Sale or Lease of the Hastings Correctional Center to a Private Contractor

JON BRUNING A TIORNEY GENERAL SUBJECT: STATE OF NEBRASKA <!&fftce of toe ~ttornep ~eneral 2115 STATE CAPITOL BUILDING LINCOLN, NE 68509-8920 (402) 471-2682 TDD (402) 471-2682 CAPITOL FAX (402) 471-3297 TIERONE FAX (402) 471-4725 -:::f:r OS o o NO. STATE OF NEBRASKA OFFICIAL MAY 12 2005 DEPT. OF JUSTICE Sale or Lease of the Hastings Correctional Center to a Private Contractor REQUESTED BY: Carroll Burling, Senator Nebraska State Legislature WRITTEN BY: Jon Bruning, Attorney General Lynn A. Melson , Assistant Attorney General You have requested our opinion whether current state statutes "allow the state to lease or sell HCC (Hastings Correctional Center) to a private contractor for purposes of incarceration." You note that it was recently announced that HCC will officially close on June 1, 2005 and the facility will then be vacant. It is our understanding that HCC was closed as a tfacility to house state inmates in 2002, but has been used pursuant to a contract with the federal government as a holding center for detained illegal immigrants. The operation, leasing and construction of Nebraska prisons by private contractors is governed by the Private Prison Contracting Act. Neb. Rev. Stat. §§47-801 to47-807 (2004). This Act, enacted in 2001 , was intended to regulate all private prisons in Nebraska. Committee Records on LB 751 , 971h Neb. Leg., 151 Sess. 2-4 (March 1, 2001 ). (LB 751 was later amended into LB 85). The Act authorizes the Department of Correctional SeNices (DCS) to provide for incarceration at facilities other than those operated by DCS, to contract Printed wfth soy Ink on recycled paper Carroll Burling, Senator May 10, 2005 Page -3- contract with DCS. In our view, after a determination by the Committee that the building is vacant, HCC could only be sold or leased to a private entity for purposes other than a private prison. APPROVED: 9-303-24 Sincerely, JON BRINING Attorney General ~1-~ d ynn A. Melson Assistant Attorney General