By Scott Kaufman
Monday, March 31, 2014 9:34 EDT
Lobbyists for the private prison company GEO Group (click here) convinced lawmakers to include almost $1 million extra in funding despite the fact that the Arizona Department of Corrections claimed the money wasn’t needed.
Late last Friday, Arizona House Appropriations Chairman John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills) placed the extra funding into the budget because GEO Group’s lobbyists informed him that the company wasn’t profiting enough off of emergency beds it provides Arizona prisons.
“This is somebody getting a handout,” Arizona House Minority Leader Chad Campbell (D-Phoenix) said. “It’s unnecessary. This came out of nowhere — I mean that. No one said a word about it. It wasn’t in the Senate budget, it didn’t come as a request from DOC. There’s something really shady here.”...
The Republic
March 31, 2014
Private-prison lobbyists (click here) succeeded in getting state lawmakers to include nearly $1 million in extra funding in the state budget even though the Arizona Department of Corrections says the money isn't needed.
The eleventh-hour funding was placed into the budget by House Appropriations Chairman John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, who said GEO Group Inc. lobbyists informed him the company wasn't making enough money from the emergency beds it provides Arizona at prisons in Phoenix and Florence.
The request came even though GEO bid for its contracts and had agreed to previously negotiated rates with the Corrections Department, which guarantees the company nearly 100 percent occupancy at its prisons....
Monday, March 31, 2014 9:34 EDT
Lobbyists for the private prison company GEO Group (click here) convinced lawmakers to include almost $1 million extra in funding despite the fact that the Arizona Department of Corrections claimed the money wasn’t needed.
Late last Friday, Arizona House Appropriations Chairman John Kavanagh (R-Fountain Hills) placed the extra funding into the budget because GEO Group’s lobbyists informed him that the company wasn’t profiting enough off of emergency beds it provides Arizona prisons.
“This is somebody getting a handout,” Arizona House Minority Leader Chad Campbell (D-Phoenix) said. “It’s unnecessary. This came out of nowhere — I mean that. No one said a word about it. It wasn’t in the Senate budget, it didn’t come as a request from DOC. There’s something really shady here.”...
Since the late 1990’s, the number of people held in immigration detention has exploded. On any given day, ICE detains over 33,000 immigrants; this is more than triple the number of people detained in 1996. In the last 5 years alone, the annual number of immigrants detained and the costs of detaining them has doubled: in 2009, 383,524 immigrants were detained, costing taxpayers $1.7 billion at an average of $122 a day per bed. Nearly 2.5 million individuals have passed through immigration detention facilities since 2003....
Craig Harris and Yvonne Wingett SanchezThe Republic
March 31, 2014
Private-prison lobbyists (click here) succeeded in getting state lawmakers to include nearly $1 million in extra funding in the state budget even though the Arizona Department of Corrections says the money isn't needed.
The eleventh-hour funding was placed into the budget by House Appropriations Chairman John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, who said GEO Group Inc. lobbyists informed him the company wasn't making enough money from the emergency beds it provides Arizona at prisons in Phoenix and Florence.
The request came even though GEO bid for its contracts and had agreed to previously negotiated rates with the Corrections Department, which guarantees the company nearly 100 percent occupancy at its prisons....
