Legislators vote to close Nevada State Prison in 2012

CARSON CITY -- Legislators voted to close the 140-year-old Nevada State Prison next April, giving workers an extra six months to find jobs.

Gov. Brian Sandoval had proposed to close the Carson City prison Oct. 31, a step to save $17.3 million over the next two years.

But a joint budget committee adopted an alternative plan Saturday to delay the closure in the hope that prison officials could find jobs for the 107 prison employees who would have been laid off by the governor's proposal. The delay in closure will reduce the savings by about $5 million.

Acting Corrections Director Greg Cox expressed hope that he could find jobs for almost all laid-off employees in Northern Nevada.

The vote to close the prison came during a joint meeting of the Assembly Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees. Moves to close the prison repeatedly were made during the last three years by Gov. Jim Gibbons, but blocked by legislators and the State Board of Prison Commissioners.

Under the approved plan, more than 500 inmates from the Nevada State Prison will be moved to the High Desert State Prison near Indian Springs, while about 200 more will be moved to other prisons. About 86 correctional officers will be transferred to these prisons, but the future job prospects of 107 employees remain uncertain.

Assemblywoman Maggie Carlton, D-Las Vegas, said it is incumbent upon the state to provide retraining program for the laid-off correctional officers. "These are employees without any options," she said. "It is a very select job."

Cox responded, "Almost everyone would have a job if they choose to leave the area and go to Las Vegas or other parts of the state."

"Some folks can't move," Carlton replied. "They have wives, children, mortgages. There has to be a way to help them."

During the meeting Saturday, legislators first rejected Sandoval's proposal to close the prison by Oct. 31. That led to clapping from correctional officers in the audience.

But Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, advised the crowd to hold off on clapping. Then legislative staff members announced the alternative plan to delay the closure by six months, a delay Horsford said would give employees more time to plan for their futures and High Desert prison time to prepare for the new inmates.

In response to Horsford's questions, Cox said there are no plans to build any additional prisons in Nevada. Cox noted the Southern Nevada Correction Center in Jean has been closed for nearly three years. That prison has space for 712 inmates, but Cox has not been able to find a private prison operator willing to rent the facility.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.