The Shapiro administration pointed to Rockview state prison and the Quehanna boot camp as options for closure in his $51.4 billion state budget proposal.
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration has provoked mixed reactions with the announcement of two state corrections facilities that a PA Department of Corrections (DOC) steering committee recommends closing. The proposed closures have been characterized as an attempt to offset the governor’s historically expensive budget proposal, which comes with a price tag of over $51 billion.
“I am grateful for the work of the DOC steering committee and the work done to help better allocate our funding, personnel, and other resources,” shared Dr. Laurel Harry, secretary of DOC, in a statement. “I know these decisions have a direct impact on our staff and supporting them through this process is a top priority.”
Harry went on to explain that all affected staff members would receive an offer of a job at the same pay rate and classification as their current role – though the new position offered could be as far as 67 miles away from the prior work location. The closures are expected to impact a combined total of nearly 900 staff members.
The closure announcement has caused widespread concern among Commonwealth prison guards. Their union, the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association (PSCOA), has expressed that prison closures and reallocation of prisoners to tighter quarters in other facilities would create “powder kegs of trouble” and threaten the safety of corrections officers.
“As we said last week, the department was conducting a dog-and-pony show because they already knew what facilities they wanted to close,” argued John Eckenrode, PSCOA president, in a statement condemning the move. “Instead, they tried to hide it by creating a so-called ‘DOC Steering Committee’ and hiring an out-of-state consultant to recommend which prisons to close.”
In the same press release announcing the two primary recommended closures, DOC also dropped the news that it will close two Community Corrections Centers (CCCs) in Berks and Greene counties. According to the Department, closing all four correctional facilities would free up approximately $10 million for the upcoming fiscal year – a notable fact as the state legislature gears up to debate the Commonwealth’s annual budget.
The Shapiro administration describes the governor’s spending proposal as a “commonsense plan” that “maintains a balanced budget” and saves “taxpayers millions of dollars by eliminating red tape and duplicative government programs.” Critics, however, have called the proposed budget “unsustainable,” noting the plan would increase spending by $3.57 billion – a 7.5 percent increase from the prior fiscal year.
“The governor’s budget certainly had no lack of increased spending to benefit his core supporting industries,” Sen. Wayne Langerholc (R-Cambria) stated. “Now he deals a blow to small rural counties to fund his inflated spending plan. Quehanna Boot Camp and SCI Rockview are well established, well-functioning, efficient facilities.”
In addition to his recommendations for corrections facility closures, Shapiro’s budget also proposes legalizing recreational adult-use marijuana and slot machine games of skill in order to increase tax revenue. The administration claims the projected combined total of new proposed revenue streams would provide the state with an additional $1 billion to allocate towards its annual spending.
