Arizona inmates could get pay bump in 2015

PHOENIX — The 2015 Arizona Legislative session kicks off Monday, Jan. 12 and a state representative has introduced SB 1002, which would boost the pay that inmates earn for jobs within the prison and with paying cities, towns and counties.

The raise would take pay from 50 cents per hour to $1.50 per hour.

“The money will come from any city, county or town that wants to hire inmate labor,” said state Rep. John Kavanagh. “At a $1.50 per hour, it’s still a smoking deal.”

Inmates have been paid their current rate since the 1970s. Kavanagh said many of them won’t work for that when they can earn more now by working for call centers and companies that contract with prisons.

“They do a lot of work that saves taxpayer money,” he said. “And this will help them pay child support and they could also put it into a fund for when they’re eventually released — they’ll have a nest egg and don’t have to go back to crime.”

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