Headlines
LA: Using public money to pay for private school vouchers approved
FL: Dirty tactics in fight for prison privatization
PA: Key senator opposes college funding cuts
NE: Lawmakers debate ending child welfare privatization
The private prison industry: Resistance isn’t futile

LA: Using public money to pay for private school vouchers approved
Louisiana’s new superintendent of education, John White, took a first step Monday toward opening the spigot of state and local tax dollars to expand the use of private school vouchers statewide…”I believe it’s unconstitutional that you’re doing this,” state Rep. Patricia Smith told members of the state school board before Monday’s vote. “That’s a very deep concern.” Smith and others who attended the board’s special meeting in Baton Rouge also criticized the board for calling the meeting so suddenly and without more public notice. When board member Lottie Beebe, perhaps the only outright opponent of Jindal’s school reform proposals on the board, put forward a motion to delay a vote on the matter until next month, she got three other members to vote with her, including Kira Orange Jones, who represents most of New Orleans. Indeed, even as the 11-member panel ultimately went ahead with the funding change, the debate put on view for the first time a wide range of opinions on the voucher idea. The Times-Picayune

FL: Dirty tactics in fight for prison privatization
The debate over privatizing much of Florida’s prison system last week probably marks one of the few times a couple of senators provided an escort for one of their colleagues — from the opposing political party, no less. It attracted little attention…Turns out, members on both sides of the aisle took turns sitting with Bullard to protect her from strong-arming tactics. Some colleagues worried Bullard could wind up in the hospital, unable to vote on the measure. One senator described it as “straight out of a gangster movie. Ultimately Bullard hung on and voted against the bill. The American Prospect

PA: Key senator opposes college funding cuts
A key state senator whose district includes Penn State University said Monday he opposes the deep funding cuts that Gov. Tom Corbett plans to make to Pennsylvania’s public universities and community colleges…Corman, whose committee plays a major role in the annual budget derby, said he’s looking for full restoration of cuts Corbett has proposed for the 14 state-owned universities…Corbett’s $27.14 billion budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 calls for a $330 million appropriation for the state-owned schools, a reduction of 20 percent from current funding of $412.7 million. It would shave $146.4 million, or 30 percent, in taxpayer support for the state-related schools and reduce funding for community colleges by 4 percent…The second attempt at cuts for the state-related schools — which Corman dryly described Monday as “barely state-related” — comes amid the Jerry Sandusky alleged sexual abuse scandal at Penn State and what some believe is a deliberate attempt by the Corbett administration to wean those institutions off public support and to usher them down the road to privatization. The Morning Call

NE: Lawmakers debate ending child welfare privatization
Nebraska lawmakers launched into debate Tuesday about whether to put the brakes on the state’s experiment in child welfare privatization. At issue is whether the state should take back responsibility for managing child welfare cases from the last remaining private contractor…The bill was introduced before state officials announced that Kansas-based KVC was dropping out of the picture as one of the last two child welfare contractors.. Sen. Kathy Campbell of Lincoln said a months-long study by the Health and Human Services Committee has concluded that managing child welfare cases is a core duty of the state. “The state can never contract away its responsibility for these children,” she said. “We always have that responsibility.” The committee’s study of the privatization troubles led to five major proposals aimed at fixing the state’s troubled child welfare system….Several lawmakers decried the lack of planning and oversight by HHS officials that led to problems with the privatization effort. Money problems led to four of the five original contractors dropping out or losing their contracts. Efforts to keep contractors increased state spending by 27 percent last year. “This house of cards called child welfare reform has fallen down around our heads, and it’s the children and the foster parents that have been buried,” said Sen. Annette Dubas of Fullerton. Omaha World-Herald

The private prison industry: Resistance isn’t futile
The private prison industry is on the march. In recent months the industry moved to take over 24 state prisons in southern Florida and buy five prisons in Ohio. Now it’s making moves in Michigan. But the industry doesn’t always win. Resistance isn’t futile. The industry wanted to buy five prisons in Ohio but had to settle for one. Community members pushed back and corrections professionals raised doubts about cost savings and program effectiveness. Policy Matters Ohio demonstrated that selling the prison will likely cost more money than it produces. Yes, the state gets $73 million immediately for the sale — but the lease commits the state to pay $4 million annually for 20 years. So depending how cost estimates are done, the sale will end up costing the state anywhere from $8 million to $15 million more than traditional corrections. Florida shows that the prison industry can’t make an honest case for the product it sells. OpEdNews

