Prison labor urged

CARSON CITY -- The Division of Forestry could save hundreds of thousands of dollars on approved and pending construction projects if it used more prison inmate labor, an audit released Tuesday said.

The Division of Internal Audits said a conservative estimate puts the savings at $620,000 if selected portions of the work on several proposed projects, from nursery renovations to dispatch center repairs, was done by inmates at state conservation camps.

But Treasurer Kate Marshall, a member of the Executive Branch Audit Committee, which reviewed the report, asked whether using inmate labor on large projects might violate the state's prevailing wage law.

The state has to be sure it does not use inmate labor inappropriately and end up defending itself in lawsuits, she said.

"I just want to make sure we are covered," Marshall said.

Auditor Dennis Stoddard said the Public Works Board, which oversees most state construction projects, was contacted during the review to ensure that the recommendation was appropriate.

But Richard Daly of Sparks, who attended the meeting as a representative of Laborers' Union Local 169, objected to the use of inmate labor on large state public works projects. Construction requires skilled workers and should not be delegated to untrained inmates, he said.

State projects are typically put out to bid.

The prevailing wage is what is paid to construction workers on government projects. Typically the prevailing wage is higher than what is paid construction workers on private projects.

State Forester Pete Anderson, in a written response, accepted the audit recommendation, saying the agency has relied on inmates to provide construction help since the creation of the conservation camps, where some minimum security inmates serve their sentences.

"It is important to note that camp crews are typically best utilized for site demolition and clean up projects and basic hand labor, not skilled construction trades," he said.

An example was the use of inmates as part of a greenhouse renovation project in Las Vegas that saved the state about $108,000, Anderson said.

Marshall said after the meeting that a proposed attorney general review of the use of inmate labor for construction projects would ensure the state and its agencies are legally protected.

"I would hate if an audit put an agency in the position of exposing them to some liability," she said. "I think that now we are all aware, we need to make sure going forward."