AUGUSTA - A compromise jail consolidation plan that backs away from the state takeover first envisioned by Gov. John Baldacci has won strong approval in the Maine House of Representatives.

The revised plan calls for creation of a nine-member state board of corrections, which would develop and implement a unified correctional system.

The board, whose members would be appointed by the governor, would seek efficiencies to cut costs, such as joint purchases of medications and fuel, and the board would manage bed space in the jails and coordinate transportation of inmates between facilities.

The board also would evaluate and determine uses of facilities and review construction projects.

The proposal advanced by Baldacci last summer called for consolidation of 15 county jail systems and the state corrections system into a statewide system managed by the Department of Corrections.