According to Friday's directive, the only exceptions listed in the letter are for school funding, for debt service on bonds, to "maintain benefits and eligibility in Medicaid" programs, the Children's Health Insurance Program and foster care programs , to maintain health and human services eligibility staffing and to keep the state pension and benefits programs properly funded.
That list does not include public safety and prison budgets that earlier got a partial exemption from the 5 percent cuts.
This was easy to see coming: If the state must actually cut $15-18 billion, there's no way cutting corrections costs can be taken off the table, with apologies to Sen. John Whitmire who advocates otherwise.
I actually believe it's possible to cut TDCJ's budget substantially - probably by more than 10% in the near term - if the 82nd Legislature enacts policy changes that reduce the prison population and allow closure of several of Texas' more expensive prison units. However, the cuts suggested by TDCJ when the state leadership previously asked for them are unrealistic and highly politicized, cutting things that would harm public safety and generally make no sense. I agree fully with Sen. Whitmire that those cuts should be rejected. But here's how I think the Texas Lege could substantially cut costs at TDCJ:
- Finish the 2007 probation reforms
- Ratchet down drug penalties one level
- Ramp up diversion and community supervision funding
- Close older, more expensive units and allow several private contracts to lapse
Instead, TDCJ has suggested slashing diversion funding, cutting health care to levels that would bring down federal litigation, reducing the number of guards without reducing the number of inmates, and has refusedto consider prison closures even though operating the agency's 112 units takes up 80+% of its budget.
IMO that's just a political tactic, telling the Legislature that if they want cuts, TDCJ administrators will try to make sure it's all the recent programming approved in the last two sessions that gets the axe first while prisons remain sacrosanct. That's the position TDCJ successfully took in 2003 and the result raised costs instead of lowered them; it'd be a shame if the Legislature took the same sucker bet again.
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6 comments:
Well Hell Grits, why don't you march down to the Capital and tell them your suggestions since they'e probably never heard from you before. lol
Plato
Now that you say so, Plato, maybe I'll have to mention it to them. :)
Let my husband go who is at Wayne Scott unit for a bad check he wrote 20 YEARS AGO! LMAO.
How about increasing the parole rate too per Tony Fabelo's suggestion in 2007?
http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2007/01/fabelo-plummeting-parole-rates.html
THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND,
SH, QUIET, DON'T MENTION "GOD" IN SCHOOL OR LATER IN COURT. "but" WHEN THAT LOST SOUL GETS OUT OF PRISON!
THEN THROUGH HIS PROBATION OR PAROLE EFFORTS MAKE SURE THEY GET RIDDLED WITH ALL THAT FAITH BASED GOOD STUFF!
How backwards is that!
Our whole country was established with school teaching from the Bible.
Just can't understand it.! Stupid!
backward political regs.
This agency has, since Mr. Scott retired, placed it's correctional officers in a very disrespected state. They have systematically sought to decrease the attitudes of their correctional officers to that of mere prison guards, which, in the officer's opinion reduces his importance. In an effort to meet budget restraints they have sought to decrease staff numbers by implementing a random drug testing policy which does not indicate impairment or any inability to do the job but instead a clear violation of people's constitutional rights. If you test positive for drug use you are fired and have no further means of
supporting your family because you are ineligible for unemployment. TDCJ disregards the fact that if the officers are treated in an unprofessional manner by their own employer they will certainly behave in an unprofessional manner, i.e. Bringing in contraband...n
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