- Sen. Mike Carrell: No art for prisons.
Republican State Senator Mike Carrell of Steilacoom says no, and he's planning to make his opinion the law of the land.
His bill to ban purchases of art for state prisons argues that such expenditures are not a "wise use of taxpayer funds."
The legislature recognizes one of its foremost duties is the prioritization and wise use of taxpayer funds. The legislature concludes that the placement of art at a correctional facility is not a priority over other state programs such as education and public safety, and further expenditures on such activities constitute a misuse and waste of taxpayer funds. To prevent such misuse of taxpayer dollars, the legislature hereby intends to prohibit the expenditure of public funds on placement of works of art in the special commitment center on McNeil Island, secure community transition facilities and other halfway houses operated by the department of social and health services to house persons subject to the community protection act of 1990, and facilities operated by the department of corrections. Moneys allocated for this purpose shall be redirected to the general fund.
How much would this bill actually save? Sen. Carrell's office said he was too busy to talk about it—now or ever, it sounded like—but the fiscal note for his bill estimates that it would save the state about $120,000 in the next two years, and about $520,000 in the two years following. The state's current budget shortfall is $4.6 billion.
