Senator Tries To Derail Private Prison Contract Firm Was 4th Highest Of 8 Bidders, But Proponents Say Cost Not The Only Factor

An outspoken state senator went to court Wednesday to try to stop Idaho from signing a contract for a large private prison.

Sen. Stan Hawkins, R-Ucon, who is exploring a run for Congress, said the state shouldn’t sign the contract with Corrections Corporation of America when bids from other companies cost less. “We went to privatization to save money, and now we’re poised to take the high bid on the contract,” he said.

Actually, CCA was the fourth highest among eight bidders, both for construction cost and daily operating costs. But cost was only one of three areas judged. The other two areas were the quality of the companies’ plans to build and operate the prison, and the companies’ qualifications for the job.

“It’s real easy to throw around the bottom line,” said Mark Carnopis, Idaho Correction Department spokesman. “We picked the most qualified bidder.”

Gov. Phil Batt and top legislative leaders agreed Wednesday. In a letter signed by the House speaker and the Senate president pro-tem and both co-chairmen of the Legislature’s budget committee, legislative leaders said they believed the state followed all the rules in awarding the private prison bid - which, at about $100 million over three years, is the largest contract the state has ever awarded.

“Unsuccessful bidders were offered full opportunity to appeal the selection decision and chose not to exercise that option,” the legislators noted.

The second-place bidder, Wackenhut Corp., has since questioned the process, and a construction company that was part of another losing bid has sent protest letters to the governor and legislators.

Batt’s spokesman, Lindsay Nothern, said, “If a judge were to determine that there were problems with the process, then we would take a second look at it. But the governor still believes the process up to this point has been fine.”

Hawkins argued in legal papers filed Wednesday that the Legislature didn’t mean for the state Board of Correction to sign the hefty contract for a privately run prison without lawmakers getting a chance to review it. But legislation passed last year specifically authorizes the board to enter into contracts for privately built and operated prisons.

Hawkins wants the contract delayed until after the Legislature convenes in January, so lawmakers can look it over.

Jim Spalding, state corrections director, said delays could cause problems with the construction schedule. The bid calls for several months of planning and design before construction. “If you delayed it up until mid-February, you would be planning and designing in your prime construction months, and you would hit the winter on the other end.”

“Potentially, that could cause a big delay.”Batt has said repeatedly that to him, one of the greatest advantages of privatization is the speed with which a prison can be built and opened. State-run projects take much longer.

Idaho has hundreds of inmates housed in expensive out-of-state bids or backed up in county jails for lack of state prison space. Though the state’s soaring inmate growth has slackened in the past six months, every state prison is still filled beyond its original capacity.

The CCA’s bid is good only for 180 days. That period will be up in February.

Spalding noted that the Legislature still has a role to play. Funding for the prison comes only if the Legislature approves it. But the funding isn’t needed until the prison is ready to open in 1999.

Nothern, Batt’s spokesman, said, “The Legislature basically made the decision to leave it up to the Board of Correction to do this, and now Stan is trying to come in and say this is not the case.”

Carnopis said contract negotiations are progressing and are down to “minutiae.” Though the contract signing has been put off repeatedly, it could come within days, Carnopis said.

Nothern said the state could face legal problems if it backed out of a properly awarded bid.

Hawkins’ affidavit and motion for a temporary restraining order were filed Wednesday in 4th District Court in Boise.

, DataTimes