The State House Appropriations Committee this week voted to restore over seven million dollars to the County Jail Reimbursement Program. It allows counties around Michigan to house certain prison inmates that otherwise would have been the state's responsibility, and then get paid for it. The governor line item vetoed money for that program out of the budget last year, resulting in an effort to override the decision. State Representative John Proos says that, although that never happened, a compromise was reached in committee allowing for most of the reimbursement money to be restored. He says that the move makes sense, since it actually saves the state money to keep prisoners at county facilities:
State Representative Tonya Schuitmaker says that restoring money for the County Jail Reimbursement Program will benefit communities across the state:
Under the County Jail Reimbursement Program, a county is paid around 43 dollars a day for each state prisoner it takes. The appropriation must still be approved by the State House and Senate. Representative Proos expects that to happen soon.
WebReadyTM
Powered by WireReady® NSI
E-Mail
Print
