CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES; PLACEMENT

Plain English Breakdown

The bill states savings may be used for education purposes but does not guarantee funding will occur.

Alaska SB126: Prison Placement and Cost Savings

This bill allows the commissioner of corrections to lower housing costs by combining facilities or placing prisoners out of state, while requiring a yearly report on estimated savings.

What This Bill Does

• Allows the commissioner to investigate ways to reduce prison housing costs.
• Permits consolidating existing correctional facilities into fewer locations.
• Authorizes placing prisoners in facilities located outside of Alaska.
• Requires that prisoners with more than seven years left on their sentence be housed separately from non-Alaska residents if sent out of state.
• Mandates the Department of Corrections to estimate yearly cost savings and report them as part of its annual submission.

Who It Names or Affects

• The Commissioner of Corrections
• Prisoners in Alaska correctional facilities
• The Department of Corrections

Terms To Know

Commissioner of Corrections

The official who leads the state agency that runs prisons.

Out-of-state facility

A prison or jail located in a different state than Alaska.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify which out-of-state facilities can be used.
• It is unclear how much money will actually be saved until the department makes its estimate.
• The legislature may choose to appropriate savings for education, but it is not required to do so.

Official Summary Text

CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES; PLACEMENT
An Act relating to correctional facilities; relating to the authority of the commissioner of corrections to designate the placement of prisoners; and requiring the Department of Corrections to estimate and report certain cost savings.

Current Bill Text

SB0126A -1- SB 126
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

34-LS0556\A

SENATE BILL NO. 126

IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA

THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION

BY SENATOR YUNDT

Introduced: 3/12/25
Referred: State Affairs, Finance

A BILL

FOR AN ACT ENTITLED

"An Act relating to correctional facilities; relating to the au thority of the commissioner 1
of corrections to designate the placement of prisoners; and req uiring the Department of 2
Corrections to estimate and report certain cost savings." 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 4
* Section 1. AS 33.30.061 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 5
(e) The commissioner may investig ate and take action to reduce the cost of 6
housing prisoners by 7
(1) consolidating existing facilities; 8
(2) designating placement of a prisoner at an out-of-state facility. 9
(f) If a prisoner's remaining term of imprisonment exceeds seven years and the 10
commissioner designates placement at an out-of-state facility under (e) of this section, 11
the commissioner shall ensure the prisoner is housed exclusivel y apart from prisoners 12
who are not residents of this state. 13
(g) The department shall annuall y estimate the cost savings re sulting from the 14
34-LS0556\A
SB 126 -2- SB0126A
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

actions taken under (e) of this section and include the cost sa vings estimate as part of 1
the information compiled and submitted by the department under AS 37.07.050. The 2
legislature may appropriate an amount equal to the annual cost savings estimate for 3
education purposes. 4