There’s a push underway to change who’s in charge of county jails across the state.

One key lawmaker is looking to have the State Legislature, that’s right the State Legislature, take-over, at a cost of nearly 200 million dollars.

 That high price-tag, is only part of the controversy, as mental health concerns continue to rise.

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Commissioner Mike Friend, Douglas County (R): “I do think it's critical mass, I do.”

Douglas County Commissioner Mike Friend talking about inmates at the county jail, inmates many, many with mental health problems.

Michael Myers, Director of Douglas County Corrections: “And 48 percent of our population was diagnosed with a mental illness tying the highest level on record.”

In addition, as we’ve reported, some 100 inmates here are on some type of suicide watch.

Commissioner Friend: “The 100 that are on suicide watch you're checking in on him every 20 minutes, 15-20 minutes in a normal environment. In a normal jail that's not exactly what's happening. Now there's you know, there's monitoring everywhere but those rounds, those implementations, the medication is different. There are all kinds of things that are happening in that clinical environment that aren't happening in a jail.”

Jordan: “Is there a breaking point when the county can't afford to run the jail?”

Friend: “Well, I hate to say it but we're almost there now. I mean, but it's a mandated service.”

Meanwhile there’s a move underway to completely shakeup control of prisoners across the state.

State Sen. Justin Wayne has a bill that would put the Department of Corrections and the state prisons, under the “control” of the Legislature.

In addition, he’d put the Department of Corrections, and again the Legislature, in charge of every county jail.

Commissioner Friend: “But I think be careful what you wish for sometimes because it’s a cost shift first of all, you're robbing Peter to pay Paul. The second thing is some of these things are better implemented locally. We're not talking about Arthur County here, we're not talking about Cheyenne County we're talking about Douglas County, a totally different breed of cat. I think we provide better service but more effective services because we have a better finger on the pulse.”

Friend says the answer here in Douglas County begins with brick and mortar: more beds and more clinical space.

He adds it has to be affordable and says there are federal COVID dollars available.

As to when Friend warns something has to be done by the end of the year.