Gov. Rick Scott’s budget proposal, announced yesterday, would cut the Department of Corrections budget by $82 million, seeking to close two prisons, letting go of thousands of workers, and to “maximize private prison capacity.” #
The Department of Corrections would bear the brunt of Scott’s plan to eliminate nearly 8,700 positions throughout state government (many of which, he said, are vacant), accounting for almost a fifth of the total positions cut under Scott’s plan. #
Most of the staff cuts would come in the area prison operations, where Scott expects to find more than $200 million in savings. His budget also sets aside more than $200 million for private prison operations and proposes mandating savings of 7 percent on private prison contracts. #
Scott also wants to spend $32.5 million to renegotiate private prison contracts to “maximize private prison capacity,” which would generate $29 million in “savings from maximizing private prison capacity.” #
His plan would also consolidate various probation and parole operations under the umbrella of “community supervision,” and increase funding for prisoner education and rehabilitation programs by $5 million — measures that have been recommended as part of an effort to save money while reducing crime. #
Scott also plans to save more than $4 million on prisoner food costs — possibly by requiring inmates to grow more of their own. #
