in the state’s inmate population. “But this last year alone, we added 700 new inmates to the system. I realize a lot of work went into finding ways to bridge the gap in the budget to make it balance—but I think our work is far from done. We simply must find a way to add additional funds to at least get DOC to a stand-still budget level,” Lerblance said. “If we don’t, the reality is at the very least we’re looking at the possibility of costly federal intervention, and even worse, we’re jeopardizing the lives of those charged with ensuring the state’s most dangerous criminals stay behind bars and away from law-abiding citizens.” For more information, contact:
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