Headlines
NE: Legislators rip child welfare privatization prior to full debate
PA: State House, LCB talk modernization, not privatization
MI: Ann Arbor area officials say more privatization
‎How all of America is becoming a toll road

NE: Legislators rip child welfare privatization prior to full debate
Child welfare takes center stage in the legislature the next two days…Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha on Monday called privatization a miserable, unmitigated failure. It has not delivered what we thought or what was expected and we have spent tens of millions of dollars on it,” Lathrop told colleagues during legislative floor debate. Lathrop pointed out that the state spent $105 million delivering child welfare services on abused and neglected children in 2008/2009. That expenditure jumped to $139 million in 2010, with $30.5 million spent on amended contracts with private agencies. Sen. Gwen Howard of Omaha ..reminded colleagues private contractors assured the state they could deliver services for the same amount of money the state spent. “But the ink was barely, barely dry when the private agencies came back and said, ‘You know what, we really can’t do it for this amount of money,’” Howard stated…. A state audit slammed the Department of Health and Human Services for inadequate cost controls and poor record keeping. The audit reported spending on child welfare services rose by 27% over a two-year period. Nebraska Radio Network

PA: State House, LCB talk modernization, not privatization
The talk at a House budget hearing for the state Liquor Control Board today was all about modernization, and the P word — privatization — wasn’t even mentioned. ..One of the major modernization moves is creating more “prototype” liquor and wine stores, which have a larger selection of products, including higher-end wines, and larger, fancier interiors and shelves than the traditional, old-fashioned “state stores.”..One reason legislators are reluctant to sell or lease the state stores to private owners is the amount of money they bring in to state government each year — $530 million in fiscal 2010-11, $513 million the year before and $526 million the year before that. That includes money from the sales tax, a 30 percent markup on all products and the 18 percent Johnstown flood tax. Also, most of the 5,700 LCB employees are unionized and don’t want the system sold to private owners for fear of losing their jobs. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

MI: Ann Arbor area officials say more privatization
‎As municipalities and school districts continue to face budget constraints, there will be more pressure to privatize services, a panel of local officials said Monday night. Your school secretary may be a contracted employee in the future,” said Susan Baskett, an Ann Arbor school board trustee….Fanta said the Ypsilanti school district is “under siege” concerning privatization. “They want to privatize everything they could privatize. And the rationale for that is we have to cut costs,” he said. Fanta said he prefers to instead ask: “How do we politicize the citizens of Michigan to say it is a good thing to adequately fund pubic education?” Baskett said declining funds and increasing retirement costs — which she said school districts “have nothing to do with except pay the bill” — have led to privatization talks. AnnArbor.com

How all of America is becoming a toll road
…Toll roads are becoming much more fashionable, but the trend extends beyond these physical toll booths to a more symbolic toll road as well. Americans are slowly but surely being required to pay toll after toll in order to live the American dream.  The long road of life is becoming littered with toll booths.  These toll booths are nothing more than an annoyance for the rich.  However, they are major obstacle for the middle class, and all together debilitating for the poor….Americans are now being asked to pay for services that were previously gauranteed, and if they can not pay they are no longer receiving the service.  This is the toll road philosophy. Examiner.com

Headlines
IN: State, IBM go to court over welfare privatization effort
FL: Prison issues are far from settled
NC: Proposal pushes privatizing pre-K classrooms
TN: Privatized sanitation draws criticism
TX: 850 Texas A&M jobs could be outsourced

IN: State, IBM go to court over welfare privatization effort
More than two years after Indiana terminated a deal with IBM to run its welfare eligibility operation, a lawsuit over the breakup is going to trial. The state wants its money back for what it contends was a botched job. Indiana terminated a 10-year contract with IBM after less than three years. IBM contends it’s not to blame — and that the state owes the company $100 million in unpaid bills. Marion Superior Judge David Dreyer has set aside six weeks for the trial. There could be more than 100 witnesses, but Governor Daniels won’t be among them. Earlier this month, the Indiana Supreme Court rejected IBM’s attempt to put him on the stand. WIBC Indianapolis

