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SALT LAKE CITY — A bill marking the next step in relocating the Utah State Prison from Draper passed the House on Wednesday, but not before lawmakers eliminated the possibility that a new facility could be privately run.
SB72, approved 51-20 by the House, now goes to the Senate for consideration.
The bill's House sponsor, Rep. Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville, introduced the sixth version of the bill Tuesday that also tweaks the makeup of the Prison Relocation and Development Authority and adds new prohibitions against conflicts of interest.
"It requires PRADA to get to work," Wilson said. "It's that simple."
We can't wait any longer on this. Construction costs are low. Interest rates are low.
–Rep. Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville
Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, successfully pushed through an amendment that bars the state from considering proposals for a privately operated new prison.
"We're talking about human dignity, that we treat prisoners as people and not as commodities," Noel said. Private operators, he said, have an incentive to reduce prisoner care and rehabilitation "purely for profit. It's not that hard of a decision to make."
Noel disputed what he called the perception that privately run prisons cost taxpayers less money while still providing good service. The Legislature has already passed HCR5, a resolution from Noel encouraging regional jails as alternatives to some new prison space.
Wilson opposed the amendment, preferring to leave the option of hiring a private operator open. But the House passed the prohibition against considering any proposals that call for a privately run facility, 42-29.
A second amendment to the bill, proposed by Rep. Patrice Arent, D-Millcreek, calling for public hearings both in Draper as well as in any proposed sites that surface in the process, easily passed.
We're talking about human dignity, that we treat prisoners as people and not as commodities.
–Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab
"We can't wait any longer on this. Construction costs are low. Interest rates are low," Wilson said, while the state is "shackled by parts of the facility out there that look like Alcatraz."
Describing the prison's 700-acre location at Point of the Mountain as a unique opportunity because of its proximity to a major metropolitan area already home to technology companies, Wilson urged action.
"The high-tech sector is not going to wait around for us while we twiddle our thumbs," he said, suggesting developing the prison site could generate at least 30,000 new jobs and bring $20 billion into the state's economy.
The cost for relocating the prison is estimated at as much as $600 million, but backers of the plan say at least two-thirds of that cost would be recouped in savings from selling the Draper property and by constructing a more efficient, modern facility.
