A contract to house 250 prisoners from the state of Washington was approved by the Board of Examiners on Tuesday.
Washington officials want to turn the inmates over to Nevada at least temporarily because of a shortage of prison beds in that state. Deputy Corrections Director Darrel Rexwinkel said Nevada is in the opposite situation now because the number of inmates is below projections.
"That opens up space in our facilities," he told the board, consisting of Gov. Kenny Guinn, Secretary of State Dean Heller and Attorney General Brian Sandoval.
He said the Nevada prison system should make a $4.4 million profit each year from the contract because Washington has agreed to pay about $65 a day per prisoner -- more than Nevada's actual cost.
The inmates will begin arriving Saturday at McCarran International Airport. They will be housed in Unit 8 of High Desert State Prison.
Rexwinkel said the state has the right to reject any inmate and to send problem inmates back to Washington. He said the state can also terminate the contract on 30 days notice if Nevada needs the beds.
