2017 legislative session

Senators quiz then confirm new state Corrections chief
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Senators on Friday unanimously confirmed David Jablonski as the new secretary of the Corrections Department but he still faced several questions about the controversies that shadowed his predecessor’s resignation last year. Gov. Susana Martinez tapped Jablonski to head the state’s prison, probation and parole system at the end of October, when Secretary Gregg Marcantel stepped down after five years capped by several high-profile slip-ups, budget cuts that strained staff and mounting tensions with the union representing corrections officers. The relatively smooth confirmation Friday signaled that lawmakers are looking for a turnaround in an agency roiled by successive crises. Lawmakers suggested, for example, that the state had failed in its oversight of a private contractor previously hired to provide health care to inmates. Citing an investigation by The New Mexican last year that revealed a questionable death, allegations of inadequate care and a pile of resulting lawsuits under the former contractor, Corizon, Sen. Jeff Steinborn urged Jablonski to ensure greater accountability from the new provider, Centurion.