A new bill in Topeka proposes legalizing the use of prison labor to build housing.
Current Kansas law limits the state’s corrections department – which oversees eight prisons – from establishing programs that allow inmates to learn the trade and manufacture or build houses, wrote Rep. Kyler Sweely in an email to KMUW.
The new bill, requested by Sweely, would create an exception. The corrections department could establish a program that delivers prison-made housing units to parts of the state that have experienced little to no building activity despite efforts to encourage development.
The state, in partnership with local communities, would determine eligible areas within Kansas.
“The goal is to address housing shortages in areas that need it most while also providing inmates with valuable job training that can help them successfully reintegrate into society,” Sweely wrote.
Sweely, a Republican who represents Hutchinson, did not respond to requests for an interview. The bill has not yet received a hearing, which will likely limit its opportunity to advance this legislative session.
Kansas, like much of the country, faces a housing shortage. The Kansas Housing Resources Corporation estimated in November that rural Kansas needs between 3,800 to 4,800 new units built per year over the next five years. The analysis didn’t include metropolitan areas like Sedgwick, Douglas or Johnson counties – each of which have their own housing needs.
The state’s existing laws were written in an attempt to shield private housing manufacturers from competition with prison-made housing, Sweely wrote. This blocked creative solutions for the state’s “housing crisis,” he added.
At least some members of Kansas’ construction industry support Sweely’s proposal, including the Associated General Contractors of Kansas. The organization bills itself as the Chamber of Commerce for the Kansas construction industry.
“We are in support of such a initiative in that it grows the Kansas workforce and assist those that may have stubbed their toe in life and are in search of an opportunity to get their feet back on the ground,” wrote Mike Gibson, the AGC’s executive vice president, in an email to KMUW.
Gibson said that the AGC has worked with several correctional facilities around the state for years, including offering construction masonry training to low-risk inmates at the El Dorado Correctional Facility.
But organizations that often advocate for prisoners’ rights warn a program like the one Sweely is proposing could raise concerns of exploitation of inmates.
Rashane Hamby is the director of Policy and Research at the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas. In an email to KMUW, she wrote that expanding access to vocational training and employment opportunities for incarcerated individuals can be beneficial, but it must be instituted carefully.
"Any prison labor program must ensure that participation is truly voluntary, that workers are fairly compensated, and that conditions meet established labor standards,” Hamby wrote. “The risk of exploitation in prison labor programs is well-documented, and without proper safeguards, programs like the one proposed in HB 2328 could raise serious concerns about fairness and economic justice."
Hamby said wages for incarcerated workers vary significantly based on the nature of their employment. Standard prison jobs – such as custodial or food service – can pay less than a dollar a day in Kansas.
Inmates can also work for Kansas Correctional Industries, a state program where prisoners help manufacture a wide-range of products, from chairs to cleaning equipment. These jobs can pay up to $3 an hour. The state limits who can purchase these products to primarily government agencies and not-for-profit organizations.
Prisoners can also be employed by private industry, where they must be paid minimum wage and are often paid more.
Inmates employed by Kansas Correctional Industries or private industry are required to send 25% of their weekly wages to the state for room and board.
Sweely did not respond to email asking what inmates working under the program he proposed would get paid.
