TOPEKA — The Kansas Secretary of Corrections would be able to sell prison-made goods to more entities under two bills before a House committee.
Both of the measures would allow the secretary to sell products to any person or organization in Kansas. One would allow a vocational building program to manufacture housing units for sale or donation to the public.
Corrections Secretary Johnnie Goddard told the House Committee on Commerce, Labor and Economic Development on Monday that the program would reduce the recidivism rate from 35 percent to 18 percent.
Proponents from Ellsworth say the program also would address the shortage in rural housing. A representative of the Kansas Manufactured Housing Association argued that the measures would create unfair competition.
The Department of Corrections would pay inmates up to $1.05 a day.
