Rep. Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville, surprised the House Republican caucus Tuesday on Utah’s Capitol Hill.
He suggested the Prison Relocation Commission should be given the authority to make the final decision on the location for the new state prison, without approval of the full legislature, according to Rep, Doug Sagers, R-Tooele.
“It came out of the blue,” Sagers said. “I don’t think his idea went over too well with most members of the caucus. We aren’t going to abrogate our responsibility to weigh in on a project that will cost the state over a half billion dollars.”
The legislation passed in 2014 that created the PRC requires the House and Senate, along with the governor, to approve the site for the new state prison.
The legislation also calls for the relocation of the state prison in Draper. It gives the PRC the responsibility to study and evaluate how and where to relocate the state prison and report its findings to the 2015 Legislature.
The PRC is also required to take into consideration prison programming to reduce recidivism, access to courts and comprehensive medical care, and proximity to volunteers and employees while it evaluates potential sites.
The bill that created the PRC contains a provision to sunset the PRC in 2017.
But at the time, Sen. Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton, who now is the Senate co-chair of the PRC, said that he anticipated that the 2015 Legislature would act on the commission’s recommendations.
Sagers said he would vehemently oppose invalidating the provision of the 2014 legislation that requires the PRC’s report be acted on by the full Legislature.
“That’s something I would fight with tooth and nails,” he said.
The PRC consists of four members of the House appointed by the speaker of the House, and three members of the Senate appointed by the president of the Senate.
The director of the Department of Corrections and the executive director of the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice serve as nonvoting members on the PRC.
The PRC has changed the location for its meeting scheduled for Friday.
The meeting will be held at 1 p.m. in room 30 of the House Office Building on the state Capitol campus. The House Office Building is located north and west of the Capitol building.
The agenda for the meeting includes a discussion of their 2015 report to the Legislature and governor. The meeting will also include a summary overview of additional potential sites and the discussion of future evaluation steps of all potential sites.