The House Committee on Appropriations on April 7 reviewed the Department of Corrections’ recommended FY26 executive budget and heard officials describe staffing shortages, population trends and large one‑time spending reductions.

The committee heard that “the Department of Corrections is recommended to have 768,500,000 in the total budget,” Zion Wilson of the House Fiscal Division said as he opened the presentation. He told the committee the budget relies heavily on state general fund and concentrates spending in incarceration programs.

Wilson said the fiscal package lists $707,700,000 in state general fund, which makes up roughly 92.1% of DOC’s proposed budget, and described a $1.2 billion total for combined adult and juvenile correctional costs. He also reported an operational population snapshot: “as of April 2, there were 13,950 offenders in state custody.”

The budget package shifts funding compared with FY25, with staff presenting a $20.8 million net decrease in state general fund largely driven by the removal of acquisitions and major repairs that were one‑time items in FY25. Personnel services are up $33.3 million for base adjustments and pay increases, while acquisitions and major repairs fall by $54.5 million because $59.2 million of one‑time equipment and repairs were removed.

Secretary Gary Westcott, Department of Public Safety and Corrections, answered committee questions about staffing. Westcott noted vacancies and turnover remain a challenge. “We were probably sitting at about 800 vacancies… last year it was around 500 vacancies and today it's probably in the low 4 hundreds,” he told the committee, stressing recruiting gains but persistent turnover in units such as Angola and Hunt.

Committee members pressed on several operational points: capacity and bed fill, the per‑offender daily cost, and local housing per diem rates. Wilson described the FY25 example cost to provide care as roughly $102.55 a day per offender after adjusting for canteen funding. The presentation also noted local housing of state adult offenders accounted for 16.1% of total correctional funding and that changes in how savings are carried forward now send portions to LCTCS, DOC grants and crime victim services.

Members asked about morale and retention steps. Westcott said the department worked with civil service to create special pay rates and recruitment incentives; he cited increases that allow new officers to earn roughly $40,000 a year in some entry tracks, up from about $26,000 eight or nine years ago. He acknowledged those steps reduce vacancies but do not fully solve turnover.

The presentation listed personnel counts and vacancy numbers: FY26 is recommended to authorize 4,890 TO positions and 23 FTEs; as of Dec. 30 the department reported 403 vacancies. The slides also flagged overtime and health‑care costs as major recurring pressures, with $34.2 million called out for healthcare services and $29.1 million for risk‑management payments in the other charges category.

The committee pressed on local housing and Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) savings calculations and on concrete asks for supplemental funding; Westcott and undersecretary Thomas Bickham remained at the table to answer follow‑ups.

The Appropriations committee will consider these budget lines as it moves through the fiscal process; no formal committee votes on the DOC request were recorded at this hearing.