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Posted: 4:53 AM Feb 16, 2009
Budget cuts affecting Morgan Co. prison plans
The new 2,400-unit, $155 million Morgan County Correctional Complex will open this summer as the aging Brushy Mountain State Prison is closed. But prisons officials say the sluggish economy is affecting plans for the new correctional facility.
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Prisons officials say the sluggish economy is affecting plans for new correctional facilities in Tennessee.
The new 2,400-unit, $155 million Morgan County Correctional Complex will open this summer as the aging Brushy Mountain State Prison is closed.
The move would have added a net of 1,432 inmate beds to the state prison system. But Correction Commissioner George Little said those plans were scaled back after Gov. Phil Bredesen called on departments to cut spending. The revised plan will leave 612 units empty until needed.
Nashville-based prison operator Corrections Corporation of America has also temporarily suspended construction work on a new 2,000-bed prison started in Hartsville until it figures out how soon it could fill the beds.
CCA executives say budget difficulties faced by many states makes it difficult to forecast how states will proceed.
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Information from: The Tennessean, www.tennessean.com
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Information from: The Knoxville News Sentinel, http://www.knoxnews.com
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
