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| Lawmakers Clear $66 Million for Fla. Prisons |
| By Lakeland Ledger |
| Published: 08/25/2003 |
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Saying that prisoners will have to be released next year if nothing is done, Florida's Republican-led Legislature last week approved nearly $66 million in emergency funding for the state's prison system. Gov. Jeb Bush asked legislators to increase money for the state's prison system, citing a rising number of inmates admitted to the state's prisons -- many of them drug offenders -- as why legislators needed to act during their two-day special session. Bush and Department of Corrections Secretary Jim Crosby contend that unless extra money is set aside now, the state won't have enough time to construct additional prison beds needed to handle the growth. 'We really can't wait until October or some other time to deal with this,' Bush said. 'What we are trying to avoid, and what we will avoid, is any early releases or any problems of overcrowding that is inappropriate. This is really the first responsibility, whether we like it or not, of government.' Crosby told legislators that unless they acted, the first wave of prisoners would be released next July despite laws that mandate that felons must serve 85 percent of their sentence. The move, however, comes just 2 1/2 months after legislators approved a new state budget for the fiscal year that started July 1. At the time that budget was approved, no one in the Bush administration said anything about a looming prison overcrowding crisis. The spending measure was approved unanimously by the Florida Senate, while the Florida House approved the bill on a 90-22 vote. The legislation approved Wednesday would allow the state to dip into its rainy-day fund or reserve account known as the 'working capital fund' for nearly $66 million in expenses including: *$30.2 million to hire more than 500 prison officers and other employees. *$1.3 million to renovate and reopen the Hendry Correctional Institution and $4.9 million to build 14 dormitories with 131 beds each across the state. *$27.5 million to begin construction of a nearly 1,400 bed prison annex in Santa Rosa County. But the bill also included a provision that allows the Department of Corrections to bypass normal state bidding laws in choosing the contractor to build the Santa Rosa annex and the Hendry renovations. The total amount of contracts that the department could award without going through a competitive bid process totals more than $55 million. Some legislators questioned why there were inaccurate population estimates earlier in the year, which have lead to the increased need for funds. State officials cited several factors for the increase -- including the fact that the number of criminals sentenced to state prison for drug crimes rose 13.4 percent in the past year. Plus several counties have been sending a higher number of criminals to prison than in previous years, including Hillsborough and Polk counties. Newly revised estimates contend that Florida will now need space for 81,266 prisoners by next summer. |
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