Prisons Director Looking for Bigger Budget in Idaho

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee was asked for a bump in the next fiscal year for prisons in Idaho. A 7 percent budget increase is what the Idaho Department of Corrections Prisons Director, Henry Atencio is seeking to get. According to KTVB, Atencio asked legislative budget writers to approve the change that would help fund beds and services for inmates, and "revamp the state's computer system for tracking inmates."

The fiscal year begins in July, and if the budget increase is approved, IDOC would reach $264.4 million compared to about $247 million from the previous fiscal year. So how many inmates does IDOC house? KTVB reports that the state's prison population could reach as many as 8,500 inmates by this summer.

According to KTVB, the estimate of the state's prison population includes the nearly 700 that will be in county jails, as well as about 190 people that will eventually be sent to prisons in other states in the following years.