SENATE MEMORIAL 7

55th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2021

INTRODUCED BY

Bill B. O'Neill

 

 

 

 

 

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE NEW MEXICO LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TO APPOINT A JOINT SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE INTERIM COMMITTEE THAT ADDRESSES ISSUES OF COURTS, CORRECTIONS AND JUSTICE AND THE INTERIM COMMITTEE THAT ADDRESSES ISSUES OF ECONOMIC AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT TO STUDY STRATEGIES TO MITIGATE THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF CLOSING PRIVATE PRISONS.

 

     WHEREAS, three decades after private prisons rose in popularity with a cost savings promise of twenty to thirty percent, the federal department of justice and the federal government accountability office concluded that privatization of prisons has resulted in savings on the order of one percent, which was achieved by lowered staffing levels; and

     WHEREAS, there are seven private prisons in New Mexico: Guadalupe county correctional facility in Santa Rosa, Lea county correctional facility in Hobbs, northwest New Mexico correctional center in Grants, Otero county prison facility and Otero county processing center in Chaparral, Torrance county detention facility in Estancia and Cibola county correctional center in Milan; and

     WHEREAS, in 2007, after New Mexico invested heavily in privatizing incarceration, the legislative finance committee determined that private contractors were charging New Mexico higher per diem rates than other states, and those contracts were never renegotiated for lowered rates; and

     WHEREAS, when Estancia's private prison closed between 2017 and 2019, the loss of two hundred three jobs caused substantial workforce displacement in the area and reduced Torrance county's tax revenue significantly, while increasing the cost and burden on the Torrance county sheriff's office; and

     WHEREAS, the closure of private prisons is a national movement supported by the new administration in Washington, D.C.; and

     WHEREAS, with the closure of private prisons, the state would have a unique opportunity to reallocate some correctional resources to improve and support evidence-based community interventions and other initiatives that would result in using state correctional funding more effectively; and

     WHEREAS, although private prisons have not lived up to their promise to be cost-effective or to be a significant economic driver, their loss will have a substantial effect on the state correctional system and state and local economies, and the state will need to find ways to mitigate those effects, including the consequences of closures on state prisons, private prison employees and local economies; 

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the New Mexico legislative council be requested to appoint a joint subcommittee of the interim committee that addresses issues of courts, corrections and justice and the interim committee that addresses issues of economic and rural development to examine the state and local economic impacts and the effects on families and communities of ending private prison contracts in New Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that part of that examination include studying measures that may be taken to mitigate the economic impacts, including attention to potential local economic diversification measures and business supports; potential correctional improvements, such as decriminalization initiatives, reducing inmate overclassification, evidence-based alternatives to incarceration, changes in parole revocation policies and evidence-based community interventions; and workforce displacement needs, such as access to job training, livable wages and short-term social and mental health services; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the governor be requested to support the subcommittee's efforts by asking the local government division of the department of finance and administration, the economic development department, the corrections department and other agencies of state government to assist the subcommittee; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the subcommittee be requested to report its findings and recommendations to the interim committees, the New Mexico legislative council, the legislative finance committee and the governor by October 15, 2021; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor and the director of the legislative council service for distribution to the New Mexico legislative council, the interim committee that addresses issues of courts, corrections and justice and the interim committee that addresses issues of economic and rural development.

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