Alabama

Enacted: Legislature overrode governor's request to restore $4.2 million to the Dept. of Correction's budget.

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, most non-education state agencies, including the court system, received 9% less than appropriated for the first nine months of FY 2010.

Alaska

Arizona

Enacted: Governor signed SB 1028, authorizing the sale of state prison operation rights to private vendors. These rights were sold with 50-year contracts and upfront payments of $100 million.

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, Arizona transferred its convicted illegal immigrants to federal custody for the last three months of their sentences, generating an estimated $5.7 million savings over two years.

Arkansas

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, the governor cut $9.1 million from the Dept. of Corrections. The Board of Corrections voted to cut the state prison budget by leaving open positions empty, reducing supplies, and delaying the expansion of a unit for prisoners with special needs.

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, governor ordered across-the-board budget cuts, including a $3.6 million cut to the Dept. of Corrections

California

Enacted: Budget cut $1.2 billion from corrections and rehabilitation (CDCR) funding. Reductions included cutting substance abuse funding, educational funding and vocational training programs by more than a third.

Enacted: Judges approved governor's plan to reduce prison crowding. Plan included home detention with satellite tracking devices, permissions for some felons to serve time in county jails instead of state prisons, and reduced sentences for property crimes.

Enacted: A plan to enable corrections funding cuts by reducing parole supervision for low-level offenders and allowing inmates to shorten their prison terms six weeks by completing rehabilitation programs.

Enacted: California closed three privately-operated, minimum-security prisons to save $15 million per year.

Enacted: All California state courts closed the third Wednesday of every month to save an $85.4 million. Judges were asked to take voluntary furloughs of one day a month, resulting in a 4.62% pay cut.

Colorado

Enacted: One prison has been closed and the opening of another has been delayed to save money.

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, the governor had called for reducing the state’s prison population by releasing inmates six months earlier than their mandatory release dates. The parole board granted early release to only 235 inmates, and savings estimates were reduced to $5 million from a projected $19 million.
 
Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, the governor cut $45.1 million from the Dept. of Corrections.

Connecticut

Enacted: Budget cut $63.4 million from the Department of Corrections over FY 2010 & FY 2011.

Enacted: Governor closed Webster Correctional Institution, saving an estimated $3.4 million a year.

Failed: Proposal to close two state prisons; it would have saved an estimated $70 million over the following two years.

Enacted: Budget deferred about $31 million in payments to the judges’ retirement fund over the next two years.

Enacted: Budget cuts of nearly $1 million for judicial branch programs, including domestic violence, legal, and children’s services. A program putting family-violence advocates into courthouses was cut by $270,000. The Children in Placement Program, providing court guardians for children involved in abuse and neglect cases, was cut by $270,000.

Delaware

Florida

Enacted: Florida postponed plans for $300 million in new prison construction.

Enacted: Budget included a number of court fee increases: a $505 increase in graduated filing fees for civil and family cases, a $115 increase in probate filing fees, and a $100 increase in filing fees for civil, non-family cases.

Enacted: At least 66 parole and probation officers were laid off.

Enacted: State implemented layoffs for 280 court workers -  9% of its 3,100 court employees.

Georgia

Enacted: Georgia’s supreme court justices and all other court staff voluntarily took three furlough days by the end of calendar year 2009. The Court closed its judicial library, reduced its office spaces, and cut two publishing positions.

Hawaii

Enacted: Dept. of Public Safety closed the Kulani Correctional Facility, saving an estimated $2.8 million.

Enacted: Budget cut judiciary budget by 20%.

Enacted: State courts were closed two Fridays a month beginning in Nov. 2009.

Idaho

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, governor ordered spending holdbacks of 2.5% from the corrections budget.

Enacted: Budget cuts about $27 million, or 14%, from the Dept. of Corrections. Corrections eliminated 44 positions, and all other workers were required to take 4-12 furlough days in FY 2010.

Enacted: Dept. of Corrections brought back to Idaho inmates housed in other states, for an annual savings of $7 million.

Illinois

Enacted: Governor laid off over 1,000 Dept. of Corrections employees - nearly a tenth of the department's work force.

Enacted: As part of an early release plan, the governor released nearly 1,000 non-violent inmates, saving an estimated $5 million per year.

Enacted: Probation funding was cut $36.5 million (44%) statewide; governor later restored $16 million of the cut.

Indiana

Iowa

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, governor ordered 10% across-the-board budget cuts, resulting in a $35.7 million cut to the Dept. of Corrections. This cut resulted in the elimination of 262 vacant positions and 515 layoffs.

