"We're hoping not to have any prisons close in the North Country. The Democrat Senate minority has targeted the prison at Chateaugay," Sen. Little said. "We're hoping to counteract that."

Earlier this year, Governor Andrew Cuomo called for the closure of two state prisons in Manhattan and Dutchess County.

The downsizing comes as the inmate population in New York has declined by roughly 17 percent over the last decade.

"The inmate population is definitely declining," Little acknowledged. "You can't create prisons if you don't have the inmates."

But the Republican from Queensbury said there is still too much "double bunking" in New York's state prisons.

The latest debate over prison closures comes after seven correctional facilities have already closed statewide in recent years, including prisons in Clinton and Franklin counties.