Jails May Get More For State Inmates

The Senate Judiciary Committee has introduced legislation to increase by $10 a day the state reimbursement for counties housing prison inmates in their jails.

But the bill offered on Wednesday will now be reviewed by legislative leaders to determine whether the $1 million-a-year proposal can be squeezed into an already tight 1998 state budget.

The proposed increase from $35 to $45 a day was prompted by the decision of some counties to deny open space in their jails because other states were willing to pay more for the cells than the $35 Idaho pays.

The county jails have been critical to coping with prison overcrowding. The state has between 250 and 300 inmates housed in them at any given time because there is no space in its prison system.

The total cost this year is estimated at $7.7 million and analysts predict it will only increase in the coming years.