TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Senate committee will consider a bill that would allow lawmakers to secretly privatize or outsource state agency functions. That includes privatizing the state’s prisons.
The Senate rules committee will take up the bill (PCB 7170) at its Wednesday afternoon meeting. The bill essentially means that an agency would not have to report its privatization of a program or service until after the contract is signed.
Open government advocates say the bill would keep the public in the dark about the costs of outsourcing government services. But proponents counter that the measure requires any privatization deal to first offer “a substantial savings” to the state.
Also being considered is a related bill (PCB 7172) on the privatization of correctional facilities.
Source: Associated Press
