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| More counties are taking up efforts to save their prisons |
| By tallahassee.com - Bill Cotterell |
| Published: 02/21/2012 |
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Florida -- Jefferson County's successful effort to save a prison that is the small, rural county's largest employer has touched off similar efforts by other counties with prisons and work camps scheduled to close by June 30, Department of Corrections Secretary Ken Tucker said Monday. Tucker met with Gov. Rick Scott for a half-hour to discuss department activities, including a $79-million budget gap. He said they did not discuss privatization of prisons in 18 South Florida counties, which Scott could still order DOC to do despite the vote against it by the Senate last week. Tucker said much of his $79-million budget shortage comes from health care costs, along with a five-month delay in closing Glades Correctional Institution, which Tucker said cost $8 million to keep operating until Dec. 1. Privatizing 29 institutions in an 18-county area of South Florida was supposed to happen by New Year's Day, but was blocked by Circuit Judge Jackie Fulford, who ruled that the Legislature improperly sought to order the privatization through budget-proviso language. That's why the Senate moved to do it with a stand-alone bill, which failed in a 19-21 vote last week. Scott subsequently said he might tell DOC to put the prison operations out to bids anyway, without specific instructions by the Legislature. Read More. |
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