Monday, March 31, 2014
Campbell calls for investigation of $900K private prison giveaway request
Campbell calls for
investigation of $900K
private prison
giveaway request
STATE
CAPITOL, PHOENIX –
Today House Minority Leader Chad Campbell, D-Phoenix (District 24), called for
an emergency meeting of the Arizona House Appropriations Committee to investigate
a last-minute appropriation for private prisons in Arizona, offered during last
week’s budget debate.
“There is
something suspicious about this request and we need to know more about the
circumstances surrounding it,” Campbell said. “It is clear from news
coverage that the Department of Corrections did not ask for or need the
$900,000 that Rep. Kavanagh requested during our budget debate. On top of that,
there was no testimony in the House Appropriations Committee about this topic.
This raises some serious questions and has created a great deal of public
concern.”
Campbell sent
a letter to Speaker of the House Andy Tobin, R-Paulden (District 1), requesting
an immediate investigation that would include testimony from the Department of
Corrections and GEO Group, a private prisons corporation.
Campbell
added that, although this appropriation has been removed from the current
budget being heard in the Senate, questions of accountability and transparency
remain.
“These kinds
of behind-closed-doors deals are exactly what Arizonans are tired of,” Campbell
said. “The taxpayers have a right to know how a giveaway like this is negotiated.
Why are some members of the Legislature more concerned with lining the pockets
of private prisons than they are with making sure schools have adequate funding
and child safety services have enough resources? We have an obligation to get
to the bottom of this.”
A copy of the
letter Campbell sent to Tobin is available at www.azhousedemocrats.com.
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1 comment:
Again, only one man has the guts to stand up against the corruptive GOP led private prison entourage in our legislative branch. Thank you sir for your courage.
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