- Collection:
- Georgia Government Publications
- Serial:
- Press release.
- Title:
- Press release [Dec. 19, 2003D]
- Creator:
- Georgia. General Assembly. House. Public Information Office
- Contributor to Resource:
- Georgia. General Assembly. House. Public Information Office
- Publisher:
- Atlanta, Ga. : Georgia. General Assembly. House. Public Information Office
- Date of Original:
- 2003-12-19
- Subject:
- Georgia
- Location:
- United States, Georgia, 32.75042, -83.50018
- Medium:
- publications (documents)
- Type:
- Text
- Format:
- application/pdf
- Description:
- Open access; Unrestricted online access star GAGAL
July 29, 2002B; title from Georgia Government Publications citation, viewed September 19, 2007. - External Identifiers:
- Call Number GA L412 .P1 P7 2003/12-19D
- Metadata URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/id:dlg_ggpd_i-ga-bl412-b-pp1-bp7-b2003-s12-h19d-belec-p-btext
- Digital Object URL:
- https://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/do:dlg_ggpd_i-ga-bl412-b-pp1-bp7-b2003-s12-h19d-belec-p-btext
- Language:
- eng
- Holding Institution:
- University of Georgia. Map and Government Information Library
- Rights:
-
12-1916-5070 For Immediate Release
House Information Office Room 505, Legislative Office Building
18 Capitol Square 30334 404-656-5082 1-800-282-5800
December 19, 2003
Inmates could have Paying Jobs Under Legislation
Hope is to Offset Cost of Incarceration
Atlanta House legislators who serve on the Corrections Sub-committee met recently to discuss HB 398 which would allow inmates in state and county penal institutions to have jobs in the private sector. Under the bill, the state would be required to apply for the federal Prisoner Industry Enhancement Certification Program. If approved, the corrections department could enter into contracts with companies seeking to hire volunteer inmates for work outside of prison in industries such as construction, food processing and agriculture where jobs can be hard to fill.
Representative Barbara Massey Reece, D-Menlo, who chairs the Sub-committee said, "Working would allow inmates to gain job skills and compensate victims for their crimes. It could also help pay for our prison system which is facing severe cuts in this revenue shortfall. However, we do not want to shortchange the valuable services now performed for local governments with inmate labor or take away jobs from taxpaying citizens. I look forward to gathering more information before making a final decision."
The hope is to offset the cost of incarceration, which averages $17,500 a year per inmate, and gradually transition them back into society. HB 398 allows inmates to keep 20 percent of their earnings. The rest would go to compensate victims of crimes and help cover the cost of incarceration.
Georgia's prison system is the sixth largest in the nation and faces budget cuts because of the revenue shortfall. Governor Perdue has asked all agencies to reduce their spending plans by 5 percent in FY 05.
There are around 40 other states now taking part in the program. Currently inmates can only work on public projects and are not paid for their labor.
The Corrections Sub-committee will meet in the next couple of weeks to hear from experts and debate the legislation further before making a final recommendation.
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For further information please contact Rep. Reece at 404-656-0305.