Enacted: The cost of filing civil cases increased from $100 to $185. Small claims files increased from $50 to $85. 

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, Iowa Supreme Court ordered a 10% cut in the judiciary budget.

Kansas

Enacted: Three detention facilities were closed.  

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, the governor announced an additional $3 million cut to the judicial branch, resulting in furloughs for district court employees. The  Attorney General's budget was cut by $2 million.
 

Kentucky

Enacted: Governor signed law sending hundreds of drug offenders into lower-cost treatment instead of prison.

Enacted: Over 3,000 non-violent offenders were released up to six months early under a new early-release program.

Enacted: Budget for the commonwealth attorneys' offices was cut by 4%.

Louisiana

Maine

Enacted: Positions running the metal detector checkpoints at local courthouses were eliminated.

Maryland

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, the Board of Public Works approved closing 350-inmate minimum-security prison in Jessup by March 2010, and also closing some units at correctional health facilities - saving an estimated $12 million.

Massachusetts

Failed: Proposal to cut $3.3 million in funding to the trial court system.

Enacted: The state trial court system laid off at least 570 employees.

Michigan

Enacted: Budget cuts $98.5 million from the FY 2010 corrections budget.

Enacted: Governor issued an executive order to expedite the implementation of budget cuts by proposing the accelerated parole of more than 3,500 inmates who had served more than their minimum sentences.

Enacted: Michigan closed three prisons and five prison camps.

Failed: Proposal to transfer roughly 1,300 California prisoners to Michigan's Muskegon Correctional Facility. Proposal was designed to keep corrections employees working; California would have paid inmate costs to transport them back to CA upon release. 

Minnesota

Enacted: Lawmakers cut $66 million from Corrections.

Mississippi

Enacted: Governor ordered $8.3 million cut from the Dept. of Corrections.  In December, governor ordered an additional post-enactment budget cut of some $3.2 million, forcing reductions in overtime and revising bed management options for inmates.

Missouri  

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

Failed: Proposal changing the current system for considering the severity of an inmate's crime as a major factor in parole decisions. The proposal would have also shifted the decision to release inmates, with low-level felonies, to the state Corrections Director. The changes would have increased the number of inmates released early, cutting costs.

New Hampshire

Enacted: The state closed one prison and laid off 97 corrections positions.  

Enacted: Habitual motor vehicle offenders (except drunk drivers) were placed in home confinement, rather than prisons.

Enacted: Budget closed district courts in Hillsborough, New London, Plaistow, Hooksett, and Keene. 

Enacted: State postponed filling 7 of the state's 59 vacant judgeships.

New Jersey

Enacted: Riverfront State Prison was closed.

New Mexico

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, legislature cut the Corrections budget by 7% - or $21 million.

Enacted: Budget reduces state funding of the courts by 3.5%.

New York

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, governor ordered $69.3 million cut from the Dept. of Correctional Services.

Enacted: Seven prison annexes and three prison camps in upstate New York were closed, eliminating 550 jobs.

Enacted: "Rockefeller drug laws" were revised to decrease the mandatory minimum sentences.

North Carolina

Enacted: Budget authorized closure of seven minimum-security prisons, saving about $22 million.

North Dakota

Ohio

Enacted: Budget eliminated breakfast service in all prisons on Saturdays and Sundays. Inmates received the same amount of food during brunch and dinner as they had received in three meals, but the state savings were made in staff time and preparation costs.

Oklahoma

Enacted: Dept. of Corrections instituted an agricultural work program to offset the cost of feeding the inmate population. In FY 2009, the measure generated $888,000 in profit via sales of agricultural products such as beef, firewood, and pecans.

Enacted: Juvenile Affairs cancelled detention programs and authorized 22 furlough days. 

Enacted: Dept. of Corrections employees required to take 10-12 furlough days between March and June.

Oregon 

Enacted: HB 3508 allowed for the increased release of felons for good behavior. 

Enacted: Chief Justice ordered all courts to close on Fridays through the end of FY 2009.

Enacted: Pay for 1,800 court workers was cut by 20%.

Pennsylvania

Failed: Proposal to send additional drug offenders to treatment rather than prison.

Enacted: Governor sent 1,000 inmates to Michigan to reduce overcrowding and associated corrections costs.

Enacted: Budget cut funding to the judicial branch by 10%.

Puerto Rico  

Rhode Island

Enacted: Budget imposed a $100 processing charge for criminals seeking to expunge their records. 

Enacted: Budget cuts led state's probation and parole officers to accept pay concessions to avoid layoffs.

South Carolina

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, across-the-board cuts of 4.4% resulted in a $13 million cut to the corrections budget.

South Dakota

Enacted: 3.3% cut from the Dept. of Corrections budget.

Enacted: 3.3% cut from the budget of the courts. 

Tennessee

Texas

Failed: Proposed bill would have allowed Dept. of Criminal Justice to determine if an inmate had successfully met rehabilitation qualifications. 

U. S. Virgin Islands

Utah

Enacted: Budget eliminates ongoing funding for the corrections transitions center which serves eligible parolees with various transitional services.

Enacted: Reduced ongoing funds for Juvenile Justice Receiving Centers and reduced clinical services for juvenile offenders.

Failed: Court employees avoided a proposed 26-day furlough.

Enacted: Budget eliminated approximately $4 million of ongoing general funds for the courts in personnel other program reductions.

Vermont

Failed: Proposal to close a prison in St. Johnsbury was shelved by the legislature.

Virginia

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, the governor ordered the closure of three corrections facilities, including two older prisons and one juvenile facility. As part of the closures, 225 Dept. of Corrections employees were laid off.

Enacted: Governor cut state appropriations to local jails by about 7%.

Washington

Enacted: Biennium budget cut funding by nearly $1.8 billion, or 6.7% from the previous biennium. Cuts led to the elimination of about 300 prison jobs and 200 community-corrections positions.

Enacted: Measure ends the supervision of nearly 10,000 ex-convicts on probation. The measure required assessing the risk of the offender and certain low-risk, non-sex offenders would no longer be supervised.

Enacted: Court fees increased across-the-board.

Enacted: Misdemeanor courts held a "Debt Reduction Program" to help those with suspended driver's licenses pay court fines and get privileges restored. 

West Virginia 

Wisconsin

Enacted: 2009 Wisconsin Act 28 allowed certain low-level offenders to earn time off from their sentences. It also allowed "low-risk" offenders to be released on supervision.

Wyoming

Key:
(N/A) = Not applicable

Source: NCSL survey of state legislative fiscal offices: June 2009 and November 2008. Various media and government outlets: January through December 2009.

This table is intended to provide general information and does not necessarily address all aspects of this topic. The table reflects in summary form information gathered from media sources and NCSL surveys of legislative fiscal offices. Please contact us at budget.revenue.updates@ncsl.org if you know of any additional information that should be reflected here or any errors that should be corrected.

Alabama

Enacted: Legislature overrode governor's request to restore $4.2 million to the Dept. of Correction's budget.

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, most non-education state agencies, including the court system, received 9% less than appropriated for the first nine months of FY 2010.

Alaska

Arizona

Enacted: Governor signed SB 1028, authorizing the sale of state prison operation rights to private vendors. These rights were sold with 50-year contracts and upfront payments of $100 million.

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, Arizona transferred its convicted illegal immigrants to federal custody for the last three months of their sentences, generating an estimated $5.7 million savings over two years.

Arkansas

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, the governor cut $9.1 million from the Dept. of Corrections. The Board of Corrections voted to cut the state prison budget by leaving open positions empty, reducing supplies, and delaying the expansion of a unit for prisoners with special needs.

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, governor ordered across-the-board budget cuts, including a $3.6 million cut to the Dept. of Corrections

California

Enacted: Budget cut $1.2 billion from corrections and rehabilitation (CDCR) funding. Reductions included cutting substance abuse funding, educational funding and vocational training programs by more than a third.

Enacted: Judges approved governor's plan to reduce prison crowding. Plan included home detention with satellite tracking devices, permissions for some felons to serve time in county jails instead of state prisons, and reduced sentences for property crimes.

Enacted: A plan to enable corrections funding cuts by reducing parole supervision for low-level offenders and allowing inmates to shorten their prison terms six weeks by completing rehabilitation programs.

Enacted: California closed three privately-operated, minimum-security prisons to save $15 million per year.

Enacted: All California state courts closed the third Wednesday of every month to save an $85.4 million. Judges were asked to take voluntary furloughs of one day a month, resulting in a 4.62% pay cut.

Colorado

Enacted: One prison has been closed and the opening of another has been delayed to save money.

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, the governor had called for reducing the state’s prison population by releasing inmates six months earlier than their mandatory release dates. The parole board granted early release to only 235 inmates, and savings estimates were reduced to $5 million from a projected $19 million.
 
Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, the governor cut $45.1 million from the Dept. of Corrections.

Connecticut

Enacted: Budget cut $63.4 million from the Department of Corrections over FY 2010 & FY 2011.

Enacted: Governor closed Webster Correctional Institution, saving an estimated $3.4 million a year.

Failed: Proposal to close two state prisons; it would have saved an estimated $70 million over the following two years.