FL: Prison issues are far from settled
..Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff of Fort Lauderdale, who took over the law-and-order budget committee when Sen. Mike Fasano of New Port Richey was sacked for fighting privatization too well, promised that we’ve seen the last of it for this session. But she added that she can’t speak for Gov. Rick Scott, a privatization advocate who can have the DOC pursue contracting with companies promising to operate the prisons 7 percent cheaper than the state does it. Tallahassee Democrat

NC: Proposal pushes privatizing pre-K classrooms
A legislative proposal to overhaul North Carolina’s pre-K system would completely privatize pre-K classrooms by the summer of 2013, as well as leave fewer families eligible for state tuition assistance. The proposal is part of a draft report slated for debate and a potential vote Thursday at the statehouse in Raleigh. It was the result of several months’ work by a Republican-controlled legislative committee reviewing the state’s early childhood programs…Taxpayer-supported prekindergarten has long had a waiting list of eligible children who don’t get financial help because the state runs out of money before it runs out of families falling below annual income thresholds. That generates a waiting list, exacerbated this year by a 20 percent pre-K cut the Republican-controlled General Assembly approved to help balance the state budget. Winston-Salem Journal

TN: Privatized Memphis sanitation draws criticism
Huddled together in front of the hotel room where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, clergy leaders who have rallied for sanitation workers’ rights for decades met to decry privatization of waste management in Memphis. “It’s out of order even to consider privatizing (sanitation services) in this city,” said Rev. Dwight Montgomery, president of Southern Christian Leadership Conference Memphis. He was referring to the historical significance of the union, which was officially recognized by the city 12 days after King’s assassination. There’s a better option, representatives from SCLC, Rainbow PUSH, the Coalition of Black Pastors and Ecumenical Action Committee said Thursday. Dr. LaSimba Gray, president of the Memphis chapter of Rainbow PUSH, said he’d been in talks with civil rights icon Virgil Wood about a plan that would transform the department into a cooperative, in which workers would jointly own and run the operation and share in the profits. Gray said Wood could bring experience to the table and was ready to meet with city administration and union leadership if called upon. Memphis Commercial Appeal

TX: 850 Texas A&M jobs could be outsourced
Last week, the news broke that 850 jobs at A&M could be out sourced to a private company. Employees affected work in the facilities department which includes food services, landscaping, custodial services and maintenance. The chancellor wants to emphasize that no decision has been made to lay off anyone. What the university is doing is issuing request for proposals (RFPs) for companies to bid on contracts. Sharp says by doing this they are trying to make the services better and cheaper. KBTX

Headlines
OK: Tulsa city workers win fight vs. privatization with creative strategy
IL: Court curbs power of private police
MI: Lawmakers considering use of private prison contractors
FL: School Board backs off outsourcing idea
‎FL: Bipartisan legislative group stops prison privatization

OK: Tulsa city workers win fight vs. privatization with creative strategy
..In June 2011, city operations and maintenance workers were threatened with privatization. These workers handle electrical, mechanical, plumbing and carpentry duties for the municipality. ..Union organizers and workers were confident that the employees themselves knew more about how best to run their department than their bosses, so they prepared a plan of their own outlining ways to improve services, reduce costs and save the taxpayers money. They went directly to the city government and presented their findings and proposals. They would eliminate unnecessary expenses, relinquish two vehicles that were not regularly used, and upgrade their technology to use more efficient software and web-based solutions wherever possible. Not only did their plan save the people of Tulsa money while maintaining quality services, they included a “gain sharing” program in which unionized operations and maintenance workers would be rewarded for their extra effort…The mayor announced that the workers’ extra initiative not only saved their jobs from privatization, but saved the city $224,000 since July 2011. In a statement, Bartlett, who is generally anti-union, said: “Our own employees beat out local and national firms to do the job, and for the first time ever, were able to participate in the savings.” As part of the “gain sharing program” each worker in the building and maintenance department received a check for $3,863.53. The additional savings will be retained in public funds for the benefit of the people of Tulsa, instead of going into the pockets of CEOs from the private sector. People’s World

