Florida legislature agrees to privatize prisons

Budget negotiators from the Florida House and Senate agreed to a plan that would privatize state prisons in an 18-county region that includes the southern part of the state — the entire area below a line from Manatee County in the west to Indian River County in the east. #

Under the proposal, the Department of Corrections could either award the entire region to a single company, or could divide the region into smaller pieces. The deal would have to be approved by the Joint Legislative Budget Commission. #

The House had originally proposed privatizing just a portion of that region, including Broward and Miami-Dade counties, but agreed to the Senate’s version. Lawmakers also agreed to privatize prison health care statewide. #