[01/23/01] A bill that would place more state prisoners in county jails passed in the House Monday and is on its way to the Senate for consideration.

House Bill No. 315, written by Rep. George Flaggs, D-Vicksburg, would give judges the discretion to send nonviolent offenders sentenced to up to three years to county jails rather than the state penitentiary. Flaggs, who serves on the Legislative Budget Committee, has said the bill will save Mississippi money in a year where lawmakers are scraping for every dollar.

The money would be saved by housing some of the state’s 20,000 prisoners in local jails, where the cost of keeping inmates is about $30 per day compared with $42.91 per day in state prisons.

Flaggs has said the state would reimburse counties for the cost, but some Warren County officials including Sheriff Martin Pace and District Attorney Gil Martin have said it would put an unnecessary burden on local governments.

A concern of local officials is that the county’s jail on Grove Street, which holds up to 128 people and usually houses about 80, would have little room for additional prisoners. Also, the facility is designed for short-term holding and is not adequate for long-term housing of inmates, according to local officials.

Officials also fear that the reimbursement from the state will not match the actual cost of housing the additional inmates and that the cost would fall on the counties.

The Department of Corrections pays the county $20 a day for each state prisoner housed and reimburses the county for prisoner medical expenses.

Under existing law, judges have the discretion to send misdemeanor convicts sentenced to less than a year to county jails.

State prisoners are held in county jails during their trials and are transferred to the state to serve their sentences. Anyone sentenced on a felony conviction becomes a state prisoner.

Non-violent crimes are defined in the bill as those that do not involve the use or attempted use of force, deadly weapon, injury or attempted injury, or killing or attempted killing.