PHOENIX (AP) - Gov. Doug Ducey has signed legislation requiring the Department of Corrections to notify residents and schools when it plans to open a new facility nearby or change an existing facility's use.
The bill Ducey signed Friday also requires prison officials to post signs and run ads about the changes and hold public hearings.
It was prompted by community complaints about the department's conversion of part of a juvenile corrections facility in north Phoenix into a re-entry center for recently released adult prisoners.
Ducey had announced the change in his January 2016 State of the State Address as a way to help prisoners successfully re-enter society.
Residents living near the Adobe Mountain School off Interstate 17 were caught off-guard, despite the governor's announcement and news coverage. Area lawmakers pushed the legislation.
