State lawmakers endorsed a plan on Thursday to buy the private prison near Kingman and save Arizona millions through refinancing.
In a split vote, the Joint Committee on Capital Review gave a favorable assessment of the plan to buy the prison.
The deal, which is projected to be done this fall, is expected to save the state about $78 million over nine years.
The GEO Group Inc. took over the prison’s contract after state officials severed ties with Management & Training Corporation, which operated the facility during days of riots in 2015.
While buying the prison allows GEO to option out of the contract, state officials hope giving the company about $1.7 million from this year’s savings will help convince it to continue running the facility. That money will go toward pay raises for prison staff, and it’s projected to increase to about $2.5 million a year going forward.
Keeping the prison well-staffed is best for public safety, as low pay led to high turnover at the facility, which contributed to the riots, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections.
The rest of the savings will go toward healthcare inflation adjustment at state-run corrections facilities, and a Northern Regional Community Corrections Center in Maricopa County.
As part of the favorable review, corrections officials must go back to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee for approval once they decide how to use roughly $2 million per year in additional savings.
