HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania senators peppered state corrections officials at a hearing this morning with questions about the safety, savings and speed of a plan to close two prisons this year.
The questions from senators whose districts include or are near prisons on the closure list were especially pointed.
Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Luzerne, suggested the Wolf administration’s announcement of prison closings might be an attempt at “leverage” in order to get a tax increase passed.
She and others also focused on the timing of the decision. The selection of the two prisons is supposed to be announced Thursday.
“Why does this decision have to be made this fast?” asked Sen. Wayne Fontana, D-Brookline, who has previously questioned the timeline and argued that closings should be preceded by more public hearings.
Corrections Secretary John Wetzel responded that the prisons must be empty by July 1 in order for the state to save a full year’s expenses.
The Wolf administration announced earlier this month that it would shutter two of the state’s 26 prisons by June 30 in an effort to help close a budget shortfall. Officials identified five prisons — in Pittsburgh and in Luzerne, Mercer, Schuylkill and Wayne counties — that are under consideration for closure. Officials say that the affected inmates, up to 1,000, can safely be housed at other sites in the 26-prison system.
Not all the senators were critical of the idea of closing prisons. Sen. Daylin Leach, D-Montgomery, said he thought reducing the prison count was a good direction for the state.
Pennsylvania’s roll of prisoners multiplied over recent decades, though it has dropped from a peak in 2012.
The walls of the hearing room Monday were lined with onlookers, some of them holding signs bearing the name of the union that represents corrections officers.
Karen Langley: klangley@post-gazette.com or 717-787-2141.
First Published: January 23, 2017, 5:02 p.m.