Twin Falls County is currently housing 83 state inmates as the Idaho Department of Corrections continues to exceed its carrying capacity, relying instead on county jails to absorb the overflow.A new piece of legislation, House B ill 556, aims to increase reimbursement rates to counties but local jail leaders say the money still does not solve the deeper problem.WATCH: Twin Falls County is housing dozens of state inmates as Idaho's prison system overflows. A new bill offers more money but is it enough? Twin Falls County is housing dozens of state inmates as Idaho's prison system overflows. A new bill offers more money but is it enough?The Idaho Department of Corrections currently reimburses counties $55 per day for the first 7 days of a prisoner's incarceration, increasing to $75 per day after the first week. House Bill 556 would replace that tiered structure with a flat rate of $80 per day.Twin Falls County Captain Doug Hughes said the county spends roughly $160 per day to house a single inmate meaning even the proposed increase would cover only half the actual cost."It doesn't cover the total cost of what it costs to house an inmate in Twin Falls County, or most of the jails across the state," explained Hughes.The county's inmate population from the state has already dropped from 100 to 83 in the past two weeks, but the burden remains significant. Hughes said the added responsibility of housing state inmates on top of the county's own population is straining an already crowded facility."We have Twin Falls inmates that we're really responsible for, and with the added burden of taking care of other people's inmates, it's really the crowding and the extra cost that goes with that," added Hughes.While Hughes acknowledged the legislation represents a step in the right direction, he said the state needs to go further by expanding its own capacity. "I think it's a benefit that the state is addressing the issue of cost they need to do a little bit more by getting a bigger facility for themselves to house the inmates that are stuck in county jails," Hughes said.Hughes said the priority right now is getting state inmates moved out of the county system."It's pretty predominant that we need to have those inmates moved. Down the road, if we have the bed space, we'd love to help out the state with their inmates. But at this point, it's causing a lot more chaos than it is helping," Hughes said.Twin Falls County is currently constructing a second jail facility on the east end of town.The new facility is intended to house long-term county and state inmates, while the existing main jail will focus on coordinating with the court system for short-term incarceration needs.For now, it remains a local solution to a statewide problem.On Mar. 16, the Idaho Senate passed House Bill 556. It now heads to Governor Brad Little's office for final approval.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. ...read more read less