(The Center Square) – Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is recommending an additional $372 million for the Department of Corrections, which includes a 4% pay raise for correctional officers.
State behavioral counselors will see an 8% pay bump, and salaries for education, chaplain, food service, and maintenance positions will also increase by 4% if approved by the General Assembly, according to a release.
The governor is proposing $40 million for a new state prison and funding to add 446 beds to a private prison.
The recommendations come after scrutiny of the system. The U.S. Department of Justice said inmates are not protected from physical and sexual violence in a 93-page report issued in October.
Kemp commissioned the consulting firm Guidehouse to asses the prison system in 2024.
Staffing is the most significant challenge his department faces, Department of Corrections Commissioner Tyrone Oliver told a House of Representatives committee in November.
“We lose most of our applicants within the first two years,” Oliver told the Special Subcommittee of Appropriations on State Prisons during its first meeting. “We don’t have a problem getting applicants. The problem occurs in the application process. Eighty percent of them don’t make it through whether it’s they don’t show up for the interview, background checks get them or they have a poor interview.”
The Joint Meeting of the House and Senate Appropriations Committee heard the recommendations from Oliver in a meeting Tuesday.
“In recent months, we have heard from various stakeholders on what needs to be done to address the challenges currently facing Georgia’s prisons,” said House Appropriations Chairman Matt Hatchett. “These exceptional recommendations address pressing issues by dedicating the funding and resources needed to ensure the safety of our communities, inmates and those who work in our prisons.”
The governor included a funding request for a five-person “Tiger Team” that would focus on repairs to prison locks, locking controls and security electronics.
“Prisons are for punishment and rehabilitation – not TikTok. We must block cell signals in our prisons for employee, inmate, and public safety,” said Senate Appropriations Chairman Sen. Blake Tillery.
The funding will go before the General Assembly, which convenes on Monday.