The Freedom Caucus has witnessed turmoil over the past 9 months with the Department of Corrections. The legislature rejected an $825 Million dollar prison bill just 6 months ago, the Secretary of Corrections has recently resigned. Additionally, almost two dozen house members even within the past two weeks have publicly stated that “trust is gone” with the DOC and Administration along with many others in the legislature on future plans for a new prison, even declaring “there has been no accountability and no concrete explanation of how the Administration overestimated the cost by $175 Million”.

While The Freedom caucus commends Governor Rhoden for accepting DOC Secretary Wasko’s resignation, the concerns remain that a complex building purchase will not solve. The Freedom Caucus continues to agree with these concerns and more, and has had concerns with this chaotic, unwise expenditure of taxpayer funds. The Freedom caucus calls upon the South Dakota legislature to reject this largest single expenditure in South Dakota history for building a new prison for an uncapped $650+ Million dollars and ongoing $55million dollars per year obligation for the following reasons:

1. Chaos – The DOC and Administration is in chaos over corrections with no
   Secretary and must have a new Secretary installed, 12 months on the job
   analysis, and major policy reform before any significant prison building changes
   are implemented since policy is what affects safety, our high recidivism, and
   management.
2. Already Usable Prison – The existing State Penitentiary, while old, is still in a
   completely usable condition and is housing prisoners in conjunction with the
   Jameson annex.
3. No extreme growth needed – South Dakota does not need to be tempted to
   take more federal prisoners for money, unequal state exchanges, or massive
   increases in bed space that is not needed. Additionally Moody’s September
   2025 indicates South Dakota is at high risk for recession – the wrong time for
   giant expenditures.
4. No True Spending CAP – there is no GMP (Guaranteed Maximum Price), so
   even if this initial bill is limited at $650 Million, if a “valuable component” is not
   finished in that price, DOC will have to return the legislature to ask for more
   money in 12-36 months. As most know, construction projects are often much
   more – this is likely to result as a $1Billion PLUS project.
5. Huge ongoing increases – The FAQ listed on the Governors website obscures
   (by saying closing the $25M/yr current prison will ‘offset some of the ongoing
   costs’.) The facts that should be published, are that the cost will increase from
   $25Million a year now to ADDING another $30 Million a year to a total of
   $55Million per year!
6. No Alternative Views accepted – One single prime contractor continues to be a
   single bid, no opposing voices were placed on the summer task force, no
   alternative options proposed other than a massive new build were willing to be
   considered.Instead, the Freedom Caucus calls upon the Administration and the Department of Corrections to find a more reasonable alternative or follow this Six-Point Plan alternative:

1. PAUSE AND PATIENCE – suspend the race to spend, hire a new Secretary of
   Corrections and give them 12 months to study the situation and implement
   POLICY changes that are the most important thing needed before building
   changes.
2. FIX BACKLOGS AND DEFERRED MAINTENANCE – rank and fix the top 25%
   of the backlogged work orders that have been put on hold with the current state
   Prison.
3. EXISTING EXPANSION – Jameson complex was built originally for the very
   purpose of expansion! Expand it with more beds, if truly needed, and use the
   remaining funds for light to medium add-ons for other prison needs around the
   state. Focus on expansion that accommodates policy that includes work release
   and job training.
4. MORE EFFICIENT MASTERPLAN – create a masterplan re-organization for
   using the resources that already exist like Mike Durfee prison, Jameson annex,
   State Penitentiary and even current extra mental health capacity at Redfield.
   Reject Federal prisoners so we are not obligated to do expensive updates to the
   state prisons to reach federal code.
5. BETTER BUDGETING – use ONLY the one time Covid Money $365M for this
   prison refurbishment plan, and use any remaining money that has been set aside
   or is wanted to be used, instead for unwisely obligated taxpayer obligations like
   the recently signed without legislative approval Sioux Falls One Stop building
   which STILL requires $300+ Million dollars.
6. POLICY RENEWAL – renew the policy as safety, allocations, work release, on
   the job training, faith integration have all suffered immensely as a result of
   existing flawed policy and instead return to common sense policy implemented
   by forward looking leaders.

In conclusion, democrat operative Raum Emmanuel infamously said: “Never let a crisis go to waste.” It seems that some are trying to use this playbook in the current environment of chaos and confusion over the prison. We reject this approach for a likely billion dollar project. Additionally, with many legislators already feeling uneasy, it is not a wise choice to be voting for something with so many concerns and questions – and with at least one clear and efficient alternative plan available.