{"id":214898,"date":"2025-01-07T14:13:32","date_gmt":"2025-01-07T19:13:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/?p=214898"},"modified":"2025-01-07T14:13:39","modified_gmt":"2025-01-07T19:13:39","slug":"kemp-proposes-372-million-boost-for-georgia-prisons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/?p=214898","title":{"rendered":"Kemp Proposes $372 Million Boost for Georgia Prisons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Governor Brian Kemp is pushing for major upgrades to Georgia\u2019s prison system. He\u2019s proposing more than $372 million in funding over the next two years. The plan comes after a detailed study of the state\u2019s correctional facilities found them lacking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What\u2019s Happening:<\/strong> Governor Kemp and the Georgia Department of Corrections announced the proposal following a review by consulting firm Guidehouse, Inc. The study looked at ways to improve safety, staffing, and infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The proposal includes higher salaries for prison staff and funding for new facilities. If approved, it would mark one of the largest investments in public safety since Kemp took office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Who Made it Happen:<\/strong> The new assessment involved visits to prisons, interviews with staff and inmates, and research into best practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Why It Matters:<\/strong> Staffing shortages and aging facilities have challenged Georgia\u2019s prison system. The recommendations aim to make prisons safer for officers, inmates, and the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key Budget Proposals:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A 4 percent pay raise for correctional officers to match pay in neighboring states.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>An 8 percent raise for behavioral health counselors.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Additional funds for food service, maintenance, and chaplain positions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hiring 330 new officers to improve staff-to-inmate ratios.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>$40 million for planning and designing a new prison.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Construction of modular units to house inmates during renovations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>446 private prison beds added to contracts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What\u2019s Next:<\/strong> Lawmakers will review the proposals during the 2025 legislative session. Governor Kemp and lawmakers expect bipartisan support for the plan, which they say prioritizes safety and reform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Department of Corrections will continue working with Guidehouse to implement changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About Georgia Corrections:<\/strong> The state supervises about 47,000 inmates and employs 9,000 staff. For more information, visit the Department of Corrections website at gdc.georgia.gov.<\/p>\n\n\n\n[mailerlite_form form_id=21]\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Governor Brian Kemp is pushing for major upgrades to Georgia\u2019s prison system. He\u2019s proposing more than $372 million in funding over the next two years. The plan comes after a detailed study of the state\u2019s correctional facilities found them lacking. What\u2019s Happening: Governor Kemp and the Georgia Department of Corrections announced the proposal following a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":948,"featured_media":199247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[8484,16270,14896],"class_list":["post-214898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-brian-kemp","tag-prisons","tag-problems","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/948"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=214898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=214898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=214898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=214898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}