The Dade Correctional Institution Florida Dept. of Corrections photo

BRADENTON – Despite the concerted efforts of Senate leadership to push a bill that would privatize state prison facilities from Orlando south, a group of Republican Senators have called the plan into question, casting doubt on many of the supposed merits of turning the facilities over to the private sector.

Senate President Mike Haridopolos cut off debate Wednesday, when it became clear that a large enough contingent of his party were prepared to kill the bill. Haridopolos then seemingly attempted to get his Senators to fall in line when he removed one of the more vocal opponents, Senator Mike Fasano (R-New Port Richey), as chair of the Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Subcommittee. He'd already removed another vocal critic, Senator Paula Dockery (R-Lakeland), at the start of the session. Still, the resistance remained.

Governor Scott, also an outspoken advocate for prison privatization, met with at least two Senators one on one this week, attempting to curry their support for the bill, but was also unsuccessful. The legislature tried to sneak a privatization provision into a measure in the 2011 budget bill, but were overruled by the courts, who said that while they did have the authority to do so, it needed to be done in separate legislation.

Proponents of privatization say it will save money and help relieve the state pension system, but neither of those supposed merits have passed inspection. Prior privatizations, which by law must save at least 7 percent cost, have not been proven to do so. Comparisons are also complicated by the fact that private facilities have managed not to house as many sick and disabled, high-cost inmates as state ones, allowing them to show skewed cost comparisons. Analysis of the effect on the state pension program suggested that eliminating around 2,000 contributors might be more problematic than the savings in future benefits would warrant and there was also the question of financial impact to the many communities that would each lose hundreds of living-wage jobs.

Senate leaders made clear efforts to ram the legislation through as quickly as possible in 2012. In addition to stacking the deck on committees, they also waited until after the filing deadline to submit the bill, shortening the time opponents had to organize against it. A measure was also included that would exempt legislators from having to publicly justify savings estimates before the bills were passed and the privatization contracts were signed.

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Prison Privatization is Crony Capitalism 101