By Aaron Deslatte
The Associated Press via The Orlando Sentinel
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — With the Florida Senate poised today to return to a contentious prison-privatization debate, one critic of the proposal to outsource prisons in 18 southern counties says the Department of Corrections’ own data show current private prisons aren’t necessarily cheaper than public ones.
Gov. Rick Scott, Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, and Budget Chairman J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, are pushing for a final vote this week on a proposal (SB 2038) that would be the most sweeping prison-privatization move in the country.
While supporters say the push to hand over the prisons and some 19,000 inmates to a private vendor would save the state money, Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, said agency records she obtained suggest the savings from seven private prisons in the state isn’t substantial.
Full Story: Private prisons aren’t necessarily cheaper, senator says