Bill > HR010

This Resolution, passed by the Idaho House of Representatives, officially supports the Idaho Department of Correction's request for $112.4 million from the Permanent Building Fund, a state fund used for construction projects, to build a new prison specifically for women. The resolution highlights several key findings that led to this decision, including the current overcrowding in Idaho's prisons which forces the state to house inmates in private, out-of-state facilities or county jails. A 2020 report indicated that building a new prison would be more cost-effective than continuing these arrangements, and importantly, that county jails and out-of-state prisons do not offer the same rehabilitation and reentry programs that state facilities provide. The plan also involves repurposing the existing South Boise Women's Correctional Center into a minimum-security men's facility, which, along with other housing adjustments, would create approximately 700 additional beds for male inmates. The proposed new women's prison would have 848 beds and be located at the Department of Correction complex in Kuna.