In 1980, the state Correctional Industries Act was amended to allow MSI to sell its products to nonprofit organizations, to governmental institutions in other states and to the federal government. It allows Michigan agencies, offices and departments to buy goods from Industries if they are comparable in price and quality to those produced elsewhere and can be supplied in a reasonable time period.

The amendment let MSI set prices which provide for a margin in direct and indirect costs. It set up a five-year phase-in that gradually increased the amount of self-sufficiency. MSI became self-supporting in 1985.

Self-sufficiency saves the state the cost of civilian wages, salaries and other costs which were paid out of the Department's budget in the past, and it allows Industries to expand its operations in order to employ more prisoners.