I think the whole idea of building a jail when you had no commitment to put prisoners in it was stupid. I think pointing fingers having town meetings, suing the state, and making trips to Helena to solve the problem is useless and not very effective. The way to solve this problem is to change the state law that says the jail cannot hold out of state prisoners. Getting a local Legislator to introduce such a bill when the Legislature is in session would be the way to solve the problem.
Once the bill is in Committee, then truck up local residents and pack the Capitol with people supporting it to try and move the bill through the Legislature.
This would be the way to intelligently try to solve the problem. Trying to do anything until the law is changed is spinning your wheels and not getting anything accomplished.
I hope I have made my point clear. I don't feel my opinion it is an agenda, it is just common sense.
Now that I have made my position clear, I would like to report on the latest about the jail. Gov. Brian Schweitzer has responded to those people who went to Helena to try and get support for the prison. Some interesting facts from the letter.
It has been said that the state of Montana committed to providing inmates to the facility
during Governor Martz’s Administration and that I reneged on that commitment.
The fact is that no commitment was ever made by the State of Montana to the facility. No contracts
were ever signed between the state and the facility. Further, the facility did not respond to a project
issued for competitive bid in January, 2006 by the DOC for 120 beds through the state’s “Request for
Proposal” (RFP) process. Finally, the facility did not respond to a “Sources Sought Notice” for 96
secure beds in Montana by the U. S. Marshall’s Service in 2005. According to Bill Slaughter, who
served as Director of the DOC under Governor Judy Martz and during the first year and a half of my
Administration, in testimony before the Corrections Advisory Council on February 12, 2008, “We
didn’t sign any contracts with this group; there are no e-mails or promises. I don’t know what to tell
you. I was actually surprised they were under construction.”
So, the jail was built with no promise of prisoners to fill it. This is a problem that Hardin needs to fess up to. They tried the "if we build it, they will come" approach and it has failed. Building such an expensive facility with no contracts in hand was not high on the list of wise things to do.
It has been said that as Governor, I can bring in out-of-state prisoners to open the facility.
The fact is state law does not allow a “detention center” (a fancy name in Montana law for a county
jail) such as the facility in Hardin to house out-of-state inmates. Your own city attorney requested an
Attorney General opinion on this issue. Attorney General Mike McGrath, who is elected by the
people of Montana, issued an opinion on December 3, 2007 affirming that housing out-of-state
prisoners in a detention facility is against the law. That opinion is being challenged in court by the
City of Hardin and the Two Rivers Authority. Until and unless the court overturns the Attorney
General’s opinion, it is legally binding on me as Governor as well as on all state government.
Bringing in out of state prisoners is a no-go at this time. Hardin is pursuing relief in court on this issue. Only time will tell if they will win but i feel the law is pretty clear on the issue and I don't have much hope Hardin will win.
It has been said that as Governor, I should have told you to stop the project after you started
it with no contracts for prisoners.
The fact is according to the Executive Director of the Two Rivers Authority your local government
built a “detention center.” Contrary to the opinion expressed by one member of the delegation here
last week, legally it does make a big difference what you built. Unlike prisons, the state isn’t involved
in building “detention centers.” Those are local decisions. I don’t know a sheriff, police chief or
county commissioner in Montana who wants the state Corrections Department, let alone the
Governor, to start telling them about building county jails. DOC legal counsel Diana Koch explained
the important distinction between prisons and jails to the March 11 delegation as reported in the
March 12, 2008 Big Horn County News, “We understood you were building a detention center, which
is in essence a county jail. We thought you were going to contract with your county, with other
counties and communities, maybe even with the Bureau of Indian Affairs.”
I'm sorry, it is not the job of the Governor or any other state official to tell a city not to build something. They assume the city has studied the issue and knows what it is doing.
You have asked me for a helping hand. Following are some alternatives the facility, by law,
can pursue.
First, the facility can respond to RFP’s issued by DOC. Montana’s Jessica’s Law, which I signed into
law after passage by the 2007 Legislature, calls for establishment of a low risk sex offender
treatment center of 116 beds. The DOC anticipates releasing the RFP this summer and expects the
selected facility to be operational in early 2009. Also, I believe that the 2009 Legislature will consider
proposals for further community corrections programs.
Second, the facility can negotiate with other detention centers in Montana to house prisoners.
Third, early last week I was briefed by the U. S. Department of Interior/Bureau of Indian Affairs on
conversations they are having with Crow Tribal Chairman Carl Venne about use of the facility. I look
forward to working with you and Chairman Venne to fully explore this alternative.
The Governor even lists some helpful ways the City of Hardin can help itself in this matter. He doesn't list my idea of changing the law about out of state prisoners, but he has some useful suggestions.
I've been told I have an agenda when it comes to the Hardin jail. I don't feel I have an agenda when it comes to the Jail. I just like pointing out stupid things Governments do. If pointing out stupidity is an agenda, so be it. Instead of pointing fingers over this issue and telling local residents they aren't supportive enough, the City needs to buckle down and solve the problem.
I think in some ways we have allowed other people to set the agenda. Other people to define who we are. Lee Scott
