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Judge Again Blocks Prison Privatization
November 7, 2011
A Leon County circuit judge has ordered the state to “cease and desist” from taking further steps toward accepting bids for a prison-privatization plan that she found unconstitutional.
In an order dated Friday and made public Saturday, Circuit Judge Jackie Fulford sided with the Florida Police Benevolent Association in halting the procurement process during the state’s appeal of her earlier ruling.
The Department of Corrections had argued that filing the appeal led to an automatic stay of Fulford’s Sept. 30 ruling — effectively allowing the bidding process to go forward. Fulford’s latest order vacated, or rejected, that stay.
“This court finds that the evidence in the record establishes the likelihood of irreparable injury to the plaintiffs (the PBA and members) if the stay is not vacated and further that the defendants are not likely to succeed on the merits on appeal,” Fulford wrote.
The privatization plan calls for the state to contract out the operation of 29 prison facilities across the southern part of the state. Jim Baiardi, the president of PBA’s chapter for correctional officers, issued a statement Saturday praising Fulford’s latest ruling.
“The PBA is pleased that Judge Fulford has stopped this action,” said Baiardi, who testified during a hearing Friday about “panic” among officers. “State correctional officers can breathe a sigh of relief today.”
The dispute stemmed from a Thursday announcement that the Department of Corrections was reopening the bidding process for the privatization plan. PBA attorneys argued during the hearing Friday there was no reason to move forward with bidding, unless the department was trying to gain some type of advantage in the legal challenge or in the legislative session that starts in January.
But the Department of Corrections said Thursday it would not sign a privatization contract while the legal challenge is pending — a point reiterated during Friday’s hearing by Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Glogau.
In her ruling on the stay, however, Fulford noted the testimony of Baiardi, who also is a captain at the South Florida Reception Center.
“Specifically, Captain Baiardi identified such factors as the disruption of families, the threatened separation of families, loss of jobs, change of schools, lack of sleep, loss of homes and displacement of experienced officers to institutions away from their families as concerns which are overwhelming the correctional officers of the affected facilities,” she wrote.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Monday that she would appeal Fulford’s Sept. 30 ruling on the constitutionality of the privatization plan. Bondi made the decision at the request of the Legislature, after Gov. Rick Scott declined to file the appeal.
The PBA challenged the way lawmakers approved the privatization plan, which was included in budget fine print — known as proviso language — instead of in a typical bill.
Fulford found that the constitution required lawmakers to change state law or use an already-existing department review process before privatizing the prisons. She did not say privatization is unconstitutional, just that the way lawmakers approved the plan was unconstitutional.
The proviso language offered a road map to privatize prisons, work camps and other types of correctional facilities in 18 counties.
It called for the Department of Corrections to solicit proposals from private companies and then submit a plan to the Legislative Budget Commission by Dec. 1.
After Bondi announced she would appeal Fulford’s earlier ruling, Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, issued a statement expressing confidence that the state will win and that privatization will help save tax dollars.
“Not only is the privatization of our state’s prisons good policy, but it ensures that our state can dedicate more money to education, health care or economic development programs that would otherwise be spent on prisons,” Haridopolos said.
The 1st District Court of Appeal has not scheduled a hearing in the case, according to an online docket.
By Jim Saunders
The News Service of Florida
Comments
6 Responses to “Judge Again Blocks Prison Privatization”
Privatizing prisons is horrible policy. Think about it, providing a profit motive for putting and keeping people in jail? That’s crazy, and you’re still paying for it anyway. Correctional Officers should have high standards, high pay, and good benefits. Given the caliber of, say, our military, versus the caliber of, say, Blackwater (not to mention their accountability), I have much more faith in the government than in the private sector to provide Correctional Officers of that caliber, and pay and benefits that recognize the fact that they are doing a tough, dirty, potentially deadly job and doing it well.
My husband, unfortunately, is PBA. With me saying that, they have NOT represented him one bit. I know they have been changing so many things on us mid-stream here lately. All we ever hear anymore is that “the state workers are costing the taxpayers money.” Well, I know the last time that I looked at my husband’s pay stub, which was just the other day while trying to scrape the money together to pay bills, he also has his fair share of taxes taken out.
Yeah, gotta protect those “union jobs.” The ones who work at the union offices in Tallahassee who decide whose palm they want to grease next. Not the worker that pays the dues to have their jobs protected.
It is the union that is bringing the lawsuit, “PBA and members”, according to the story.
I’m sorry that there are those who feel over-worked and underpaid. That’s the life of law enforcement in general, if I recall correctly. Frankly, I got tired of it, gained a marketable skill and got out. I haven’t looked back. So yeah, I’ve been there and done that-both LEO and CO.
I guess no thought to the possibility that privatization of prisons might lead to better pay and benefits (private sector vs public sector) has entered anyone’s mind; reckon where they’d get the COs to man these private prisons? I would think the private prisons would be hiring experienced officers….
Actually, the judge didn’t say that privatization was unconstitutional, just the way they passed the bill.
does have a point, part of this overcrowding could probably be resolved by taking a look at some of the sentences the inmates are serving and maybe taking a look at some of the laws on the books.
I’m not against law enforcement, but I certainly can support a better way of doing things…if it is, indeed, a better way. There actually was no overt move to do anything other than take bids and proposals. It is possible that privatization might not be the better way.
Just running my gator.
Glad to see they are against for profit prisons, we don’t need further incentive to jail people. America is #1 in the world at jailing its own citizens. I dont believe our citizens are worse than other countries. But I do believe we have far too many rules and things that are punished with jailtime for that could be resolved in other ways
SW….First allow me to say that NOT all CO’s are under a union. Secondly, why don’t they just let all the criminals out and that will save a tremendous amount of money. More than you or anyone else could ever imagine!
Not only has my husband lost benefits, pay, and etc from the budget being cut by RICK SCOTT. There is a shortage of officers at several prison that we know of. Therefore, it puts our loved ones in a dangerous situation that apparently not many give a damn about…..just as long as the criminals are off their streets.
It just blows my mind that most of the time Correctional Officers (not security guards) are not recognized as often as they should be. You see the first encounter for a criminal is the LEO, then court, than a Detention Deputy when placed in jail before beginning their prison term, and finally the Correctional Officers that risk their lives everyday (as do the others), but who could careless if their lives are taken by a criminal that has NOTHING to lose because he/she is serving a LIFE sentence.
Something to think about…..unless you have been in any of those shoes mentioned above….I would think a little bit more before you are so quick to run your gator.
Gotta protect those union jobs; no matter what it may cost the taxpayer.