Topeka ? A Senate committee Thursday recommended approval of a bill that would allow the construction of a private prison in Kansas, a move that immediately brought protest from the state’s largest public employee union.

The Kansas Association of Public Employees cited reports of inadequate private prison operations elsewhere, adding that the use of private prisons “puts savings over safety”

“Throughout the past 20 years, reports have consistently shown privately operated prisons, like the one being proposed in Kansas, operate under substandard conditions, hire inexperienced, untrained officers and cut back on staffing to reap higher profit,” said Andy Sanchez, the association’s executive director.

The association represents 20,000 state employees.

But supporters of the bill said it would give the Kansas Department of Corrections another option in trying to manage a prison system that is near capacity.

Corrections Secretary Roger Werholtz, who remained neutral on the bill, has told lawmakers that the state’s prison population of about 9,155 inmates is growing faster than projections.

Because of space problems, Kansas has sent 48 medium-security inmates to Texas for incarceration. Another 48 may have to be moved within the month.