Budget & Tax

Stitt vetoes diversion of offender-management funds

May 20, 2020

Ray Carter

Using his line-item veto power, Gov. Kevin Stitt struck a section of House Bill 4160 on Wednesday.

Stitt’s veto message noted the vetoed language would have diverted funds now designated for offender management in state prisons and redirected the cash to provide pay raises at private prisons.

“The state is not contractually obligated to increase private correctional facilities pay scales,” Stitt wrote.

He called the offender-management system a “critical component of our correctional operations as it serves as the centralized source of offender information for staff, the public, and numerous state and federal agencies.”