LANSING, Mich., Feb. 8 (UPI) -- A Michigan law requiring private contractors to pay prison inmates the minimum wage could delay privatization plans, an official said.
Ross Marlan, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections, said the law also bans contractors from using state property without paying for it, The Detroit News reported. He said the state Legislature will have to change the laws to make privatization doable.
"By statute, if state prisoners are used for labor, they have to be paid minimum wage," he said. "They can't even use state assets as a private contractor. We'd have to declare all of that property surplus and sell it."
Gov. Rick Snyder hopes to save millions of dollars by using contractors for prison health and food services. The budget for the current fiscal year assumed $1.25 million in savings from privatization and another $79.13 million where the Corrections Department was supposed to make its own cost-saving decisions.
The Michigan Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative, which dates back to 2005, is also under fire. The initiative provides support to parolees with the goal of keeping them from re-offending.
An audit found that officials have failed to track inmates to determine whether the approach works, the report said.
