The Oklahoma Department of Corrections is seeking an additional $31.5 million in next year's budget to help manage the state's growing prison population.
With the increase, the agency is seeking about $495 million in funding for fiscal year 2015. The department says the money would be used to pay for a growing number of offenders who are placed in private prisons.
Greg Sawyer is chief of business operations for the Department of Corrections. He says the agency is not requesting extra money for salary increases or capital improvements — just funding to manage the prison population.
Sawyer tells the Tulsa World that the Corrections Department is currently out of public prison space.
State officials say budget talks are just beginning, but that a significant growth in revenue isn't expected.
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