South Georgia sheriffs welcome a proposed law increasing the reimbursement counties receive for housing state prisoners, but say it won't cover all the inmate expenses."It's badly needed," Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk said. "The sheriffs have been pushing for an increase for years."

State Sen. Johnny Grant, R-Milledgeville, is sponsoring a bill to raise the reimbursement to $30 per day per inmate awaiting transfer to state prison. It also opens the door for the General Assembly to increase the per diem rate in the future.

"It's not enough, but anything is better than nothing," said Paulk, former president of the Georgia Sheriffs' Association.

Grant introduced the legislation at the urging of the state's sheriffs and county officials, who are seeking to reduce the number of days they must house state prisoners.

The less time a state prisoner waits in a county jail, the lower the cost to local taxpayers, they said.

If the holding time can't be reduced, then the sheriffs and county officials want to lower the cost of housing those prisoners, Grant previously told the Times-Union.

Although the minimum reimbursement is $7.50, many counties receive about $20 per day for each state prisoner they house after the first 15 days, sheriffs and state Department of Corrections officials said.

Ware County gets about $22 per day for each state inmate housed, slightly more than half the $40 a day it costs, said Maj. Randy Royal, county sheriff's office spokesman.

Depending on how long the state leaves the prisoner at the jail, it will still cost the county money to house them in the long run, Royal said.

Lack of prison space creates a backlog in transferring sentenced prisoners to state facilities . Those prisoners remain in the county jail until prison beds becomes available, the sheriffs said.

"It costs us $43 to $45 per day to house a state prisoner," Paulk said. "Normally, we have them here between 30 and 60 days."

State prisoners also contribute to jail overcrowding, a chronic problem in many counties, Paulk and other sheriffs said.

The Lowndes County Jail, built to house 635 inmates, had 750 on Monday, about 40 of whom were state inmates, Paulk said.

The Glynn County Detention Center receives $20 a day for each state inmate and about $45 per day for each federal inmate housed for the U.S. Marshals Service, Undersheriff Ron Corbett said.

Grant's bill passed the Senate unanimously Friday, but that is just one of three hurdles.

It must be approved by the House before Gov. Sonny Perdue decides if he'll sign it into law.

Perdue did not include an increased reimbursement for state prisoners in his proposed 2008 budget.

Paulk hopes the measure will be approved, but is pragmatic about its chances.

Noting the current state of the economy, Paulk said, "I think it's going to be hard to get it passed."