Florida Senate - 2018                                     SB 836
       
       
        
       By Senator Farmer
       
       
       
       
       
       34-00508-18                                            2018836__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to correctional privatization;
    3         transferring the duties of the Department of
    4         Management Services concerning private correctional
    5         facilities to the Department of Corrections; amending
    6         ss. 287.042, 945.215, 957.04, 957.06, 957.07, 957.08,
    7         957.14, 957.15, and 957.16, F.S.; conforming
    8         provisions to changes made by the act; providing an
    9         effective date.
   10          
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. The duties of the Department of Management
   14  Services concerning private correctional facilities are
   15  transferred by a type two transfer, as defined in s. 20.06,
   16  Florida Statutes, from the Department of Management Services to
   17  the Department of Corrections. Any binding contract or
   18  interagency agreement entered into and between the Department of
   19  Management Services concerning private correctional facilities
   20  and any other agency, entity, or person shall continue as a
   21  binding contract or agreement of the Department of Corrections
   22  for the remainder of the term of such contract or agreement.
   23         Section 2. Subsection (17) of section 287.042, Florida
   24  Statutes, is amended to read:
   25         287.042 Powers, duties, and functions.—The department shall
   26  have the following powers, duties, and functions:
   27         (17)(a)To enter into contracts pursuant to chapter 957 for
   28  the designing, financing, acquiring, leasing, constructing, or
   29  operating of private correctional facilities. The department
   30  shall enter into a contract or contracts with one contractor per
   31  facility for the designing, acquiring, financing, leasing,
   32  constructing, and operating of that facility or may, if
   33  specifically authorized by the Legislature, separately contract
   34  for any such services.
   35         (b)To manage and enforce compliance with existing or
   36  future contracts entered into pursuant to chapter 957.
   37  
   38  The department may not delegate the responsibilities conferred
   39  by this subsection.
   40         Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
   41  945.215, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   42         945.215 Inmate welfare and employee benefit trust funds.—
   43         (2) PRIVATELY OPERATED INSTITUTIONS INMATE WELFARE TRUST
   44  FUND; PRIVATE CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES.—
   45         (a) For purposes of this subsection, privately operated
   46  institutions or private correctional facilities are those
   47  correctional facilities under contract with the department
   48  pursuant to chapter 944 or the Department of Management Services
   49  pursuant to chapter 957.
   50         Section 4. Paragraphs (a), (b), (e), and (g) of subsection
   51  (1), paragraph (c) of subsection (2), and subsections (5), (6),
   52  and (7) of section 957.04, Florida Statutes, are amended to
   53  read:
   54         957.04 Contract requirements.—
   55         (1) A contract entered into under this chapter for the
   56  operation of private correctional facilities shall maximize the
   57  cost savings of such facilities and shall:
   58         (a) Be negotiated with the firm found most qualified.
   59  However, a contract for private correctional services may not be
   60  entered into by the department of Management Services unless the
   61  department of Management Services determines that the contractor
   62  has demonstrated that it has:
   63         1. The qualifications, experience, and management personnel
   64  necessary to carry out the terms of the contract.
   65         2. The ability to expedite the siting, design, and
   66  construction of correctional facilities.
   67         3. The ability to comply with applicable laws, court
   68  orders, and national correctional standards.
   69         (b) Indemnify the state and the department, including their
   70  officials and agents, against any and all liability, including,
   71  but not limited to, civil rights liability. Proof of
   72  satisfactory insurance is required in an amount to be determined
   73  by the department of Management Services.
   74         (e) Establish operations standards for correctional
   75  facilities subject to the contract. However, if the department
   76  and the contractor disagree with an operations standard, the
   77  contractor may propose to waive any rule, policy, or procedure
   78  of the department related to the operations standards of
   79  correctional facilities which is inconsistent with the mission
   80  of the contractor to establish cost-effective, privately
   81  operated correctional facilities. The department is of
   82  Management Services shall be responsible for considering all
