Gov. Brian Kemp is proposing a big burst of new spending on Georgia’s prisons, including planning another new correctional facility and launching an extensive renovation program.
Legislators are seeking solutions to a wide range of problems plaguing prisons that have sparked a federal investigation. Among them: a sharp increase in prisoner deaths; high rates of employee turnover and arrests for criminal activity; and a persistent problem with contraband cellphones and drugs.
Corrections Commissioner Tyrone Oliver on Tuesday unveiled a plan to amend the current year’s budget to spend $458 million before the end of June, and to increase spending in the year beginning July 1 by another $145 million.
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