Fee For Out Of State Prisoners - Oklahoma

— Private prisons operating in Oklahoma have been using the state’s resources and draining tax dollars — so they should have to pay a fee on every inmate they bring in from out-of-state.
That’s the contention of District 17 state Rep. Brian Renegar, D-Blanco. Renegar plans to file a bill which would require payments of $2 per inmate per day for every out-of-state inmate a private prison brings to Oklahoma.
The state has several thousand out-of-state inmates — and more are expected.
Oklahoma already has 4,375 out-of state inmates who are housed at private prisons in the state, Renegar said.
“They’re from Arizona, Idaho, Washington, Colorado, Vermont and Wyoming,” he said.
Another 820 inmates are scheduled to arrive from California this year, pushing the total to nearly 5,200.
“We’re becoming a penal colony,” Renegar told the News-Capital.
When one of those inmates escapes, Oklahoma has the expense of capturing the inmate — not the state which contracted to send the inmate here, he said.
“Oklahoma has to foot the bill,” Renegar said. An inmate at a private prison recently took a dentist and dental hygienist hostage, he said. The Oklahoma Department of Corrections had to send in its Correctional Emergency Response Team, Renegar said, noting one example of the use of state resources by private prison operators.
If Renegar’s bill passes, it would generate approximately $3.6 million annualy, based on the current numbers and projections.
“Any money generated would earmarked for mental health and drug abuse programs in the state’s prisons,” Renegar said.
He said better funding for the programs would reduce recidivism and lower the crime rate.
Out-of-state inmates who are incarcerated at private prisons in Oklahoma cause a drain on tax dollars in another way, Renegar said.
“When an inmate comes in from other states, a lot of times their families follow them,” Renegar said. “They don’t come here on Lear jets.”
Many times, the families receive benefits such as food stamps, he said.
“They burden our DHS system,” Renegar said, referring to benefits from the state Department of Human Services.
Renegar plans to file his bill by Jan. 17. District 7 state Sen. Richard Lerblance, D- Hartshorne, will carry the bill in the Senate, he said.
McAlester News