The Oklahoma House voted Monday to increase the daily rate the state of Oklahoma pays private prisons for housing inmates, sending the bill to the Senate for final passage.

The House appropriated $2.8 million to increase the daily rate to a minimum of $43.30 per inmate, though at least one private prison company will continue to make more than that. The vote was 59-37.

Passage of the bill comes two months before a private prison company's contract with the state was scheduled to expire, throwing the imprisonment of 2,600 inmates into question, said Rep. Kevin Wallace, R-Wellston. He did not name the private prison company.

Wallace said the company had refused to sign a contract with the state that did not include a $2-per-day rate increase. The bill sets a minimum daily amount of $43.30 per inmate because at least one other company has signed a contract with a higher rate, Wallace said.