Enacted: Budget deferred about $31 million in payments to the judges’ retirement fund over the next two years.

Enacted: Budget cuts of nearly $1 million for judicial branch programs, including domestic violence, legal, and children’s services. A program putting family-violence advocates into courthouses was cut by $270,000. The Children in Placement Program, providing court guardians for children involved in abuse and neglect cases, was cut by $270,000.

Delaware

Florida

Enacted: Florida postponed plans for $300 million in new prison construction.

Enacted: Budget included a number of court fee increases: a $505 increase in graduated filing fees for civil and family cases, a $115 increase in probate filing fees, and a $100 increase in filing fees for civil, non-family cases.

Enacted: At least 66 parole and probation officers were laid off.

Enacted: State implemented layoffs for 280 court workers -  9% of its 3,100 court employees.

Georgia

Enacted: Georgia’s supreme court justices and all other court staff voluntarily took three furlough days by the end of calendar year 2009. The Court closed its judicial library, reduced its office spaces, and cut two publishing positions.

Hawaii

Enacted: Dept. of Public Safety closed the Kulani Correctional Facility, saving an estimated $2.8 million.

Enacted: Budget cut judiciary budget by 20%.

Enacted: State courts were closed two Fridays a month beginning in Nov. 2009.

Idaho

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, governor ordered spending holdbacks of 2.5% from the corrections budget.

Enacted: Budget cuts about $27 million, or 14%, from the Dept. of Corrections. Corrections eliminated 44 positions, and all other workers were required to take 4-12 furlough days in FY 2010.

Enacted: Dept. of Corrections brought back to Idaho inmates housed in other states, for an annual savings of $7 million.

Illinois

Enacted: Governor laid off over 1,000 Dept. of Corrections employees - nearly a tenth of the department's work force.

Enacted: As part of an early release plan, the governor released nearly 1,000 non-violent inmates, saving an estimated $5 million per year.

Enacted: Probation funding was cut $36.5 million (44%) statewide; governor later restored $16 million of the cut.

Indiana

Iowa

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, governor ordered 10% across-the-board budget cuts, resulting in a $35.7 million cut to the Dept. of Corrections. This cut resulted in the elimination of 262 vacant positions and 515 layoffs.

Enacted: The cost of filing civil cases increased from $100 to $185. Small claims files increased from $50 to $85. 

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, Iowa Supreme Court ordered a 10% cut in the judiciary budget.

Kansas

Enacted: Three detention facilities were closed.  

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, the governor announced an additional $3 million cut to the judicial branch, resulting in furloughs for district court employees. The  Attorney General's budget was cut by $2 million.
 

Kentucky

Enacted: Governor signed law sending hundreds of drug offenders into lower-cost treatment instead of prison.

Enacted: Over 3,000 non-violent offenders were released up to six months early under a new early-release program.

Enacted: Budget for the commonwealth attorneys' offices was cut by 4%.

Louisiana

Maine

Enacted: Positions running the metal detector checkpoints at local courthouses were eliminated.

Maryland

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, the Board of Public Works approved closing 350-inmate minimum-security prison in Jessup by March 2010, and also closing some units at correctional health facilities - saving an estimated $12 million.

Massachusetts

Failed: Proposal to cut $3.3 million in funding to the trial court system.

Enacted: The state trial court system laid off at least 570 employees.

Michigan

Enacted: Budget cuts $98.5 million from the FY 2010 corrections budget.

Enacted: Governor issued an executive order to expedite the implementation of budget cuts by proposing the accelerated parole of more than 3,500 inmates who had served more than their minimum sentences.

Enacted: Michigan closed three prisons and five prison camps.

Failed: Proposal to transfer roughly 1,300 California prisoners to Michigan's Muskegon Correctional Facility. Proposal was designed to keep corrections employees working; California would have paid inmate costs to transport them back to CA upon release. 

Minnesota

Enacted: Lawmakers cut $66 million from Corrections.

Mississippi

Enacted: Governor ordered $8.3 million cut from the Dept. of Corrections.  In December, governor ordered an additional post-enactment budget cut of some $3.2 million, forcing reductions in overtime and revising bed management options for inmates.

Missouri  

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

Failed: Proposal changing the current system for considering the severity of an inmate's crime as a major factor in parole decisions. The proposal would have also shifted the decision to release inmates, with low-level felonies, to the state Corrections Director. The changes would have increased the number of inmates released early, cutting costs.

New Hampshire

Enacted: The state closed one prison and laid off 97 corrections positions.  

Enacted: Habitual motor vehicle offenders (except drunk drivers) were placed in home confinement, rather than prisons.

