Prison construction starts as legislators approve more money for expansion

A ceremonial groundbreaking took place Tuesday on three low-security housing facilities at the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge, the result of $156 million allocated by the 2023 Legislature, as lawmakers this year have approved proposals with an additional $436 million for further expansion aimed at addressing overcrowding.

The new buildings will replace three of the four existing low-security units and increase the prison’s overall capacity by 117. The contracted firms, DLR Group and Sletten Construction, expect to finish the project in October 2027.

According to the Montana Department of Corrections, the 1,553 inmates at the state prison exceed the facility’s operational capacity by 27. Just over 600 Montana men are currently imprisoned out of state, with 60% of the total in Arizona and 40% in Mississippi. Other inmates are currently serving their sentence in local jails as they wait for available prison space.

“The reality is, we just need more beds,” Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte said at a press event to mark the groundbreaking.

Rep. John Fitzpatrick, R-Anaconda, carried the 2023 Legislation now funding the additional units. In the 1970s, Fitzpatrick said he worked at the Office of Budget and Program Planning to analyze the budget of DOC’s predecessor, the Department of Institutions. 

“I was around here when the old prison was still in operation and when this facility was built for the first time,” Fitzpatrick said at MSP on Tuesday. “I didn’t realize it, but 50 years later, I’d be back in the corrections business carrying House Bill 817 in the last session.”

In addition to new housing, Fitzpatrick’s 2023 bill put an additional $56 million toward other MSP infrastructure improvements, including fence enhancements, emergency notification systems and water line replacements. 

In 2023, the bill faced opposition for what opponents said was too large of a price tag for a single recipient: Tennessee-based prison company CoreCivic. On the Senate floor that year, former Sen. Ryan Lynch, D-Butte, called the bill the “biggest piece of pork you’ve ever seen.” The Legislation passed through the House and Senate by mostly party-line votes.