Money for prison projects approved

CARSON CITY -- Prison beds will take a big chunk of an $804 million capital construction program approved by the Legislature's two money committees Thursday.

The construction budget includes six prison projects costing $285 million, 35 percent of the total.

But higher education made out well too, receiving about $99 million to complete several projects already under way and another $90 million for several projects for the Health Sciences System spread out over different campuses.

The Health Sciences System projects, designed to boost Nevada's pool of nurses and physicians and expand the medical school specializations, require a 30 percent match from other university funds, including donations, to advance.

The money allocated to the Nevada System of Higher Education would finish the science, engineering and technology building at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, at a cost of $21 million, and the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs, also at UNLV, at a cost of $19.4 million, among other projects.

Executive Vice Chancellor Dan Klaich said the system did well, given the limited amount of money available this session for projects outside of corrections.

"In a perfect world, we would have really liked to have gotten more planning money for system projects," he said.

The Department of Corrections' allocation included $66.2 million for an expansion of the Southern Nevada Women's Correctional Center, $53.1 million for the fifth phase of the High Desert State Prison and $56.8 million for an expansion of the Indian Springs Conservation Camp.