Dan Shannon, director of the Wyoming Department of Corrections, presented the agency’s exception requests to the Joint Appropriations Committee on Nov. 20, laying out operational pressures that he said are driving a $41.8 million package of requests for the 2027–28 biennium.

Out‑of‑facility housing and staffing: Shannon said Priority No. 1 seeks $9,312,374 (one‑time) to address the recent need to house Wyoming inmates in county jails and a private Mississippi prison after staff vacancies forced relocations. He told the committee DOC had moved roughly 240 inmates out of state and since returned 112, leaving 128 still in Mississippi; the biennium cost to house inmates out of state was about $15 million, he said. Shannon said the statewide agency had 136 vacancies (about 80 uniform vacancies), and that reopening WSP’s closed B Unit requires a net of 25 correctional officers. Committee members pressed DOC on per‑diem comparisons; Shannon said private out‑of‑state beds averaged $75/day plus full medical and that in‑state daily costs (including medical) averaged roughly $122–$124.

Offender management system: DOC requested $12,250,000 one‑time to replace two aging offender management software systems (WCIS for prisons and Monitor for field supervision). Shannon said the systems are at security risk, do not interface, and impede operations, and that an RFP was completed with ETS and consultants; he estimated implementation would take roughly 28–36 months and that ongoing maintenance costs would be developed after implementation.

Therapeutic community beds and contracts: Shannon described a third‑party contract for 100 therapeutic community beds in Casper (a medium‑custody residential substance‑abuse treatment center). Per‑diem had not increased in 14 years; Shannon said he agreed to raise the rate from about $66 to $77 to avoid cancellation, and asked for one‑time and ongoing funding to preserve capacity or, if denied, to reduce beds by 13.

Medical costs, utilities and food inflation: The DOC asked for $600,000 ongoing for contracted medical services citing a growing elderly inmate population and increasingly complex off‑site care, and highlighted transport costs for medical care and security protocols that have increased personnel costs. The agency also requested increases in food and utility spending authority across several facilities, citing sharp commodity and utility price growth.

Pay and overtime: Shannon explained prior efforts to increase correctional officer pay to remain competitive with county jails and the private sector; he said the agency previously sought a larger salary increase but will defer to the governor’s pay plan and asked the committee to consider a $400,000 overtime appropriation to align with the wage change and to reduce reliance on overtime and out‑of‑state housing.

Records and security projects: Shannon provided an update on security projects (locks, fences and control centers) requested in the supplemental; he said committed costs are approximately $13.9M with about $4M spent and proposed to provide the committee a written security update.

Shannon presented the requests as operational necessities: he said DOC’s total ongoing general fund increase would be about 2.74% if all requests are approved and stressed that many requests are one‑time items or cost‑of‑doing‑business increases, not new positions. Committee members asked for supplemental written materials on costs, plans to bring inmates home, and details on the offender management procurement. Shannon said he would provide follow‑up. The committee did not take immediate votes on the request package.