When Gov.-elect Rick Scott unveiled his economic plan on the campaign trail this summer, there was a portion that caught many law enforcement professionals by surprise, a proposed $1 billion cut to the state’s corrections’ budget.
Scott’s plan for the corrections system is setting up a potentially heated political fight between his new administration, coming in looking to make drastic cuts in what Scott believes is a bloated budget and on the other side law enforcement officials who say his plan is unrealistic and lawmakers who don’t want to be soft on crime.
Scott has maintained that Florida’s per-prisoner costs can be reduced and that he wants to work with the Department of Corrections in looking for ways to bring costs down. And he’s not ruling out any options.
“For those costs that remain out of line, we will look at all available options, including privatization, but the first option is to work with DOC,” said Scott transition spokesman Trey Stapleton.
The potential for a privatization plan don’t sit well with at least one major player who has a role in the development of the criminal justice budget. State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, who was recently appointed chairman of the Senate’s Criminal Justice Appropriations committee, isn’t on board with additional prison privatization.
“I don’t have a problem at government looking at privatization in certain areas, but it should never be in public safety. Never,” Fasano said.
Fasano predicted privatization will be a major discussion point for his committee, though, as legislative committee meetings begin next month and continue into the spring as the 2011 legislative session begins. He said so far, he has not gotten any direction or pressure from Senate President Mike Haridopolos or his other colleagues on the issue.
Haridopolos has not yet assigned other senators to the criminal justice appropriations committee and House Speaker Dean Cannon has not yet named a chair for his subcommittee on criminal justice appropriations. Scott has also not named Corrections secretary.
The governor-elect has, however, appointed an extensive transition team to help him navigate law enforcement issues. The chair of the law enforcement committee for his transition team is Pasco County Sheriff Bob White, who rather than proposing budget cuts, actually asked for more tax dollars, appealing the issue to Gov. Charlie Crist.
Scott has mentioned a few ideas for cutting $1 billion, including using inmate labor to grow prison food and competitively bidding health care contracts, though that is already done to some extent.
The Florida Police Benevolent Association, which backed Scott’s opponent Alex Sink in the election, has noted that even privatizing the system might not result in a $1 billion cut to the budget. The only way to get that big of a savings, said PBA executive director David Murrell, would be to cut personnel or release prisoners early.
“The Department of Corrections has been cut and cut and cut and they’re to a point where it’s a safety issue,” Murrell said. “Mark my words, one of these days there’s going to be a bad incident. It’s gotten to that point where it’s that critical.”
Though the PBA supported Sink, it has fluctuated in its support of Democratic and Republican candidates. But Murrell said he doesn’t believe anyone in the Republican leadership is going to support a budget that will significantly cut criminal justice funding.
“What will really be interesting is if he [Scott] persists into wanting to cut that kind of money and that would fly in the face of the general Republican philosophy of being tough on crime,” Murrell said. “I don’t think I’ve ever met a Republican who wants to look soft on crime.”
Stapleton said that to his knowledge Scott has not had any discussions yet with legislative leadership over the prisons’ budget.
By Kathleen haughney
The News Service of Florida
