While not technically a bill in its own right, this Friday, March 12, the Joint Budget Committee will be finalizing the Department of Corrections (DOC) budget for the upcoming fiscal year. As part of its 2010-2011 budget request, the DOC is asking for $10.8 million to open one administrative segregation tower at the Colorado State Penitentiary II (CSP 2). This request is stunning because it comes on the heels of recent cuts for prison vocational and educational programs ($3 million) and wrap-around services for parolees ($1.8 million). DOC officials claim the "super-max" beds in this new tower are needed to protect prison staff and to prevent prisoner-on-prisoner violence, but the DOC's own statistics don't support its claim. DOC needs more mental-health services and more well-trained staff, not more super-max beds. 

Year

2010

Current status

  • 03/12/2010 Final Discussion by Joint Budget Committee