Arkansas Gov. Sanders signals no halt on proposed prison
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Signs posted across the road from the proposed prison site in Franklin County earlier this year. Photo: Worth Sparkman/Axios
Facing vocal opposition, limited funding and logistical challenges, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the state Board of Corrections appear committed to Franklin County as the site for a new prison.
Why it matters: The prison will likely cost close to $1 billion — or more — lawmakers say, and would be one of the largest investments in recent state history.
The big picture: Sanders continues to support addressing the state's prison overcrowding "by building a 3,000-bed prison in Franklin County," a spokesperson said in an emailed statement Friday.
- "We will also be able to continue the path of what we have been doing and open up additional beds, hopefully in existing spaces," Sanders said in an interview with the AP and Arkansas Democrat-Gazette last week. "That is not going to be enough to meet the demand, so the new prison is definitely still a big priority and I am confident that we'll get it done."
Context: Arkansas prisons frequently have more inmates than capacity, data analyzed by Axios shows, so each month about 2,000 people remain in county jails while awaiting a bed in a prison.
The state Board of Corrections last week approved hiring HDR Inc. of Nebraska and Cromwell Architects Engineers of Little Rock for the prison's design.
- Today is the deadline for submissions to a request for proposal from general contractors, so the reviewing process will begin soon.
State of play: Arkansas doesn't have spending authority for the controversial project. An appropriations bill failed to clear the Senate after five rounds of voting before the Legislature adjourned last week.
- The prison is estimated to cost $825 million, according to the management company overseeing the project, but the final total could be higher due to tariffs, import taxes and labor costs.
- State Sen. Bryan King (R-Green Forest), a vocal opponent of the prison, estimates it could cost $1.5 billion.
Sen. Ricky Hill (R-Cabot) said he voted against the appropriations bill because he didn't feel there was enough transparency about the project.
- "Am I for a prison and locking inmates up? Yes, I am 100%," he told Axios. "I just want to be transparent and get all the information necessary to make a wise decision for one of the largest investments this state has ever made, which will be a billion dollars — roughly."
Between the lines: Without the $750 million in spending authority, the state's ability to move forward is limited to an existing $75 million previously allotted to the Department of Corrections.
- The department could request approval for a temporary appropriations increase from $330 million in set-aside funds earmarked in 2023 for expanding prison capacity, though the funds weren't specifically designated for the Franklin County project.
Sanders' spokesperson did not address Axios' questions about next steps for funding or a possible special session.
What they're saying: "My concerns primarily are the location. I mean, it's just terrible," Franklin County Judge Rickey Bowman, told Axios. "It's going to cost the taxpayers an ungodly … amount of money."
- Neither the governor's office nor the state Department of Corrections has been in continual contact with Bowman on the project since the early days following the Oct. 31 announcement, he said.
- "Arkansans do not want this project to move forward, and to continue to ignore their will subverts everything this state stands for," said Adam Watson, executive director of Gravel & Grit, an advocacy group that opposes the Franklin County project.
"We're collateral damage, OK?" said Bowman, who believes Franklin County's lack of voting clout has led the governor to disregard county opinions on the prison.