The Florida Senate

Be negotiated with the firm found most qualified. However, a contract for private correctional services may not be entered into by the Department of Management Services unless the Department of Management Services determines that the contractor has demonstrated that it has:

Indemnify the state and the department, including their officials and agents, against any and all liability, including, but not limited to, civil rights liability. Proof of satisfactory insurance is required in an amount to be determined by the Department of Management Services.

Require that the contractor seek, obtain, and maintain accreditation by the American Correctional Association for the facility under that contract. Compliance with amendments to the accreditation standards of the association is required upon the approval of such amendments by the commission.

Require that the proposed facilities and the management plans for the inmates meet applicable American Correctional Association standards and the requirements of all applicable court orders and state law.

Establish operations standards for correctional facilities subject to the contract. However, if the department and the contractor disagree with an operations standard, the contractor may propose to waive any rule, policy, or procedure of the department related to the operations standards of correctional facilities which is inconsistent with the mission of the contractor to establish cost-effective, privately operated correctional facilities. The Department of Management Services shall be responsible for considering all proposals from the contractor to waive any rule, policy, or procedure and shall render a final decision granting or denying such request.

Require the contractor to be responsible for a range of dental, medical, and psychological services; diet; education; and work programs at least equal to those provided by the department in comparable facilities. The work and education programs must be designed to reduce recidivism, and include opportunities to participate in such work programs as authorized pursuant to s. 946.523.

Require the selection and appointment of a full-time contract monitor. The contract monitor shall be appointed and supervised by the Department of Management Services. The contractor is required to reimburse the Department of Management Services for the salary and expenses of the contract monitor. It is the obligation of the contractor to provide suitable office space for the contract monitor at the correctional facility. The contract monitor shall have unlimited access to the correctional facility.

Be for a period of 3 years and may be renewed for successive 2-year periods thereafter. However, the state is not obligated for any payments to the contractor beyond current annual appropriations.

Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 255 to the contrary, a specific provision authorizing the use of tax-exempt financing through the issuance of tax-exempt bonds, certificates of participation, lease-purchase agreements, or other tax-exempt financing methods. Pursuant to s. 255.25, approval is hereby provided for the lease-purchase of up to two private correctional facilities and any other facility authorized by the General Appropriations Act.

A specific provision requiring the design and construction of the proposed facilities to meet the applicable standards of the American Correctional Association and the requirements of all applicable court orders and state law.

A specific provision requiring the contractor, and not the Department of Management Services, to obtain the financing required to design and construct the private correctional facility or juvenile commitment facility built under this chapter.

A specific provision stating that the state is not obligated for any payments that exceed the amount of the current annual appropriation.

Each contract for the designing, financing, acquiring, leasing, constructing, and operating of a private correctional facility shall be subject to ss. 255.2502 and 255.2503.

Each contract for the designing, financing, acquiring, leasing, and constructing of a private juvenile commitment facility shall be subject to ss. 255.2502 and 255.2503.

Notwithstanding s. 253.025 or s. 287.057, whenever the Department of Management Services finds it to be in the best interest of timely site acquisition, it may contract without the need for competitive selection with one or more appraisers whose names are contained on the list of approved appraisers maintained by the Division of State Lands of the Department of Environmental Protection in accordance with s. 253.025(6)(b). In those instances when the Department of Management Services directly contracts for appraisal services, it shall also contract with an approved appraiser who is not employed by the same appraisal firm for review services.

Notwithstanding s. 253.025(6), the Department of Management Services may negotiate and enter into lease-purchase agreements before an appraisal is obtained. Any such agreement must state that the final purchase price cannot exceed the maximum value allowed by law.

The training requirements, including inservice training requirements, for employees of a contractor that assumes the responsibility for the operation and maintenance of a private correctional facility must meet or exceed the requirements for similar employees of the department or the training requirements mandated for accreditation by the American Correctional Association, whichever of those requirements are the more demanding. All employee training expenses are the responsibility of the contractor.

Employees of a contractor who are responsible for the supervision of inmates shall have the same legal authority to rely on nondeadly and deadly force as do similar employees of the department.

At the request of the Speaker of the House of Representatives or the President of the Senate, the Prison Per-Diem Workgroup shall develop consensus per diem rates for use by the Legislature. The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability and the staffs of the appropriations committees of both the Senate and the House of Representatives are the principals of the workgroup. The workgroup may consult with other experts to assist in the development of the consensus per diem rates. All meetings of the workgroup shall be open to the public as provided in chapter 286.

When developing the consensus per diem rates, the workgroup must:

The consensus per diem rates determined by the workgroup may be used to assist the Legislature in determining the level of funding provided to privately operated prisons to meet the 7-percent savings required of private prisons by this chapter.

If a private vendor chooses not to renew the contract at the appropriated level, the Department of Management Services shall terminate the contract as provided in s. 957.14.

Any offense that if committed at a state correctional facility would be a crime is a crime if committed by or with regard to inmates at private correctional facilities operated pursuant to a contract entered into under this chapter.

All laws relating to commutation of sentences, release and parole eligibility, and the award of sentence credits apply to inmates incarcerated in a private correctional facility operated pursuant to a contract entered into under this chapter.