   83  proposals from the contractor to waive any rule, policy, or
   84  procedure and shall render a final decision granting or denying
   85  such request.
   86         (g) Require the selection and appointment of a full-time
   87  contract monitor. The contract monitor shall be appointed and
   88  supervised by the department of Management Services. The
   89  contractor is required to reimburse the department of Management
   90  Services for the salary and expenses of the contract monitor. It
   91  is the obligation of the contractor to provide suitable office
   92  space for the contract monitor at the correctional facility. The
   93  contract monitor shall have unlimited access to the correctional
   94  facility.
   95         (2) Each contract entered into for the design and
   96  construction of a private correctional facility or juvenile
   97  commitment facility must include:
   98         (c) A specific provision requiring the contractor, and not
   99  the department of Management Services, to obtain the financing
  100  required to design and construct the private correctional
  101  facility or juvenile commitment facility built under this
  102  chapter.
  103         (5) Each contract entered into by the department of
  104  Management Services must include substantial minority
  105  participation unless demonstrated by evidence, after a good
  106  faith effort, as impractical and must also include any other
  107  requirements the department of Management Services considers
  108  necessary and appropriate for carrying out the purposes of this
  109  chapter.
  110         (6) Notwithstanding s. 253.025(9), the Board of Trustees of
  111  the Internal Improvement Trust Fund need not approve a lease
  112  purchase agreement negotiated by the department of Management
  113  Services if the department of Management Services finds that
  114  there is a need to expedite the lease-purchase.
  115         (7)(a) Notwithstanding s. 253.025 or s. 287.057, whenever
  116  the department of Management Services finds it to be in the best
  117  interest of timely site acquisition, it may contract without the
  118  need for competitive selection with one or more appraisers whose
  119  names are contained on the list of approved appraisers
  120  maintained by the Division of State Lands of the Department of
  121  Environmental Protection in accordance with s. 253.025(8). In
  122  those instances when the department of Management Services
  123  directly contracts for appraisal services, it must shall also
  124  contract with an approved appraiser who is not employed by the
  125  same appraisal firm for review services.
  126         (b) Notwithstanding s. 253.025(8), the department of
  127  Management Services may negotiate and enter into lease-purchase
  128  agreements before an appraisal is obtained. Any such agreement
  129  must state that the final purchase price cannot exceed the
  130  maximum value allowed by law.
  131         Section 5. Subsection (2) of section 957.06, Florida
  132  Statutes, is amended to read:
  133         957.06 Powers and duties not delegable to contractor.—A
  134  contract entered into under this chapter does not authorize,
  135  allow, or imply a delegation of authority to the contractor to:
  136         (2) Choose the facility to which an inmate is initially
  137  assigned or subsequently transferred. The contractor may
  138  request, in writing, that an inmate be transferred to a facility
  139  operated by the department. The Department of Management
  140  Services, the contractor, and the department shall develop and
  141  implement a cooperative agreement for transferring inmates
  142  between a correctional facility operated by the department and a
  143  private correctional facility. The department, the Department of
  144  Management Services, and the contractor must comply with the
  145  cooperative agreement.
  146         Section 6. Subsections (1) and (4) and paragraph (d) of
  147  subsection (5) of section 957.07, Florida Statutes, are amended
  148  to read:
  149         957.07 Cost-saving requirements.—
  150         (1) The department of Management Services may not enter
  151  into a contract or series of contracts unless the department
  152  determines that the contract or series of contracts in total for
  153  the facility will result in a cost savings to the state of at
  154  least 7 percent over the public provision of a similar facility.
  155  Such cost savings as determined by the department of Management
  156  Services must be based upon the actual costs associated with the
  157  construction and operation of similar facilities or services as
  158  determined by the department of Corrections and certified by the
  159  Auditor General. The department of Corrections shall calculate
  160  all of the cost components that determine the inmate per diem in
  161  correctional facilities of a substantially similar size, type,
  162  and location that are operated by the department of Corrections,
  163  including administrative costs associated with central
  164  administration. Services that are provided to the department of
