Senate Minority Office — Press Release

Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich Applauds Defeat Of Massive Prison Privatization Attempt

Tallahassee — Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich (D-Weston) on Tuesday applauded the bipartisan effort, backed by a united Senate Democratic Caucus, to defeat the push to turn over to private control 27 state prison facilities – the largest privatization attempt in the country.

 “The Senate vote today recognized the dedication of thousands of state corrections officers and their families, the very real people who perform thankless and dangerous jobs,” said Sen. Rich. “We saw no numbers backing up the Republican supporters’ claims that eliminating their jobs will save taxpayers money. We saw no evidence that a private company could do their jobs better. And we certainly saw no problem, as one of my colleagues said, warranting this kind of a so-called solution. It was a false choice from the start.”

 Senator Rich in particular took issue with the supporters’ insistence on prison privatization as the only way to generate $16 million to offset more cuts to education, child abuse investigators, or health care programs.

 “They’re willing to pit education against public safety when that shouldn’t be the choice at all,” said Sen. Rich. “There is a very real way to bring in the money we need without raising a single penny in taxes, and it’s already on the books.

 “If prison privatization supporters are serious about finding real savings and avoiding ‘stacking pennies,’ then they need to explain to Florida’s taxpayers why they won’t touch legislation that eases the tax burden on them, by asking big corporations to step up to the plate and pay their fair share.”

 Senate Bill 1590, which would close a loophole large multi-state corporations use to escape paying the same taxes Florida-only companies currently pay, and generate $500 million annually, is still awaiting its first Senate hearing.

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