IL: Court curbs power of private police
Former Lombard police commissioner Ken Poris knew to pull over when he saw a vehicle’s flashing lights behind him while returning to his home in LaSalle County’s Lake Holiday subdivision. But he quickly realized the person who’d pulled him over, taken his driver’s license back to his squad car and written him a speeding ticket wasn’t a police officer…His case –– a type that lawyers rarely take up because they don’t pay — shines a light on what experts say can be a problem with the proliferating private security teams that now patrol large subdivisions, apartment complexes and even a Chicago neighborhood that taxes itself extra to pay for it.  “It’s a massive, ad hoc privatization of government services,” said Evan McKenzie, a University of Illinois at Chicago associate professor of political science and critic who has written two books on the topic. “That’s why you get these weird situations…An Illinois appeals court in a strongly worded ruling last month found that Lake Holiday’s practice of stopping and detaining drivers for violating homeowners association rules was unlawful. The court also found that the association’s use of amber-colored flashing lights on its vehicles was unlawful and that the association could be held liable for Poris’ false imprisonment claim. Chicago Tribune

MI: Lawmakers considering use of private prison contractors
Lawmakers are considering bills that could potentially allow a shuttered youth prison near Lake County’s Baldwin to reopen and house Michigan inmates of any age. The legislation doesn’t necessarily mean that would happen. But it opens up the opportunity for facility operator The GEO Group Inc. — or any other private corrections company — to competitively bid on contracts for housing Michigan inmates as long as it saves the state a certain amount of money…“In that particular budget, we sought to benchmark costs through competitive bidding so we have a better understanding of the services and custody costs when compared with the private sector,” said Sen. John Proos, R- St. Joseph. “We went to great lengths to insure that the department can bid on its own services should a vendor come in at 5 percent or greater in savings.”..The prospect of Boca Raton, Fla.-based GEO Group or another private operator contracting with the state met opposition from labor unions, including United Auto Workers and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. UAW Local 6000 represents more than 2,000 state correctional workers. “The operation of prisons is basically a public responsibility. It’s one of the more draconian things a state can do, lock somebody up, deprive them of their liberty. Force is sometimes necessary to be used,” said Tim Hughes of the UAW. “And we just think that’s a function that should be inherently performed by government and not by private entities.”  MLive

FL: School Board backs off outsourcing idea
‎Palm Beach County Schools Superintendent Wayne Gent on Wednesday said school bus drivers, custodians, groundskeepers, and maintenance workers will be relieved to know the School Board wants to keep them on the payroll.  More than 2,700 employees have been anxious about a citizens committee’s recent recommendation to consider having outside companies run school district departments, in a potential cost-cutting action. But the board said it’s not necessary to outsource transportation and the other functions right now because a projected budget shortfall for the 2012-13 school year is not as severe as initially feared. Sun-Sentinel

FL:Bipartisan legislative group stops prison privatization
Two years in a row, Governor Rick Scott has not been able to get his plan to privatize 26 state run prisons through the Florida Senate and the courts….Gov. Scott thought this year he would get his proposal through the Florida Legislature, because there were a majority of Republicans in both the Houses. He never thought that a bipartisan coalition would come together to resist the governor’s actions. But it was a coalition of Democrats and Republicans that stopped and killed the privatizations of prisons this year.  Nine Republicans joined a united Democratic caucus of 12 in the Senate, and stopped the measure (SB-2038) on a 21-19 vote. There was intense lobbying and arm twisting from Gov. Scott and other Republicans, but in the end they still lost. This was a major victory for labor unions, police benevolent associations and state unions. Westside Gazette

Headlines
LA: Grade all schools  – editorial
PA: Pittsburgh water nominee open to privatization
FL: Prison vote: Strong arms and strong stands
FL: Skate park failure should be privatization wake up call
FL: Labor leaders, state workers pull together at Capitol rally
For-profit college chiefs unwind at lavish Tahoe resort

