Senate subcommittee reviews Georgia DOC supplemental budget as staffing, contraband, and outside medical costs top requests

The Georgia Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Corrections reviewed the Department of Corrections’ supplemental budget request, focusing on correctional officer staffing, contraband mitigation and rising costs for outside‑the‑wire medical care. Chairman Robertson opened the hearing and asked DOC leaders to walk the committee through the governor’s amended recommendations.

DOC representatives said the total population housed at the Department of Corrections is roughly 50,000, with an additional 3,000 housed in probation‑detention and reentry centers. Applied Research Services (ARS), the contractor cited by DOC, projected a five‑year increase toward about 55,000 offenders and a longer‑term estimate near 60,400. “The total population housed at the Department of Corrections is roughly 50,000,” DOC staff said during the presentation.

A central budget request sought funding to improve correctional officer staffing ratios from approximately 1:14 toward a Guidehouse benchmark of 1:11. DOC said the plan does not create new state slots but would fully fund existing filled positions and accommodate promotions; officials estimated roughly 890 additional field COs would reach the target ratio. The governor’s recommendation includes $4.9 million for those positions; DOC staff said the House version raised that figure to about $9.7 million.

Senators pressed DOC on mechanics for paying filled but unfunded positions. DOC explained the agency uses agency‑generated “other funds” (work‑detail reimbursements, telephone commissions and commissary revenue) to cover personnel costs when appropriated funds are insufficient, and noted statutory restrictions that require certain revenues (for example, Braille unit proceeds) to stay within particular programs.

Contraband mitigation was another major topic. DOC reported validated gang affiliations at about 15,888 offenders (roughly 31% of the population) and proposed adding security‑threat‑group regional coordinators and six additional K‑9 handlers. DOC also requested equipment including detection systems and 15 drones to assist outside‑the‑wire tracking. Senators questioned the legality and technology of drone suppression and asked how DOC would avoid interference with FAA restrictions; DOC said federal guidance and training are pending for mitigation tools and that DOC can “white list” its drones for operations outside the prison wire.

Medical costs outside the prison walls drew scrutiny. DOC described a FY26 amended request of about $38.8 million for outside‑the‑wire per‑diem and additional beds including Autry (about 500 offenders and a 17‑bed skilled nursing unit), a 24/7 14‑bed infirmary at McRae, and expansions at Johnson State Prison. DOC and contractor representatives said outside inpatient care can cost roughly $4,000 per inmate per day and that an aging, medically complex incarcerated population has driven higher off‑site costs. DOC also detailed a risk‑share arrangement with its health contractor: the contract includes a $60 million attachment point, then DOC responsibility for the next $15 million before a 50/50 split above that level.

Committee members asked for more granular data. DOC said the department is improving its electronic health records and auditing processes; a Centurion representative acknowledged outstanding audit items and said contractors and DOC are working to reconcile claims and rates.

The hearing also covered education and reentry programming, jail subsidy payments for county jails (DOC said about 1,400 inmates are currently subsidized and roughly 2,000 await transfer), capital projects including modular (ModCor) units coming online this year, and locking‑control retrofit work being staged with Tiger teams and contractors. Private providers CoreCivic and GEO presented bed‑expansion proposals; GEO offered a revised single‑cell expansion and CoreCivic discussed a larger medium‑security expansion with a roughly 24–30 month completion estimate.

The subcommittee did not take formal votes during the hearing. Members requested follow‑up data on projections, vacancy and revenue accounting, per‑diem comparisons for private providers, and the Centurion audit reconciliation. Chairman Robertson adjourned the meeting after members and DOC staff closed remarks.