The Texas prison system could slash its operating budget by about $250 million in the next few years, reports The Texas Tribune. The budget cuts come after the Texas Department of Criminal Justice was asked to trim its budget by four percent.
In late June, Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Joe Straus instructed most state agencies to trim four percent from their budgets. Texas contains the US’s largest prison system. The system has an annual operating budget of more than $3 billion. TDCJ hold about 40,000 employees and close to 150,000 inmates.
It’s unclear how the cuts will be made. Cost-saving measures could include releasing more nonviolent inmates or shutting down prisons. However, closing prisons would likely mean laying off prison workers, which could negatively impact the state economy.