LA: Grade all schools  – editorial
If “scholarships” or vouchers are to be offered to families whose children attend failing schools, and those parents choose to send their children to a charter, parochial or private school, how does anyone really know that school is a good one?  As the Legislature considers the education reform agenda of Gov. Bobby Jindal, the state’s school superintendents are asking the administration to require that private and parochial schools that accept students who get state aid also receive an annual letter grade like public schools. That does not seem like an unreasonable request, if parents are to be armed with appropriate information about school choice. We agree with Jindal that families need to have options when they are geographically zoned into a school whose annual grade is “C” or below….State Superintendent of Education John White, who is Jindal’s chief lieutenant for public schools, disputed the need for private and parochial schools to get letter grades…We disagree.  Charter, private and parochial schools have an advantage the public school systems don’t. They can select students for admission based on an individual’s educational strengths. Public schools take everyone who lives in a zone.  If public tax dollars are going to be spent to send our children outside the public school system, there must be a measure of accountability for the expenditure of those dollars. The News-Star‘

PA: Pittsburgh water nominee open to privatization
A nominee to the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority on Wednesday said she’d be open to the possibility of privatizing the agency, comments that led to an unusually bumpy confirmation interview with city council.  Privatization rumors have been swirling around the authority for more than a year. Council President Darlene Harris and Councilman Patrick Dowd, who is an authority member, asked South Side resident Darlene Williams Yanakos for her views on the issue.  “I think it is an option. I don’t know if it’s the right option,” Ms. Yanakos, nominated by Mayor Luke Ravenstahl for a five-year term on the authority, said…But her answer irritated Mr. Dowd and Mrs. Harris, both of whom oppose privatization. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

FL: Prison vote: Strong arms and strong stands
What are things in the Florida Legislature coming to when one senator needs protection to walk on the Senate floor? The debate over privatizing much of Florida’s prison system last week probably marks one of the few times a couple of senators provided an escort for one of their colleagues — from the opposing political party, no less. It attracted little attention last week when Sens. Charles Dean, R-Inverness, and Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, walked onto the Senate floor before the debate on privatizing prisons with Sen. Larcenia Bullard, D-Miami, between them. Bullard, who has been seriously ill with a recurring heart condition, had been in tears after days of pressure from Senate leaders and lobbyists who wanted her to be the deciding vote in favor of a bill that would have privatized 27 South Florida prisons.
..Bullard ultimately withstood the pressure and voted against the bill. The 21-19 vote against privatizing South Florida prisons was a rare defeat for the Senate leadership. In the Legislature, bills are rarely brought up for a vote by the full House or Senate unless the leaders are certain of victory.  This defeat was a particular public embarrassment for its supporters, who included Senate President Mike Haridopolos. Tampa Bay Times

FL: Skate park failure should be privatization wake up call
The rush to dump Hernando County government services onto the private sector just fell off the half-pipe. Last week, the county had to resume control of the Stewy’s Skate Park/Pioneer Park when a private group, undermined by intramural squabbling, didn’t maintain its required insurance. The failure of the private entity to fulfill its partnership with the county is a significant disappointment. Commissioners had begun to rely upon community groups to help operate and maintain specific parks as a cost savings….The collapse of the park agreement should serve as a warning to commissioners to scrutinize closely the private-sector promises of bettering county services. Tampa Bay Times

FL: Labor leaders, state workers pull together at Capitol rally
Hundreds of green-shirted state employees and their supporters took their message to Florida legislators Tuesday, lobbying against “dangerous legislation” affecting the jobs and paychecks of government workers.  “The middle class in this nation has been decimated, weeded out,” state Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, D-Tallahassee, told about 200 members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees on the west steps of the Capitol. “But you are making inroads. There are people who support you up here.”…Rich Templin of the Florida AFL-CIO said that in addition to the prison privatization, which the governor can still order the Department of Corrections to accomplish, there are other bills that would contract state services to private companies. He said some legislators still want to bar new employees from the traditional pension plan, moving them to the 401(k)-style investment retirement plan, and that bills making it easier to form charter schools would amount to “privatizing education” in Florida. “It’s kind of like ramming your head against a big brick wall with a Legislature that seems so out of touch with the daily lives of Florida’s working people,” said Templin. Tallahassee Democrat

