State should try again on prison privatization

[coondog]

State should try again on prison privatization

EDITORIAL

July 29, 2012 12:05 AM

Posted in: N-J Editorials

Tagged: prisons

Further privatization of Florida's prisons stalled after a decision Tuesday by the 1st District Court of Appeal.

The decision means Gov. Rick Scott and legislative allies must push harder in Tallahassee for new stand-alone laws that define savings for the taxpayers through targeted privatization of 29 state prisons.

So far, the state hasn't been able to win in court because of the way the privatization plan was passed in 2011. On Tuesday, a three-judge panel ruled that Attorney General Pam Bondi had no standing in a legal dispute between the Department of Corrections and the Florida Police Benevolent Association.

It was a technicality, but one that essentially throws the ball back into the court of the Legislature. If Scott and Republican leaders want to go ahead with a plan to privatize the 29 prisons, all of which are in South Florida, they will have to pass a new law -- one not attached to the state budget.

But that's the problem. The privatization language was included in budget fine print. This helped speed its passage in 2011, but it drew an immediate and now successful lawsuit from union supporters.

It is unclear if the GOP will have the votes in 2013 to pass a separate bill to privatize the prisons. In February, some Republicans joined a united Democratic caucus to kill a new privatization plan in the Florida Senate.

It was a big defeat for Scott. On the privatization issue, however, Scott has made a persuasive case that the plan would save Floridians $22 million a year.

Florida has several privately run prisons now. The state initially stumbled out of the gate when state auditors found in 2005 that Florida failed to provide strict oversight of prison contracts, overpaying two private prison companies by almost $13 million.

Scott's opponent in the 2010 governor's race, Democrat Alex Sink, made a strong case for well-regulated privatization. In a column published by The News-Journal in 2007, then-Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink examined the overall issue of the state outsourcing services to private companies.

Sink said the state must improve the administration of contracts, but also wrote that "privatization, or outsourcing, by itself is not the problem; we should leverage private businesses and the expertise they have when they can do the job at less expense."

Sink's assessment offers a commonsense path for privatization efforts.

Texas has found the savings can be significant if the private sector is allowed to come in. According to the Reason Foundation, the Texas Legislative Budget Board found that since 2003, the average cost of housing inmates in private prisons has been 3 percent to 15 percent lower than in comparable state-run prisons.

Scott's plan was to require, at minimum, 7 percent cost savings in the operation of the 29 prisons. In a time of weak revenues and decreasing prison needs, lawmakers were hoping for at least $22 million in savings.

But unions and their supporters in Tallahassee have prevailed so far on the privatization issue. According to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, the Florida Police Benevolent Association represented 3,800 prison officers who feared they could be laid off or transferred if the bill went through.

Ironically, layoffs could come faster, and in larger numbers, if the state is forced to make cuts to the general prison budget next year.

The latest economic figures for the nation show slow growth. That could mean meager revenue increases for states. Scott and the Legislature should enhance accountability in their plan to privatize prisons while continuing to argue the change will produce savings.

The state must find new ways to save money while providing quality services.

Rick Scott is going to tell DOC to put out a bid to privatize a bunch of prisons next year just like they are doing with the prison work release facilities this year. They learned it would hold up legally if they just have the DOC Secretary request the bids saying it is best for the agency. They don't need a bill now.