by Krystal Paco

Guam - After months of sitting in committee, Bill 172 relative to the construction and renovation of the Department of Corrections is up for public hearing this week.

Authored by Senator Brant McCreadie, the legislation notes that the longer we wait to build a newer, larger, prison facility, the more costly it will become.

He said, "I think it's very important that this bill go through the process and that's what it's doing. I know it's been a while. Four or five months. But I believe that we need to remove this black cloud over our heads and that's federal receivership one day and this is a step in that direction. And I'm looking for some positive feedback from stakeholders."

As we've been reporting, DepCor continues to struggle with overcrowding and has shuffled resources to accommodate a growing prison population and aging facility.

The bill is up for discussion on Friday, December 20 at 8:30 in the morning at the Legislature's Public Hearing Room.