Oregon Halts New Prison Construction

In late September, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber stopped the planned sale of approximately $102 million in “certificates of participation”—a type of bond that requires no voter approval. The bond sale would have helped finance construction of new prisons in Lakeview and Madras, as well as other projects. The decision was made after a year of worsening economic news and intensive organizing by anti-prison activists.

By not going forward with the bond sale, the state effectively halted construction of the new prisons. This news came just four weeks before the Department of Corrections (DOC) was scheduled to break ground on the Madras prison. In Lakeview, some pre-construction activities (site leveling, road work, and installation of water lines and other infrastructure) have been underway since July. Now, the DOC is wrapping up work in Lakeview and plans for Madras are on indefinite hold.

“Given the state’s financial situation, it makes sense to wait for the December revenue forecast and the outcome of the January vote to temporarily increase income taxes before incurring additional long-term debt,” Interim Corrections Director Benjamin de Haan said. The delay will also enable the new governor and Legislature to examine existing policies that drive the state’s prison population growth, he said.

Moody’s Investors Service, a major credit-rating agency, recently downgraded Oregon’s credit outlook to negative. A negative credit outlook is the credit agency’s published sign of a state’s financial vulnerability.

If voters do not pass an income tax increase in January, the corrections department stands to lose nearly $21.6 million. That likely would mean closing facilities and laying off employees, said Perrin Damon, a DOC spokeswoman. “If you don’t have the money to keep prisons open, there’s not much sense in opening new ones,” said Tom Towslee, press secretary for Governor John Kitzhaber.

Opponents of prisons in Madras and Lakeview have been arguing for months that the state could not afford to build more of the facilities. Debt payments on the bonds used to build prisons get paid back out of the state’s general fund—the same pot of money that pays for schools, human services, and other state programs. Currently, Oregonians are making payments on over $600 million in past bond sales for prison construction.

Western Prison Project, which has provided assistance to residents of Lakeview and Madras who are opposed to the prisons, led a public and legislative education campaign throughout 2002 that generated thousands of letters, calls and emails to legislators, as well as rallies at the Capitol and a “schools not prisons” billboard campaign in Portland. “Clearly, the economic crisis in Oregon was the clincher in stopping this bond sale,” said Brigette Sarabi of the Western Prison Project.

"On the other hand, if we had not raised the issue so successfully with the press, the public and elected leaders, we believe the bond sale probably would have gone through like so many in the past.” Sarabi noted that the campaign to delay the new prisons has attracted a broad range of support from diverse groups including the Oregon Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, the Oregon Farm Bureau, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, Oregon Students of Color Coalition, and rural farmers and residents who don’t believe a prison will bring real economic development to their communities.

“The fact is that Oregon’s massive prison build-up would be unsustainable, over the long term, even in boom times,” said Sarabi. “In a time of tight money, it becomes crystal clear that the state must look at other alternatives to reduce the need for prisons. We believe there are moderate reforms that could be made that would significantly reduce the prison population and still protect public safety.”

The delay doesn’t mean the projects are dead. The state issues bonds twice a year, with the next due in March. “Local residents are keeping a close eye on the proposed prison sites, and we’ll be monitoring any proposed bond sales,” said Sarabi. “In the meantime, we’ll be working with the Oregon Criminal Justice Reform Coalition to educate legislators about the need for meaningful criminal justice reform that could safely reduce the prison population, end the need for new prisons, and save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.”

This article originally appeared in the Winter 2002 issue of Justice Matters.