A groundbreaking for three low-security housing facilities at the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge occurred on April 29, 2025, the result of $156 million the state's legislature allocated in 2023, according to thewesternnews.com.
The new buildings are slated to replace three of the four existing low-security units at the prison and increase the overall capacity by 117 inmates.
Contractors DLR Group and Sletten Construction expect to finish the project in October 2027, thewesternnews.com reported.
The Montana Department of Corrections said the 1,553 inmates at Deer Lodge exceed the facility's operational capacity by 27.
In addition, about 600 Montana men are imprisoned out of state, with 60 percent in Arizona and 40 percent in Mississippi. Other inmates are serving sentences in local jails as they wait for available prison space, according to thewesternnews.com.
"The reality is, we just need more beds," Gov. Greg Gianforte said at a press event marking the groundbreaking.
State Rep. John Fitzpatrick carried the 2023 legislation now funding the additional units. In the 1970s, Fitzpatrick said he worked at the Office of Budget and Program Planning to analyze the budget of DOC's predecessor, the Department of Institutions.
"I was around here when the old prison was still in operation and when this facility was built for the first time," Fitzpatrick said, according to thewesternews.com. "I didn't realize it, but 50 years later, I'd be back in the corrections business carrying House Bill 817 in the last session."
Aside from the new housing, Fitzpatrick's 2023 bill places an additional $56 million toward other MSP infrastructure improvements. Those include fence enhancements, emergency notification systems and water line replacements.
In 2023, the bill was criticized for what opponents said was too large of a price tag for a lone recipient: Tennessee-based prison company CoreCivic.
On the Senate floor, former state Sen. Ryan Lynch called the bill the "biggest piece of pork you've ever seen."
The bill did pass through the House and Senate by mostly party-line votes.
Montana lawmakers this year have approved proposals providing an additional $436 million for further expansion to address overcrowding, according to montanafreepress.org.
Fitzpatrick sponsored House Bill 833, which proposes another $250 million in prison infrastructure to be used for the construction of a new prison. The bill is headed to the governor's desk for consideration.
Fitzpatrick also passed an additional $150 million for two more housing units at Montana State Prison and approximately $36 million for other Department of Corrections infrastructure improvements through House Bill 5, a biennial bill that allocates funds for long-term infrastructure projects. The latter is headed to the governor's office, according to montanafree-press.org.