  165  Corrections by other governmental agencies at no direct cost to
  166  the department shall be assigned an equivalent cost and included
  167  in the per diem.
  168         (4) The department of Corrections shall provide a report
  169  detailing the state cost to design, finance, acquire, lease,
  170  construct, and operate a facility similar to the private
  171  correctional facility on a per diem basis. This report shall be
  172  provided to the Auditor General in sufficient time that it may
  173  be certified to the Department of Management Services to be
  174  included in the request for proposals.
  175         (5)
  176         (d) If a private vendor chooses not to renew the contract
  177  at the appropriated level, the department must of Management
  178  Services shall terminate the contract as provided in s. 957.14.
  179         Section 7. Section 957.08, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  180  read:
  181         957.08 Capacity requirements.—The department of Corrections
  182  shall transfer and assign prisoners to each private correctional
  183  facility opened pursuant to this chapter in an amount not less
  184  than 90 percent or more than 100 percent of the capacity of the
  185  facility pursuant to the contract with the Department of
  186  Management Services. The prisoners transferred by the department
  187  of Corrections shall represent a cross-section of the general
  188  inmate population, based on the grade of custody or the offense
  189  of conviction, at the most comparable facility operated by the
  190  department.
  191         Section 8. Section 957.14, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  192  read:
  193         957.14 Contract termination and control of a correctional
  194  facility by the department.—A detailed plan shall be provided by
  195  a private vendor under which the department shall assume
  196  temporary control of a private correctional facility upon
  197  termination of the contract. The department of Management
  198  Services may terminate the contract with cause after written
  199  notice of material deficiencies and after 60 workdays in order
  200  to correct the material deficiencies. If any event occurs that
  201  involves the noncompliance with or violation of contract terms
  202  and that presents a serious threat to the safety, health, or
  203  security of the inmates, employees, or the public, the
  204  department may temporarily assume control of the private
  205  correctional facility, with the approval of the Department of
  206  Management Services. A plan shall also be provided by a private
  207  vendor for the purchase and temporary assumption of operations
  208  of a correctional facility by the department in the event of
  209  bankruptcy or the financial insolvency of the private vendor.
  210  The private vendor shall provide an emergency plan to address
  211  inmate disturbances, employee work stoppages, strikes, or other
  212  serious events in accordance with standards of the American
  213  Correctional Association.
  214         Section 9. Section 957.15, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  215  read:
  216         957.15 Funding of contracts for operation, maintenance, and
  217  lease-purchase of private correctional facilities.—The request
  218  for appropriation of funds to make payments pursuant to
  219  contracts entered into by the department of Management Services
  220  for the operation, maintenance, and lease-purchase of the
  221  private correctional facilities authorized by this chapter shall
  222  be made by the department of Management Services in a request to
  223  the department. The department shall include such request in its
  224  budget request to the Legislature as a separately identified
  225  item and shall forward the request of the Department of
  226  Management Services without change. After an appropriation has
  227  been made by the Legislature to the department for the private
  228  correctional facilities, the department shall have no authority
  229  over such funds other than to pay from such appropriation to the
  230  appropriate private vendor such amounts as are certified for
  231  payment by the Department of Management Services.
  232         Section 10. Section 957.16, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  233  read:
  234         957.16 Expanding capacity.—The department may of Management
  235  Services is authorized to modify and execute agreements with
  236  contractors to expand up to the total capacity of contracted
  237  correctional facilities. Total capacity means the design
  238  capacity of all contracted correctional facilities increased by
  239  one-half as described under s. 944.023(1)(b). Any additional
  240  beds authorized under this section must comply with the cost
  241  saving requirements set forth in s. 957.07. Any additional beds
  242  authorized as a result of expanded capacity under this section
  243  are contingent upon specified appropriations.
  244         Section 11. This act shall take effect July 1, 2018.