The Idaho Senate passed HB 556 on Monday afternoon, which aims to increase reimbursement rates to county jails that house state inmates.In an interview with Idaho News 6, Senior Reporter Don Nelson asked Canyon County Sheriff Ki eran Donahue... is it enough? "No, not, not nearly enough. It doesn't even meet the average of jails across the State of Idaho, let alone jails like mine and jails like Ada County." WATCH | County sheriffs talk cost concerns regarding HB 556 County Jail Funding bill HB 556 passed the SenateAda County Sheriff Matt Clifford broke down the numbers.It costs Ada County $134.08 to house a person in the jail, thats per day, said Clifford.RELATED | Idaho counties house state inmates as the prison system exceeds capacity; Twin Falls says new bill falls shortBoth county sheriffs reiterated the same sentiment. The proposed increase in reimbursementsup to $80 per dayis insufficient. We need that money to house those inmates, to make sure our structure is safe, our infrastructure is up and running, make sure we have enough money to feed everybody."Sheriff Donahue added that the issue is jail space, urging the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee (JFAC) to set aside the funds needed to build more prison space in the state.Hows that fair to the county taxpayers? And let me ask you this... arent every one of these people behind me from a county in the State of Idaho? Last time I looked. So, theyre penalizing their own taxpayers by not doing their job, said Donahue.RELATED | Idaho Department of Corrections looks to tighten its belt on spending as budget questions swirlDuring a JFAC hearing in February, committee members grilled Department of Corrections Director Bree Derrick on bed availability for the rising number of incarcerated Idahoans. Derrick responded that if their facilities have no beds available, they need to find other options, including county jails and out-of-state prison systems.But the issue isn't contained to just Idaho counties.As Idaho News 6 has previously reported, Idaho pays other states to house approximately 800 Idaho inmates that the state lacks room for.The State of Idaho is paying a private facility in the State of Arizona $85 a day to house them... plus transportation costs. And youre paying Idaho jails a day, or youre going to pay $80 a day, so were still subsidizing," Sheriff Donahue explains.Increasing the daily reimbursement rate will create an additional annual obligation to the state general fund of $3.1M.The bill now heads to Governor Brad Little's office for final approval. ...read more read less