FL Bill to Close Panhandle Prisons
A bill has been introduced in the Florida Senate that may lead to the closing of three Panhandle prisons, at a possible cost of 600 jobs. Reported by WMBB News.
Section 4 of SB 2700 deals with Criminal Justice and Corrections. It calls for a transition plan to take place in which three prisons will be closed in order to populate the new Blackwater River Correctional Institution, a privatized institution which is under construction in Milton, Florida.
The Department of Corrections is required by the bill to provide Senators with a list of three institutions to be closed. The list is due by July 1st.
Several County Commissioners plan to hold a press conference on the potential effects of the bill at 2:30 today in Sneads, Florida.
From the bill:
The Department of Corrections shall provide a transition plan to the chairs of the Full Appropriations Council on General Government & Health Care and the Senate Policy and Steering Committee on Ways and Means no later than July 1, 2010, which includes the list of the institution(s) to be closed to populate Blackwater River Correctional Institution and the institution(s) to be privatized. To expedite the contracting process, all information pertinent to developing contracts shall be provided to the Department of Financial Services no later than July 1, 2010. The department shall submit any amendment necessary to facilitate the transfer of funding from the Adult Male Private Prison Operations category to another private prison operations category if a different type institution is determined.
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