Prison Beautification Draws Criticism

Massachusetts has budgeted nearly $1.1 million to beautify prisons with art under a little-known law being criticized by lawmakers and corrections officials.

The expenditures for anything from lawn sculpture to paintings to art classes stem from a law passed in 1981 under then-Gov. Edward J. King. It requires that 1% of construction costs on public buildings be devoted to art, up to a maximum of $100,000.

Prison construction will be one of the biggest areas of state construction over the next decade because of the need to update and expand an antiquated system.

Massachusetts, with an $11.6-billion budget for fiscal 1989, is grappling with a potential deficit that some say could be $500 million or more because of less-than-projected revenue growth.

Gov. Michael S. Dukakis, who lost the presidential election to Vice President George Bush last Tuesday, is expected to address the fiscal crisis today.

The art law, which was buried within a complex construction bill, drew incredulous responses from some public officials.

‘Doesn’t Make Any Sense’

“You have people here accused of stealing art from people’s homes, and they’re going to be rewarded with art? It doesn’t make any sense,” said Bristol County Sheriff David Nelson, whose new Bristol County House of Correction, slated for completion next year, qualifies for $100,000 in artwork.

State Rep. Joseph Hermann introduced legislation last week to exempt prisons from the 1% law.

“I don’t consider a jail a public place, unless I’m going to say, ‘Come on, honey, let’s go down to the jail and look at the art,’ ” he said.