PIERRE, S.D.(SDBA)- Another committee hearing…and the prison funding bill is still alive.

The Legislature’s Joint Appropriations committee heard another hour of testimony this morning on a proposal to build an 825-million dollar men’s penitentiary in Lincoln County.

One consistent question came up again…why is it more than twice as expensive as a prison project in Nebraska???

The answer from a representative of contractor J-E Dunn.

The package came to the Appropriations Committee without a funding amount…and without a recommendation.

Rapid City Representative Mike Derby sent it to the House floor the same way.

The full House will debate the proposal Friday.