The state department in charge of Michigan’s prisons is not happy with a proposed spending plan in the state Legislature.
A spending plan for the Michigan Department of Corrections passed out of a state House committee. It would redirect millions of dollars that previous budgets had allocated for certain projects – like prison maintenance – to other priorities.
State Representative Thomas Albert (R-Lowell) is chair of the House Corrections subcommittee.
“We have the power of the purse and we have the authority to repurpose funds that were used in the past,” he says.
The department is concerned this would mean it wouldn’t be able to finance the completion of major ongoing projects, such as the new Vocational Village at the women’s prison.
Chris Gautz is a spokesman for the MDOC.
“This new system that they’re trying to put in place, all it does is move around the state’s problems and doesn’t actually solve them,” he says.
GOP lawmakers say they’re trying to fund a number of priorities within the department, but they’re willing to keep working with the MDOC.
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