Lawmakers eye more prison beds (2024)

HELENA — Citing an unprecedented surge in state inmates, Montana lawmakers convening on corrections issues Tuesday committed to addressing a 500-prison-bed shortage during the 2025 Legislature.

Construction costs per bed were estimated at $216,000.

“We have a situation with our prison population, both male and female, that’s fundamentally out of control, where there’s not very much that we’re going to be able to do to stop it within the epidemic of crime, not really in Montana, but across this country,” said Rep. John Fitzpatrick, R-Anaconda. “We have to deal with the issue.”

The Select Committee on Corrections Facility Capacity and System Development discussed the need for prison beds during its Tuesday meeting, with the goal of finalizing recommendations for the Legislature by mid-September.

Two additional housing units at Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge are expected to cost $128.5 million in 2025 dollars, and would come on line in 2028. Waiting until 2035 would push the cost to $202 million, the Department of Administration Architecture and Engineering Division estimated.

Additionally, the state women’s prison in Billings could use 450 to 500 more beds than it currently has at a cost of $283 to $402 million, depending on the size and location of facility additions. The Department of Corrections is in talks with Yellowstone County about the possibility of building a shared facility near the current Yellowstone County Detention Center, Corrections Director Brian Gootkin said.

“We want to be a partner. We don’t want to do the same mistakes that we’ve made in the past, where they operate it, we pay them a per diem, and it’s never enough, and it’s just a really bad situation,” Gootkin said. “What I recommended is, if and when it ever happens, we operate it, we share costs, we share utilities, we share medical, that type of thing, but we staff it. We pay for our own operations, they pay for theirs, and it’s a true partnership.”

Later on Tuesday, DOC clarified that it would insist on operating the state inmate side of a shared facility with Yellowstone County.

There aren’t enough beds in the state prison system to accommodate incoming inmates. There are currently 474 state inmates in county jails, with 178 of those awaiting transfer to the state prison, Gootkin said. The overflow prompted Gootkin to contract 200 Montana prisoners to a private prison in Arizona, he said. Part of the problem stemmed from contract negations over beds at the Missoula County Detention Facility that couldn’t be reconciled.

“We were unable to come up with an agreement with Missoula County. Therefore, I had 144 beds that I had to take care of immediately,” Gootkin said. “So I made that decision.” Legislators weren’t informed of the move in advance, for which Gootkin apologized.

Additionally, the lawmakers are reviewing $41 million in infrastructure improvements needed to accommodate a current build for low-security inmates at the men’s prison. The 50-year-old prison water system needs a $10 million replacement. The sewer system needs a $16.3 million replacement. Fencing around new prison units is expected to cost $7.7 million.

In 2023 the Legislature allocated $219 million for Montana State Prison facilities, including $156 million to replace low-security housing units. The two additional pods discussed Tuesday would put the prison’s capacity for low-security housing at 1,250 to 1,300.

With the funding approved by the 2023 Legislature, roofing upgrades should be finished this fall, according to the corrections department, followed by the renovation of Unit D, to be completed in September 2025, and infrastructure improvements to finish in September 2026. Construction of the Wallace Building addition is expected to finish in March 2027, followed by new low-security housing construction to be completed by October 2027. The final project, construction of a programs building, should be completed in September 2028. Sletten Construction, of Great Falls, is the general contractor.

This story was updated Aug. 28 to include additional information provided by the Department of Corrections.