Prison industries program profits fall

Wednesday, Aug. 25, 1999 | 11:25 a.m.

Deputy Prisons Director Howard Skolnik blames the decline on former Gov. Bob Miller's decision last year to put a freeze on hiring and additional state purchases.

At the time, the state was buying about 70 percent of the goods made by Silver State Industries, the prison industries program. In particular, the state bought furniture made by inmates.

As a result, Skolnik told the Advisory Board on Prison Industries on Tuesday that profits made by his program dropped to an estimated $153,649 in the year ending June 30, down from $464,800 in the previous year.

Miller ordered the freeze on hiring and purchasing because of an anticipated drop in anticipated tax revenue. The freezes have since been lifted.

Skolnik predicted the coming year will be the most profitable in the prison industries program. He said there are advance orders of more than $1 million and total sales during the year could reach $6 million.

The prison industries program employs about 370 inmates at wages that average about $4 per hour.

Prisoners work at detergent, mattress, linen, book bindery and vinyl businesses within the Nevada State Prison in Carson City. They also operate a farm, furniture and upholstery businesses at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center, a drapery operation at the Ely State Prison, along with upholstery, auto and art glass businesses at the Southern Desert Correction Center at Indian Springs.

A catalog of products available through the program can be found at the Web site http://www.state.nv.us/ssi.

But the sole business at the Southern Nevada Correctional Center in Jean was dropped in July in response to state legislation.

A new law forbids inmates from engaging in telephone solicitation. About 20 inmates at the Jean facility had been soliciting sales for a medical book company.

Skolnik said he a contract is under discussion to have 25 inmates at the privately run women's prison in North Las Vegas handle the same kind of sales.

He said legislators enacted the law because they mistakenly thought inmates would gain access to personal and credit information of customers. The legislators acted in response to moves by the prisons industries agency to expand its telemarketing programs.

"It was a knee-jerk reaction," said Assemblyman John Marvel, R-Battle Mountain. "Notice it was a Senate bill."