Legislature moving to put convicts to work
OLYMPIA – Washington lawmakers are moving to restore a major prison labor program that was scrapped by the state Supreme Court last year.
The high court, in a 5-4 ruling last May, held that it is unconstitutional to essentially sell inmate labor to private businesses that operate inside prison walls.
But the state Senate on Wednesday started the process of overriding that decision. Lawmakers unanimously approved a constitutional amendment that would make it clear that the prison work program is legitimate.
If the House goes along by at least a two-thirds majority, as expected, the measure will go on the statewide ballot this November. Gov. Christine Gregoire supports the plan.
Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam, chairman of the Senate Human Services & Corrections Committee, said a strong work program cuts down on repeat crime and gives inmates a way to pay for their own keep, make restitution to their victims and help finance the state Crime Victims Fund.
He said it was thrown out “on some strange interpretation of some antiquated language” and must be reversed.
“Why do we care if inmates work? One, they pay their victims back and their legal financial obligations, and two, busy hands are important in prison, because idle hands are the devil’s playground,” he said. “If we don’t have programming for these inmates, security costs will go up significantly.”
Sen. Val Stevens, R-Arlington, noted that senators were “100 percent bipartisan” on the fix.
The court eliminated one of the main types of prison work opportunities, Class I Free Venture Industries. About 300 inmates were employed at job sites behind bars at Monroe, Purdy, Airway Heights and Twin Rivers prisons.
The work sites were run by private companies that contracted with the state. The companies got factory space, free or inexpensive utilities, and a break on wages and benefits.
The program is one of five classes of institutional industries programs created as part of the state’s Corrections Reform Act of 1981. Nine companies, including metal fabricators, a clothing manufacturer, a computer company and a concrete works, had contracts last year.
Inmates earned wages comparable to the outside. The state deducted 20 percent to pay for their incarceration, 20 percent for restitution and other legal financial obligations, 10 percent for the inmate’s savings account, and 5 percent for the state Crime Victims’ Compensation Fund.
In addition to wage losses, the Department of Corrections said the state is losing $600,000 from room and board payments from inmates, and crime victims are losing $150,000 in restitution.
The lawsuit involved a challenge of the program that allowed a water-jet cutting business to use prison labor at the Monroe Corrections Center, free use of 11,000 square feet of industrial space, free security and free or discounted utilities.