The Tennessee Department of Corrections has been demanding a contract rise of $6.8 million since 2022, despite contract shortages and penalty $15 million over the past five months alone.

Correctional authorities told lawmakers Tuesday that the Trousdale Turner Correctional Center, which is currently under the Justice Department’s civil rights investigation, has a vacancy rate of 33.7% for prison officials compared to 26% for state prisons. The facility is one of four prisons run by CoreCivic, a public company that operates facilities nationwide.

Trousdale Turner maintained a turnover rate of 146% in 2023, making it more difficult to see prisoners and avoid safety risks.

“Nothing this will punish corecivic for not meeting the terms of the contract if the state increases the amount it pays each year,” said Democrat Sen. Jeff Yabro of Nashville. Ta. “It seems that Corecivic really needs to go into detail what it needs and what it can do about it.”

Corecivic refuses to disclose what it pays for executives and, in some cases, there is a shortage of personnel, bringing in officers from other states to boost staff.

Considering the issue of “transparency,” Yarbro said Corecivic has the resources to increase executive salaries and benefits to meet the terms of the state contract. Tennessee boosted the wages of 35% of prison officers two years ago.

Corrections Chair Frank Strada continues to defend corecivic after Tuesday’s budget hearing, calling the company a “partner” in the state and asking whether the prison system is run by individuals to meet contract demand. He said there is a monitor to determine. He said corecivic prisons saw violent incidents and reduced smuggling, but did not provide statistics to support their claims.

“They are doing what they can to make progress,” Strada said after the Senate State and Local Government Committee approved his budget request.

The state pays around $240 million a year despite detailing low personnel, violence, deaths and other issues. Tennessee’s overall prison budget could jump from $91.6 million to $1.4 billion if lawmakers approve the department’s request.

Strada said Corecivic’s $6.8 million increase was based on inflation rather than pay raises.

Despite the increased penalties against the company, Strada said his department “holds responsibility for them.” He said Corecivic revised 90% of its findings in a state audit conducted more than two years ago.

Faculty figures show that the deaths at corecivic prisons between 2019 and 2022 were 221, more than a third of the 645 reported deaths across 14 state prisons, including facilities for women. There were 221 people. Over half of the prison system’s drug-related deaths over that period occurred in private prisons of four of the 143 drug-related deaths overall. The department did not provide death statistics for all 2023 and 2024.