Saturday, September 14, 1996

Prison board chairman says problems have been corrected

By PAULINE ARRILLAGA
Associated Press

McALLEN - A year after the state prison chief announced his resignation, igniting a firestorm of controversy within the nation's largest corrections system, a measure of control has been restored, the head of the prison board said Friday.

The comments by Texas Board of Criminal Justice Chairman Allan Polunsky came just days after Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock said the prison system "is a great big mess" and called for dismantling its nine-member governing board.

"We many times are the target of criticism, and a lot of those times the criticism is accurate," Polunsky said after a meeting of the prison board. "But for the most part, this agency is a very fine agency and the problems that have been identified ... almost universally have been corrected."

Those problems started last September when Texas Department of Criminal Justice Executive Director Andy Collins announced his resignation. Shortly thereafter, questions arose about Collins taking outside work related to corrections.

Then the VitaPro scandal surfaced.

Before leaving TDCJ, Collins authorized a $33 million contract for the soy-based meat substitute without seeking competitive bids. After retiring on Dec. 31, he went to work for the company as a part-time consultant, making $1,000 a day. He resigned after the VitaPro deal hit the headlines.

Collins has denied any wrongdoing but investigations of his activities are continuing.

In the year since Collins announced his resignation, several steps have been taken to revamp the Department of Criminal Justice and increase oversight of the agency, particularly in purchasing matters, Polunsky said.

He cited the board's decision in May to place a moratorium on the direct-purchase policy that led to the VitaPro contract, meaning all future prison purchases will be done through competitive bidding.
Polunsky and Collins' successor, Wayne Scott, said they would support a push to repeal the direct-purchase statute when the Legislature convenes in January.

"We feel like we can operate just as well without one," Scott said. "We all know it's been abused."
Polunsky added: "I never want to see it used in this agency again."

The agency's purchasing policies were criticized earlier this year in an audit that concluded the system has been in such disarray, the department can't know if it is "buying the right things at the right time at the right price."

The audit, requested by Scott, said the department completed purchases without proper bidding, carelessly supervised millions of dollars in grant money and kept poor business records.

Prison purchases totaled $812.5 million last year.

In March, the prison board devised a 12-step plan outlining various changes to be made within the agency, including increasing board oversight of purchases of more than $1 million, consolidating purchasing functions to a central authority and directing Scott to institute a formal ethics program.
All of those proposals have been implemented, Polunsky said.

"We have taken great strides forward in regaining public confidence and restoring the highest degree of integrity possible to the agency," Polunsky said, adding that he was not concerned about Bullock's calls to do away with the prison board and replace it with a commissioner appointed by the governor.

"One person's saying get rid of this board. Although we obviously have not convinced everybody, I think a lot of people ... are satisfied with what has taken place so far and what we have pledged to continue to do," he said.