For-profit college chiefs unwind at lavish Tahoe resort
The private four-day getaway marked the annual senior executive management seminar of the trade group representing the for-profit college industry — a sector that derives most of its $30 billion-plus annual revenue from federal funds, in the form of student loans and grants. Students at for-profit colleges often end up with enormous debt burdens and lean job prospects, resulting in a disproportionate number of student loan defaults. But the scene at this resort tucked into the Sierra Nevada Mountains served as testament to the fact that those running the institutions have fared far better.  Five dozen executives, who flew in on Sunday from states as far afield as Florida, Indiana and Virginia, gathered at the Ritz-Carlton, paying nearly $400 a night. They enjoyed the ski slopes, a spa and cocktail lounges, putting their taxpayer-financed revenues to lavish effect. They devoted some of their hours to work, plotting political and business strategies in a key election year. Among the distinguished guests was former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi, who was recently brought on as a lobbyist for the trade group, the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities. New rules from the Obama administration aimed at stemming marketing abuses within the industry have impeded growth. The trade group has filed suit in a bid to derail the regulations. Huffington Post

Headlines
AZ: GOP budget plan would scrap Arizona prison study
ID: Idaho vote to privatize liquor might be illegal
MI: Union concessions, privatization among priorities of Flint
MI: Detroit: Restructuring governance through privatization and corporatization
NE: State again to oversee most child welfare cases
MA: Union sues state over privatization
FL: Public workers protest privatization

AZ: GOP budget plan would scrap Arizona prison study
A budget proposal by Republican legislators would scrap a longstanding requirement that the state Department of Corrections conduct a cost and quality comparison study for publicly and privately operated state prisons….Democratic Sen. Paula Aboud of Tucson questions whether dropping the requirement would be fiscally irresponsible. Senate Majority Leader Andy Biggs says the provision isn’t of much value. The Gilbert Republican says there’s no indication that the requirement has provided the state with useful and reliable information. Arizona Daily Sun

ID: Idaho vote to privatize liquor might be illegal
Attorney General Lawrence Wasden said Tuesday a proposed voter initiative to privatize Idaho’s lucrative hard liquor business might be illegal because the state constitution says such decisions are the Legislature’s purview. In January, the Idaho Federation of Reagan Republicans submitted a citizen’s initiative to privatize liquor sales in Idaho and eliminate the Liquor Division. Idaho State Journal

MI: Detroit: Restructuring governance through privatization and corporatization
On March 23, 16 experts from around the country will convene at Wayne State University Law School to discuss how Detroit and other cities in Michigan are experiencing a transformation in the way civic structures operate and allocate resources…However, critics warn that while profit-driven governance structures may shore-up short-term finances, it does so by replacing the social mission of traditional models of governance and shifts accountability from residents to investors. Detroit is at the center of this change, and other parts of the country should take note. Asking the right questions is the first step. Is Detroit in need of corporate restructuring under an emergency manager? Would The Detroit Water and Sewage Department be more efficient under a privatized system? Will the acquisition by a for-profit corporation save the once nonprofit Detroit Medical Center? If transformation is taking place, if existing models of governance in local government, public works and health care are transforming into newer models through complex processes of corporatization and privatization it appears critical that the behavior and objectives of varying governance types be analyzed.  Huffington Post

MI: Union concessions, privatization among priorities of Flint
Cutting city spending through labor union contract concessions and privatizing some city services are high on Flint emergency manager Michael Brown’s list of priorities, he said today…Brown told residents that the city is looking to privatize at least three of the four golf courses, and hopes to have contracts in place in the coming weeks. The city is also looking at outsourcing operation of its senior centers to a nonprofit or private entity, he said. The Flint Journal

NE: State again to oversee most child welfare cases
Top Nebraska officials plan to change course on child welfare after the state’s experiment in privatization suffered a major blow Tuesday. The Kansas-based KVC announced that the company will stop managing child welfare cases as of Feb. 29. The announcement leaves the state with only one private contractor, meaning that state workers will once again be responsible for ensuring the safety and well-being of the majority of abused and neglected Nebraska children. Omaha World-Herald

