Lincoln County Sheriff Todd Brackett announced the Maine Sheriffs Association’s vote to back legislation that would revert Two Bridges Regional Jail to county control at the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday, Feb. 3.
The Maine Sheriffs Association voted 15-1 to back, in concept, LD 186, An Act To Reverse Jail Consolidation, at its Jan. 29 meeting, Brackett said.
“We’re all frustrated with the lack of state support and lack of support from the governor’s office (for the county jail system),” Brackett said. “We feel like we’ve been given no alternative. It’s the hand that we’ve been dealt.”
LD 186 was introduced by Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville, on Jan. 27. The legislation would dissolve the Maine Board of Corrections and return county jails to county control. It would also provide consistent state funding to support county jails.
The legislation would bolster the Community Corrections Incentive Fund, which administers grants to the county correctional system. It would also establish a Community Corrections Fund and a County Jail Prisoner Support Fund to subsidize county corrections with state funding.
The legislation, in its current form, calls for approximately $12.2 million in state funds to be allocated to the Community Corrections Fund annually.
“This bill comes with the potential for some sustained state funding,” Brackett said. Brackett said state funding would be “crucial” to help offset property taxes. The abolition of the Board of Corrections would also abolish the 2008 cap on property taxes used to fund county corrections.
In a statement announcing support for LD 186, the Maine Sheriff’s Association said, “The State Board of Corrections is a fatally flawed experiment, and we are ready to resume our 188-year tradition of responsibly managing our jails on behalf of the citizens of our counties.”
Brackett told the commissioners the Maine Sheriffs Association backed the concept behind the legislation. Details such as the formula to determine costs for housing inmates outside the county were still unclear.
“We need to be at the table as this unfolds, and as the clay is molded in Augusta,” Brackett said. “This is going to pick up steam in committee.”
Brackett said there has been no adverse reaction to the legislation from the governor’s office so far, and he is unaware of any legislation introduced to transfer county jails to state control.
LD 186 was referred to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety on Jan. 29. No public work sessions or hearings on the bill have been scheduled.
