The director of the state Corrections Department this week started pitching lawmakers on a new 3,000-bed private prison. That plan was met with skepticism from some legislators on both sides of the aisle. But State Senator John Kavanagh, a Fountain Hills Republican, was not one of them.

The Grand Canyon Institute, a Valley-based think tank, released a statement this week criticizing Governor Ducey’s private prison budget proposal. Dave Wells is the group’s Research Director. He said the state’s leaders need to reassess their priorities.

Dave Wells is Research Director for the Grand Canyon Institute.