Michigan would close a prison to save $19 million in the next fiscal year under a budget agreement struck by lawmakers. The closure is included in a bill approved unanimously Tuesday by a House-Senate conference committee.
Michigan has 30 prisons, but the number of inmates has been declining. A Department of Corrections spokesman says agency leaders do not yet know which facility will be closed during the fiscal year starting in October.
A Muskegon-area prison closed earlier this year.
The budget bill headed to final legislative votes also includes $13 million to transition back to having state employees oversee prison food operations instead of a private company.
