THE MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

Introduction

Purpose and Authority

In accordance with Senate Bill 2005 (1994 First Extraordinary Session), the PEER Committee determined the state cost per inmate day for a proposed special needs facility. The Committee acted pursuant to MISS. CODE ANN. Section 5-3-57 (1972).

Method

In determining the state cost per inmate day, PEER:

• reviewed legislation allowing private entities to construct and operate a special needs facility [Senate Bill 2621 (1994 regular session)];
• interviewed Jerry Oakes, Director, Department of Finance and Administration, Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management;
• reviewed relevant Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) administrative, planning, and inmate records;
• interviewed MDOC personnel, including Eddie Lucas, former Commissioner of Corrections; John Grubbs, Deputy Commissioner for Community Services; Ken Crocker, Correctional Planner; Bill Stieger, Hospital Administrator; and Dr. Stanley Russell, Chief Psychiatrist;
• interviewed Jeff Washington, American Correctional Association; and,
• interviewed representatives of the Mississippi Department of Mental Health, Mississippi Hospital Association, and the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

Overview

PEER estimates the annual state cost per inmate day for a 500-bed special needs facility to be $51.96. In accordance with provisions of Senate Bill 2621, private sector entities interested in leasing a special needs facility to the state would have to do so at an annual cost not exceeding $46.76 per inmate day, ten percent below the $51.96 state cost per inmate day estimate computed by PEER.

The reader should note that PEER's state cost per inmate day amount is based on the most accurate data and information available from Department of Corrections staff at the time of estimation. However, should MDOC management significantly alter the assumptions upon which MDOC staff and the Corrections Auditor based their design, construction, and operational concept for the special needs facility as presented in this report, PEER's state cost per inmate day amount would change accordingly.

Relevant Provisions of Senate Bill 2621

The primary intent of SB 2621, the "Special Needs Prison Program of 1994," is to provide the Commissioner of Corrections with authority to contract for the placement of state inmates in special needs prison facilities provided by private entities. SB 2621 defines "special need" as "an inmate with diminished mental or physical health requiring specialized healthcare facilities or services." (The definition excludes HIV-positive inmates, who will continue to be treated in prison hospitals and/or their regular housing units.) SB 2621 does not mandate or provide funding for the construction and operation of a special needs facility by the Department of Corrections; the bill simply allows private entities to construct and operate such a facility for placement of state inmates.

SB 2621 authorizes the Commissioner of Corrections to negotiate rates and benefits for a private special needs facility based upon American Correctional Association standards, state law, and court orders. However, SB 2621 prevents the Department of Corrections from entering into a contract for a special needs facility unless such contract represents a savings of at least ten percent of PEER's projection of state cost per inmate day.

Governor Kirk Fordice signed SB 2621 on March 21, 1994, and the bill became effective on July 1, 1994. During the Legislature's extraordinary session in August, Department of Corrections staff reported to committees debating the prison construction issue that they were experiencing difficulty in computing a cost per inmate day with which to gauge the ten percent savings mandated by SB 2621.

Relevant Provisions of Senate Bill 2005

Senate Bill 2005 establishes the State Prison Emergency Construction and Management Board consisting of the Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and State Treasurer to expedite the contracting and construction of proposed public and private prison facilities and the removal of state inmates from county jails. Section 4, subsection (5) (a) states that the "State Prison Emergency Construction and Management Board may contract for the special needs facility and services authorized" in SB 2621.

Section 4, subsection (5) (b) of SB 2005 makes PEER responsible for computing the state medical cost per inmate day needed by the Department of Corrections to proceed with the contracting provisions of SB 2621, as follows:

No later than September 15, 1994, the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review shall determine the state medical cost per inmate day to use as a basis for measuring the validity of ten percent (10%) savings of the contractor cost.

The intent of SB 2005 is for the Department of Corrections to utilize the cost per inmate day amount determined by PEER as a benchmark to measure the ten percent savings required by SB 2621 from private entities contracting for a special needs facility.

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