ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota House voted 70-61 to ban private prisons. The bill next goes to the Senate. The last private prison in the stat, the Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton, closed in 2010. There had been research that showed private operators inadequately funded their operations. Representative Patti Anderson, a Dellwood Republican, called the bill fiscally irresponsible because it would require the state to borrow money to build new prisons. Dan Wolgamott, a St. Cloud Democrat, called private prisons a threat to public safety: “Private prisons result in higher rates of recidivism. They do not adequately fund the rehab programs for mental health drug abuse. Things that we do to make sure that when people who are incarcerated come back into the communities they have received the support that they need to be successful members of our society.”