MA: Union sues state over privatization
The Service Employees International Union claims Massachusetts violated the state’s “Pacheco Law” by privatizing services in the Department of Mental Health, and laying off more than 100 case managers. The SEIU Local 509 sued Massachusetts’ Department of Mental Health and its Commissioner Barbara Leadholm, in Suffolk County Court. Under the state’s Pacheco Law, for a government entity to privatize its services it must meet numerous requirements, including submitting written statements that prove the private company will provide better services more cheaply than the public employees it replaces, and ensuring “that the citizens of the Commonwealth receive ‘high-quality public services at low cost, with due regard for taxpayers of the Commonwealth and the needs of both public and private workers.'” Courthouse News Service

FL: Public workers protest privatization
Hundreds of unionized state employees from across Florida converged on the state Capitol today protesting what they call attacks on the middle class. WCTV

Headlines
OH: Turnpike director defends study on privatizing toll road
NC: GOP rush to privatize demeans our public assets
LA: Privatization affecting La. employment
FL: Kill prison privatization? Not so fast, Gov Scott says
CA: Calif. weak on oversight of for-profit colleges
GOP  not giving up on Medicare privatization
Profiting from prisons

News summaries
OH: Turnpike director defends study on privatizing toll road
The Ohio Turnpike Commission ‘s executive director is defending the state’s approval of a multimillion-dollar study of the turnpike and the possibility of privatizing the 241-mile toll road. “Everyone needs to be open-minded,” Rick Hodges told the newspaper, cautioning detractors that no decisions have been made to privatize the turnpike. Hodges told the newspaper that he doesn’t favor any particular option. The Ohio Controlling Board approved a $2.85 million contract for a study by KPMG Corporate Finance.  Columbus Business First

NC: GOP rush to privatize demeans our public assets
If you are looking for a perfect example of what’s wrong in Raleigh these days, the legislative report released last week calling for the privatization of state attractions and the closing of historic sites is a good place to start.  The report was commissioned by legislative leaders and prepared by the Program Evaluation Division of the General Assembly with the pithy title, “Operational Changes for State Attractions Could Yield $2 Million Annually and Reduce Reliance on the State.” The “operational changes” that create the savings include proposals such as closing the five-year-old Museum of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City, privatizing the N.C. Zoo and state aquariums, closing several state parks for months at a time, raising admission fees and ending discounts for senior citizens. Those recommendations are troubling enough, but “reducing the reliance” on the state is an odd goal for a report on important public institutions. It’s simply another way to shred the government the Republicans loathe and turn over more of its functions to the private for-profit market. It’s not only happening with tourist attractions, of course, it’s happening with public schools, higher education and health care. There is talk of expanding private prisons and eventually turning over the administration of some toll roads to private operators. Greensboro News & Record

LA: Privatization affecting La. employment
Bobby Jindal is proposing new rounds of privatization in his latest budget proposal. The shift has forced thousands of people from their jobs, a consequence the Jindal administration tends to gloss over as it touts the lowest number of state workers in decades. Care for the developmentally disabled, ferries to transport people across the Mississippi River and the lock-up and monitoring of criminals housed in an Avoyelles Parish prison would be farmed out to private businesses under the governor’s 2012-13 budget plans. The outsourcing of services is an easy way for Jindal to trim state operating costs and to show his conservative, cost-cutting credentials around the nation. But the administration seems to dislike acknowledging the side effect of privatization in a down economy: hundreds of workers given pink slips. Opelousas Daily World

FL: Kill prison privatization? Not so fast, Gov Scott says
He told a group of reporters that he is going to explore ways he can privatize prisons unilaterally. Talk that the governor has the power to privatize areas of government was sprinkled in debate as senators slugged it out over the prison privatization.  Florida Times-Union

PA: Officials say privatizing prisons not an option in Pennsylvania
Officials here say full privatization — which Ohio did with one of its prisons last year — is off the table. “We’re reviewing everything, but the full and total privatization of an SCI (state correctional institution) is not something we’re looking at,” said state Department of Corrections spokeswoman Susan Bensinger. Corbett’s proposal to freeze prison spending at just less than $1.9 billion puts unprecedented pressure on the corrections system, said state Rep. Tom Caltagirone, D-Berks County. Lawmakers are discussing ways to cut the prison population, such as relaxing mandatory minimum sentences, speeding up drug and alcohol treatment programs, and streamlining the probation and parole process. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