Enacted: Budget closed district courts in Hillsborough, New London, Plaistow, Hooksett, and Keene. 

Enacted: State postponed filling 7 of the state's 59 vacant judgeships.

New Jersey

Enacted: Riverfront State Prison was closed.

New Mexico

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, legislature cut the Corrections budget by 7% - or $21 million.

Enacted: Budget reduces state funding of the courts by 3.5%.

New York

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, governor ordered $69.3 million cut from the Dept. of Correctional Services.

Enacted: Seven prison annexes and three prison camps in upstate New York were closed, eliminating 550 jobs.

Enacted: "Rockefeller drug laws" were revised to decrease the mandatory minimum sentences.

North Carolina

Enacted: Budget authorized closure of seven minimum-security prisons, saving about $22 million.

North Dakota

Ohio

Enacted: Budget eliminated breakfast service in all prisons on Saturdays and Sundays. Inmates received the same amount of food during brunch and dinner as they had received in three meals, but the state savings were made in staff time and preparation costs.

Oklahoma

Enacted: Dept. of Corrections instituted an agricultural work program to offset the cost of feeding the inmate population. In FY 2009, the measure generated $888,000 in profit via sales of agricultural products such as beef, firewood, and pecans.

Enacted: Juvenile Affairs cancelled detention programs and authorized 22 furlough days. 

Enacted: Dept. of Corrections employees required to take 10-12 furlough days between March and June.

Oregon 

Enacted: HB 3508 allowed for the increased release of felons for good behavior. 

Enacted: Chief Justice ordered all courts to close on Fridays through the end of FY 2009.

Enacted: Pay for 1,800 court workers was cut by 20%.

Pennsylvania

Failed: Proposal to send additional drug offenders to treatment rather than prison.

Enacted: Governor sent 1,000 inmates to Michigan to reduce overcrowding and associated corrections costs.

Enacted: Budget cut funding to the judicial branch by 10%.

Puerto Rico  

Rhode Island

Enacted: Budget imposed a $100 processing charge for criminals seeking to expunge their records. 

Enacted: Budget cuts led state's probation and parole officers to accept pay concessions to avoid layoffs.

South Carolina

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, across-the-board cuts of 4.4% resulted in a $13 million cut to the corrections budget.

South Dakota

Enacted: 3.3% cut from the Dept. of Corrections budget.

Enacted: 3.3% cut from the budget of the courts. 

Tennessee

Texas

Failed: Proposed bill would have allowed Dept. of Criminal Justice to determine if an inmate had successfully met rehabilitation qualifications. 

U. S. Virgin Islands

Utah

Enacted: Budget eliminates ongoing funding for the corrections transitions center which serves eligible parolees with various transitional services.

Enacted: Reduced ongoing funds for Juvenile Justice Receiving Centers and reduced clinical services for juvenile offenders.

Failed: Court employees avoided a proposed 26-day furlough.

Enacted: Budget eliminated approximately $4 million of ongoing general funds for the courts in personnel other program reductions.

Vermont

Failed: Proposal to close a prison in St. Johnsbury was shelved by the legislature.

Virginia

Enacted: Post-enactment of the budget, the governor ordered the closure of three corrections facilities, including two older prisons and one juvenile facility. As part of the closures, 225 Dept. of Corrections employees were laid off.

Enacted: Governor cut state appropriations to local jails by about 7%.

Washington

Enacted: Biennium budget cut funding by nearly $1.8 billion, or 6.7% from the previous biennium. Cuts led to the elimination of about 300 prison jobs and 200 community-corrections positions.

Enacted: Measure ends the supervision of nearly 10,000 ex-convicts on probation. The measure required assessing the risk of the offender and certain low-risk, non-sex offenders would no longer be supervised.

Enacted: Court fees increased across-the-board.

Enacted: Misdemeanor courts held a "Debt Reduction Program" to help those with suspended driver's licenses pay court fines and get privileges restored. 

West Virginia 

Wisconsin

Enacted: 2009 Wisconsin Act 28 allowed certain low-level offenders to earn time off from their sentences. It also allowed "low-risk" offenders to be released on supervision.

Wyoming

Key:
(N/A) = Not applicable

Source: NCSL survey of state legislative fiscal offices: June 2009 and November 2008. Various media and government outlets: January through December 2009.

This table is intended to provide general information and does not necessarily address all aspects of this topic. The table reflects in summary form information gathered from media sources and NCSL surveys of legislative fiscal offices. Please contact us at budget.revenue.updates@ncsl.org if you know of any additional information that should be reflected here or any errors that should be corrected.