State Representative John Proos this week called on the Speaker of the House to consider an override of Governor Granholm's veto of the County Jail Reimbursement Program. The program allows counties around Michigan to house certain prison inmates that otherwise would have been the state's responsibility, and then get paid for it. The governor line item vetoed money for that program out of the recent budget, and Representative Proos says that was counterproductive:
Proos says that less bureaucracy and lower administration costs are why county jails can house inmates for about half of what state prisons cost. Under the County Jail Reimbursement Program, a county is paid around 43 dollars a day for each state prisoner it takes, and Proos says that actually works out to millions saved for taxpayers. He's hoping the governor's veto of funding for CJR can be overcome by lawmakers:
State Representative Tonya Schuitmaker says that the County Jail Reimbursement Program is just the kind of thing the state should be pursuing to cut costs:
Proos, Schuitmaker, and dozens of other members of the State House sent a letter to the governor this week calling for a reinstatement of the program.
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