Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Prison closure could pit Gibbons against Legislature

Updated Thursday, June 17, 2010 | 6:59 p.m.

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Gov. Jim Gibbons

Sun Coverage

Gov. Jim Gibbons announced Thursday he would begin closing Nevada State Prison in Carson City, setting up a showdown over who has authority over Nevada’s corrections system.

In an effort to halt the closure, Secretary of State Ross Miller called an emergency meeting of the Board of State Prisons for Wednesday. The seldom-noticed body is made up of the governor, secretary of state and attorney general and is in the Constitution.

Miller and Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto are Democrats; Gibbons is a Republican.

The state’s constitution says the board “shall have such supervision of all matters connected with the State Prison.” But in practice, the prison system has been run by the Department of Corrections director, who is a member of the governor’s cabinet and serves at his will.

Gibbons said the prison costs $4,000 to $6,000 extra per inmate each year because of the facility’s age and poor design. Portions of the prison are almost 150 years old.

The governor’s staff said there are safety concerns for the prisoners and guards.

Miller said in a statement that Gibbons “has clearly overreached.” He said no plan had been presented to the board on cost savings or public safety.

The Legislature has rejected Gibbons’ efforts to close the prison in the past, saying it would hurt Carson City’s economy and burden already-strained facilities elsewhere in the state.

Legislators also said the department has not presented them with a clear plan to assure public safety and the cost savings they claim.

But Deputy Chief of Staff Stacy Woodbury said the Department of Corrections has the authority to close the prison and has done so in the past.

The Sun reported Monday that the Gibbons administration was unbowed by its defeat in the Republican primary and planned to forge ahead with its agenda. Gibbons is the first incumbent governor in Nevada history to lose a primary election.

Democratic lawmakers criticized Gibbons’ move, saying they had not seen a plan. But Assembly Majority Leader John Oceguera and Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford said they would wait for the results of the Board of State Prisons meeting.

Steven Horsford

Steven Horsford

“This is under the purview of the Board of Prison Commissioners,” Horsford said. “The department has a responsibility to go to that body for any type of change that has this kind of an impact.”

Under Gibbons’ plan, the 669 prisoners will be moved to other prisons. The more than 208 workers at the prison will be offered jobs at other facilities. Dan Burns, Gibbons’ spokesman, said the other jobs will either be in Carson City or within commuting distance, not requiring any forced transfers.

Assemblywoman Bonnie Parnell, a Democrat who represents Carson City, said she was skeptical that layoffs or forced transfers could be avoided.

Parnell also questioned whether Gibbons had the authority to close the prison, given that he had previously brought the issue to the Legislature for action.

“The Legislature made their wishes known very clearly by denying the closure two or three times,” Parnell said.

Burns said, “Democrats should be questioning staff, community and prisoner safety and taxpayer savings.”

Phasing out the prison will take six to eight months, according to the Gibbons administration. Portions of the prison facility would remain open, including buildings housing a print shop, license plate fabrication and the execution chamber.

Gene Columbus, president of the Nevada Corrections Association, said the decision would eliminate future inmate capacity and disagreed that it would save money.

Instead, Columbus said, it “will seriously jeopardize the constitutional obligation (Gibbons) has to protect the citizens of Nevada.”

Horsford called Gibbons’ act “regrettable.”

Oceguera said, “I don’t think there’s any room for retribution and petty games. I think he should look for options that are best for Nevada.”

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