Florida Prison Privatization Bill Slows

February 1, 2012

The Legislature’s push to shed more than two dozen South Florida prisons and turn them over to the private sector slowed on Tuesday in the Senate and cracks in Republican support that may endanger the idea began to show.

While GOP leadership in the Senate is driving the proposal – which they say will save the state at least $16 million a year – a few Senate Republicans, mostly those with large state-run prisons in their districts, made it clear on Tuesday that they oppose the idea. Others, while less clear, sent signals in their questions of backers that they’re skeptical.

After several questions on the floor, discussion of the proposal (SB 2038) was put on hold until at least Wednesday when it became clear that the Senate wouldn’t have time to work through questions on proposed amendments that have been filed.

But the bill, from a procedural standpoint, remains on “second reading,” unavailable for a final vote without the approval of two-thirds of the chamber’s membership. It’s not clear that backers of the proposal have enough votes to bring it up for a final vote on Wednesday even if they do get through the amendments, which would further slow the proposal down.

There remains plenty of time to get it through both chambers with the legislative session not yet at the halfway point, but the tone of the queries, and the number of Republicans who questioned their leadership’s assertions about the need for the bill raised questions about how solid the support is.

Senate President Mike Haridopolos said the measure is crucial because of the state’s economic situation. The potential for at least $16.5 million in savings claimed by supporters of the bill is too precious to pass up at a time when lawmakers are considering potentially hurtful budget cuts. Because of that, he promised an all-out effort to get the bill passed.

“I’m going to fight like hell to try to find some savings, it’s serious,” said a testy Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, after the floor session. Haridopolos met earlier in the day with foster kids, and noted that a state subsidy for kids aging out of foster care is on the chopping block in this tight budget year.

“Imagine what we could do with $18 million for those kids,” said Haridopolos.

Much of the questioning on the Senate floor Tuesday was about the projected cost savings from privatizing all the prisons in the Department of Corrections region that covers South Florida, 18 counties roughly from Orlando and Tampa Bay south.

Estimates on the cost savings have been broad, and have moved. But one of the bill’s main backers, Sen. JD Alexander, the chief budget writer in the Senate, said at a minimum, costs for operating the prisons will go down 7 percent – because the bill requires it.

“That’s about $16-and-a-half million in savings,” Alexander said. “If we don’t achieve that then we won’t go forward with privatization.”

He believes that it will far exceed that.

“It’s my understanding and belief that it would probably double the 7 percent, or about $32 million annually,” said Alexander, R-Lake Wales.

Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, asked Alexander if it was really worth saving $18 million considering how many corrections officers might lose their jobs.

“I don’t know, are 300 teachers maintained in our schools worthwhile,” asked Alexander. “I think so.”

There was also continued discussion Tuesday about the net savings – after accrued sick leave and other benefits are paid to those prison workers who leave the state’s employ, either to work for a private prison operator or because they’ve quit altogether.

Several members appeared agitated at the inability to pin an exact number down for how much that might be, in part because it’s not clear how many corrections officers would leave, and what the mix will be in terms of how many are veteran officers with lots of accrued benefits owed to them versus younger officers.

The Senate bill would require private contractors to pick up $8 million of the cost of paying out those benefits, a number supporters say will cover those payouts to the roughly 2,700 employees that would be expected to leave the state’s employment.

While Alexander and Haridopolos insisted that the effort to privatize prisons is being driven entirely by the chance to save money in the tight budget year, other backers of the bill also made it clear that the measure and a companion bill that more generally addresses privatization are also aimed in part at making it clear that lawmakers can privatize functions of government if they choose to.

The Legislature passed largely the same prison privatization proposal last year, but it was thrown out by Leon Circuit Judge Jackie Fulford, who said lawmakers violated the constitution in doing it in the fine print of the budget, rather than passing a bill.

Several backers of the bill said making it abundantly clear in law that the Legislature has the prerogative to take on such a proposal without approval from a judge was important as well.

“We wouldn’t even be here today if we hadn’t had a local Leon County Circuit court tell us what we did was incorrect,” said Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine. “I don’t think anybody in this room wants to let a court tell us how to do our budget.”

By The News Service of Florida

Comments

6 Responses to “Florida Prison Privatization Bill Slows”

  1. David Huie Green on February 2nd, 2012 12:35 pm

    REGARDING:
    “What people don’t realize is private prisons pick and choose the inmates they house. It is a business. If they don’t make money, they go out of business. When the private prisons get an inmate that start causing problems, or when they get an inmate that has, or develops a costly medical condition, they get transferred out back to a state institution in short order.”

    So what you’re saying is that it might just shift costs around, looking like they were reduced at one place while raising them elsewhere? I can see it and your point is well made.

    Other institutions run into it too. It’s a shell game.

    Sometimes a school gets a bad grade because some of its students did poorly. As a result of the poor grade, parents transfer students elsewhere. Sometimes the students who are moved were the good students doing well. The remaining students tend to include those who did poorly. The percent of students doing poorly goes up because the better students have been eliminated. In time, the school is closed and the process starts over elsewhere.

    David for seeing the whole picture

  2. sktmax on February 1st, 2012 5:55 pm

    What people don’t realize is private prisons pick and choose the inmates they house. It is a business. If they dont make money, they go out of business. When the private prisons get an inmate that start causing problems, or when they get an inmate that has, or develops a costly medical condition, they get transferred out back to a state institution in short order. That’s how they make money and profit…by managing low risk, healthy inmates. Thats what is misleading about this issue. Yes, private prisons are saving money (actually making money), but the taxpayers are not saving anything. Do you think the inmate with costly medical problems just disapperaed? No, he is at a state facility getting treatment on the state’s dime.
    If the state had a comlpetely seperate entity in which they could send all of their costly inmates to, the state could save bundles of money on housing inmates as well. But the state doesnt have that option. But its a common practice among private prisons.

  3. David Huie Green on February 1st, 2012 12:36 pm

    REGARDING:
    “ Estimates on the cost savings have been broad, and have moved.”

    There were estimates that traffic on the Garcon Point bridge would pay back the cost of building it.

    The estimates were wrong.

    All estimates should clearly cite their assumptions and any support for them.

    David for good estimates

  4. Scott on February 1st, 2012 12:32 pm

    Maybe Hairdroplopis, or however you spell his name, is so testy because he may loose the campaign contributions that the private prison venders have been giving him. This dude is as crooked as a snake on a hot county road. He gets a salary from the University of Florida( for doing nothing) as well as his state salary from the state senate. Maybe he should give up one of HIS highly overpaid state jobs if he wants to save us tax payers some money. This fact ( that he currently has two state jobs) can be googled for accuracy.

  5. chris1 on February 1st, 2012 6:44 am

    “The potential for at least $16.5 million in savings claimed by supporters of the bill ”
    And if it is not realized ,what happens?
    60 minutes did a great piece on prison privatization and what a scam it is.
    Pols they will be out of office and or blame it on the priv. company when the savings are not there.
    Its a bad idea.

  6. Alice Harris on February 1st, 2012 6:10 am

    The court overturned the law because it was unconstitutional. Would the gentlemam prefer that judges not overturn laws thar violate the Florida Constitution? Seems to me that enforcing the provisions of our constitution is exactly what the judiciary should do.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News