SUN-GAZETTE FILE PHOTO SCI Rockview in Centre County is at risk of closure.

HARRISBURG — Following through on a commitment made during the recent Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) listening session on the proposed closure of SCI Rockview, Pennsylvania Senate State Government Committee Chairman Cris Dush, R-Pine Creek Township, has sent a letter to DOC Secretary Laurel Harry demanding additional information on how the decision to recommend the prison’s closure was reached.

Dush has requested that the information be provided by the end of the day Friday, May 2. If the department fails to meet that deadline, he said he will consider convening a State Government Committee hearing the following week to issue a subpoena for the requested materials.

A retired state corrections officer, Dush is formally requesting the names of all DOC steering committee members involved in recommending the closure of both SCI Rockview and Quehanna Boot Camp, along with all supporting documentation used to evaluate and select facilities for potential closure.

He is requesting the following:

• The names of the members of the Steering Committee.

• Each of the criteria that were considered when determining which institutions to close.

• Documents that demonstrate how the criteria was applied to each of the Department’s institutions and how each one was scored.

• Any other documents that were provided to the steering committee relating to each of the Department’s institutions.

• Any correspondence between or among steering committee members and the administration relating to the work of the Steering Committee.

• Copies of any and all communications and/or notes from the Governor’s office and/or the Department of Corrections relative to the evaluation of facilities, work of the Steering Committee and the selection of SCI Rockview and Quehanna Boot Camp for closure.

“I was told that there is crucial work that needs done at SCI Rockview including roof work, boiler replacements and paving work,” which Dush said he took at face value.

However, after visiting the facility, Dush said he observed that new paving and fencing had been recently completed, roofs were either finished or under contract and one boiler had already been replaced while work on another was either contracted or in progress.

Numerous DOC employees, inmates and several elected officials shared similar accounts — both with The Express and during the public listening session.

“These revelations made me question the legitimacy of the steering committee’s findings,” Dush said. “As the Senator who represents Bellefonte and as the Chairman of the State Government Committee, which has oversight of the disposition of properties through DGS, it is my obligation to ensure that the steering committee’s findings were based on accurate and current information.”

“The empirical evidence that conflicts with the department’s stated needs leads me, and many others, to believe that is not the case,” he said.

In a preliminary economic impact model developed by the Centre County Board of Commissioners, the board estimated the potential loss to the local economy at nearly $118 million annually if both facilities were to close.

Dush referenced those impacts in his letter, writing, “a closure based on incorrect or incomplete information would be a purposeless blow to the region.”

The Department of Corrections is expected to make a final decision during the week of May 12, following the close of the mandatory three-month public comment period.

Public feedback can still be submitted via email at ra-crdocclose@pa.gov or by leaving a voicemail at 888-316-8950.