Private prison seeks TX expansion despite lack of demand

Corrections Corporation of America, recently renamed CoreCivic, wants to take over the former Al Price juvie unit in Beaumont and convert it into a "secure" facility aimed at reducing reentry and lowering recidivism among drug-addicted adults. They envision a "behind the fence facility, where inmates would receive treatment for substance abuse addictions."

Of course, a cynic might note that there's no such new facility in TDCJ's budget request, which is focused more on where to make cuts mandated by legislative leadership. So the private prison company is banking on having enough political clout to inject the idea into the state legislative process, even though none of the state actors involved are asking for the unit.

Local officials in Beaumont are being sold a bill of goods and should invest no taxpayer funds in incentives to support the venture. In a budget-starved session like the one we're about to enter, believing the Lege will pony up for new a secure facility no one asked for amounts to buying a pig in a poke.