Phoenix, Arizona - A legislative committee for the state of Arizona wants the state to begin building a mile of fencing along the border with Mexico even though it has raised only a fraction of the needed money.

The Joint Border Security Advisory Committee has raised just 10 percent of the $2.8 million needed to complete the 200 mile border fence. The Committee wants to begin construction and then hope that donations begin pouring in.

State Senator Steve Smith, said that the project, which is meant to complement the federal government's border fencing program, could begin construction by the end of the year using private fencing companies, some donated supplies, and prison inmate labor.

The Legislature created the committee in 2010 and tasked it with making recommendations to the governor about how to handle border security. Members include Republican state lawmakers, county sheriffs, and state department officials. The fence project is the comittee's top priority.

Despite the committee being charged with making security recommendations, none have been made since it began meeting in March 2011. According to AZCentral.com the committee hasn't met since April and has also failed to meet state law requirements that it file monthly status reports.

"I don't think we have enough information to make a recommendation," said co-chairman Republican Russ Jones. "There's so much technology that's important to the project, given the challenging terrain."

In November 2011 the committee submitted its first and only report to the governor, speaker of the House, and Senate president, detailing the prior nine months of meetings.

Jones said that the committee hasn’t been making reports on a regular basis because there hasn’t really been anything new to say. He also said they are looking into revising the law requiring monthly reports.

"Reporting once a month becomes cumbersome," he said. "We don't have enough new information to go through the bureaucracy."

The committee does, however, hear testimony from border security experts and has visited the border twice. It has also set up a rudimentary website that has a presentation on the proposed border fence, as well as a page where donations can be made.

Although they have raised $273,000 from private donations, they will need about $2.6 million more to complete the full length of the border fence.