NEWS

February 18, 2008
Capitol Update: Lawmakers deliberate Iowa's prisons

Prisons aren't at the top of the list of spending priorities for many Iowa taxpayers.

If the state is going to spend more money on infrastructure improvements, most would rather see the state pitch more money into road maintenance and schools.

But that lack of willingness to spend on prisons in recent years has driven up the cost when state leaders eventually decide a new facility should be built.

Some at the Statehouse think the long wait should end.

Gov. Chet Culver wants to spend just over a quarter of a billion dollars on Iowa's corrections system, which includes new prison construction and upgrades. At the top of his list is replacing the outdated prison in Fort Madison. The penitentiary was built in 1839 when Iowa was still a territory.

Many believe the prison has outlived its usefulness and would make a better museum than home to some of the state's most violent offenders.

Two years ago, the prison saw the escape of two inmates serving life terms. Culver argues a new facility would improve security and cut down on the chances of another escape.

By Culver's estimate, building a prison at Fort Madison would cost more than $130 million. Legislators are studying the idea of bonding to pay for the construction.

Like other instances when the state is ready to make a multi-million dollar investment, other parts of the state want in on the action. Rural communities struggling to bring new jobs to the area know a prison provides a stable supply of jobs and could serve as an economic engine.

A handful of Republicans are questioning whether Fort Madison is the right home for a new prison. They point to its remote location in the southeastern corner of the state, which they say makes transporting inmates there more difficult. Locating a new prison near an existing facility where resources could be shared might make more sense, they say.

Others counter that a trained work force already exists in Fort Madison and hiring a brand new work force in another part of the state would bring extra expense.

But first, Iowa lawmakers must find a way to pay for it. Complicating matters is a state budget with few dollars to devote to new spending initiatives.

Lawmakers last year decided they would devote new money to giving public school teachers a raise and expanding preschool programs to youngsters.

Those spending commitments make it more difficult to fund Culver's prison proposal without financing the proposal through bonding.

GOP lawmakers have cried foul on the bonding idea, comparing it to putting a new prison on Iowa's credit card and taking several years to pay it off.

They argue prison upgrades should be paid for out of the state infrastructure fund, a pool of dollars devoted specifically to those types of projects.

Election-year politics also could play into the decision. Democrats, who took control of both chambers in the 2006 election, already are sensitive to charges they are spending too much money since they gained the majority.

Culver has pledged to maintain fiscal discipline, but he's not up for re-election this year. Three-quarters of the Legislature's seats are up for re-election this fall, and Republicans already are accusing Democrats of setting up the state for tax increases.

Not spending $130 million to build a prison might be a more politically smart decision. But if lawmakers decide to take no action, they're taking a risk that another high-profile escape could occur at Fort Madison.

Neither choice probably looks appealing to some Democrats right now, who are finding out that being in charge comes with making tough decisions they might rather not make.

BACK TO NEWS PAGE