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On top of moral concerns about incarcerating 17-year-olds as adults, there can be financial implications. Since 2003, the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), which protects prisoners under 18 by separating them "sight and sound" from older populations, has put strains on prisons forced to house 17-year-olds separately. In addition to renovation costs, facilities out of compliance face penalties that can cut into their bottom lines––one reason why many sheriffs in Texas support raising the age.Over the years, the Lone Star state has been in and out of compliance with PREA, and in May, Governor Greg Abbott wrote to US Attorney General Loretta Lynch promising that the state would comply "wherever feasible." But last year, Texas was docked over $800,000 in federal funding, and between 2016 and 2017, noncompliance could cost it $2.78 million in federal grants, according to Legislative Budget Board estimates.Still, opponents of age reform say that the state is ill-equipped as is to handle an influx of 17-year-olds into its pricey juvenile system. According to a January Texas State House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence report, incarcerating adults costs around $50 per day, while juveniles cost $367. Probation costs $3 per day for adults and $22 for juveniles."Eighty percent of the counties in Texas don't have juvenile holding facilities," A.J. Louderback, president of Texas's Sheriff's Association, told the Houston Chronicle in December. "This is not a minor thing. It would affect a lot of counties financially."Related: What Happens When You Build a Town Around a Prison?
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