Gov. Parson’s budget to include $22 million for county jail reimbursement

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An effort is underway by the Parson administration to pay down the $33,429,739 tab owed to county jails across the state.

The state has been accruing the debt across 114 counties which transport, house, process, extradite, feed and provide health care to offenders in the pre-trial or appeal phases.

Gov. Parson said Friday in an address to the County Commissioners Association of Missouri that his budget proposal will include a $22 million sum to pay down a large portion of the backlog.

The state has three methods for county reimbursement, according to its website:

• Bill of Costs – These are expenses that accrue as a result of various costs and fees arising out of the prosecution of certain crimes.
• Extradition – These are expenses that accrue as a result of a fugitive being returned to Missouri to face the disposition of criminal charges.
• Transportation – These are delivery expenses that accrue as a result of convicted offenders being delivered to the department’s Reception and Diagnostic Centers.

The board reimbursement rate has not significantly changed since at least 1998, according to the Missouri Department of Corrections.

Below is a summary of the backlogged debt owed to some of the counties in mid-Missouri as of Dec. 31, 2019: