Florida corrections officers may have to work in private sector jobs.
Under a plan released by Gov. Rick Scott, 1,690 Florida corrections officers positions would be eliminated and 619 corrections officers would lose their jobs. About 1,500 inmates would move from state prisons to privately run facilities. Two state corrections institutions would be closed. Scott has said this proposal would save the state $82.4 million.
Senator Mike Fasano said the plan won't work. He does not want to eliminate correction 619 correction officer jobs. "We should not put 619 families out of work," he said.
Fasano said that many prison beds are open and it would only benefit private prison companies.
Corrections officers have starting salaries of $31,900 annually and have not seen a pay raise in five years. Under Scott's proposal, they and 650,000 state workers would have to pay 5 percent of their salaries to their pensions.
Scott's proposal would also eliminate more than 1,000 other jobs by closing other prisons and not replacing employees who resign. Scott wants to privatize three public mental hospitals, three centers for the developmentally disabled and six veterans homes for a savings of $103.9 million.
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