CA: Calif. weak on oversight of for-profit colleges
California’s recently formed Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education has significant weaknesses in its oversight of for-profit colleges, advocacy groups told lawmakers at a hearing this week. California Watch

GOP not giving up on Medicare privatization
Republicans may be backing off their famously toxic plan by Paul Ryan to privatize Medicare, but they’ve doubled down on the broader concept and are taking strategic steps to get there over time. TPM

Profiting from prisons
Early this year, the United Methodist Church Board of Pension and Health Benefits voted to withdraw nearly $1 million in stocks from two private prison companies, the GEO Group and Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). The decision by the largest faith-based pension fund in the United States came in response to concerns expressed last May by the church’s immigration task force and a group of national activists. “Our board simply felt that it did not want to profit from the business of incarcerating others,” said Colette Nies, managing director of communications for the board. “Our concern was not with how the companies manage or operate their business, but with the service that the companies offer,” Nies added. “We believe that profiting from incarceration is contrary to Church values.” It was an important success for a slew activists across the country who are pushing investors and institutions to divest in the private prison industry. The National Prison Divestment Campaign, launched last spring, includes a broad coalition of immigrant rights, criminal justice and other organizations targeting private prison companies like CCA and the GEO Group, the two largest private prison corporations in the United States.  The Crime Report

Headlines
AZ: Arizona private prisons slammed by report
FL: Gov Scott moves to keep prison privatization alive
‎FL: Feds deal setback for Florida’s Medicaid privatization
‎CA: Calif. weak on oversight of for-profit colleges, advocacy groups say
PA: Liquor privatization compromise legislation

News summaries
AZ: Arizona private prisons slammed by report
Arizona’s private prisons are not cost-effective for taxpayers and are more difficult to monitor than state prisons, according to a new report by a prison watchdog group that is calling for a moratorium on any new private prisons in the state…Based on public-information requests and other data, the report by the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker group that works on criminal-justice reform, concluded that: Arizona paid $10 million more for private prison beds between 2008 and 2010 than it would have for equivalent state beds. The Arizona Republic

FL: Gov Scott moves to keep prison privatization alive
‎Gov. Rick Scott has his office working to determine what he can do to keep up the effort to bid out the services of up to 26 Central and South Florida correctional institutions this session. With the private outsourcing effort projected by state economists to save at least $16.5 million a year, Scott is trying to determine if he can proceed on his own or through other means after the Florida Senate — with 10 Republicans joining the entire Democratic roster — rejected a bill on the future management of the facilities on Tuesday. Sunshine State News

FL: Feds deal setback for Florida’s Medicaid privatization
‎Republican lawmakers’ quest to expand a Medicaid privatization program statewide was dealt a blow last week after federal health officials said the state could not impose $10 monthly premiums on Medicaid beneficiaries. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also denied the state’s proposal to charge $100 co-pays for any non-emergency ER visits, according to a letter sent Feb. 9. Federal health officials said the fees violated several statutes designed to protect nearly three million of state’s most vulnerable residents…The privatization program builds on a controversial five-county pilot program that started in 2006. Patients said they struggled to get doctor’s appointments and doctors dropped out of the program complaining the health plans denied the treatments they prescribed. Several health care providers also dropped out of the program, saying they couldn’t turn a profit, leaving patients to be deal with gaps in services as they were bounced between plans.  South Florida Times

CA: Calif. weak on oversight of for-profit colleges, advocacy groups say
California’s recently formed Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education has significant weaknesses in its oversight of for-profit colleges, advocacy groups told lawmakers at a hearing this week. The agency’s lax approach limits its ability to police abuses in the for-profit sector, said Jamienne S. Studley, CEO of Public Advocates Inc., a nonprofit law firm and advocacy group in San Francisco. California Watch

PA: Liquor privatization compromise legislation
The Pennsylvania Senate Law and Justice Committee has proposed legislation that looks to be a compromise gesture between ardent privateers a la House Majority Leader Mike Turzai and advocates for the PLCB…The compromise bill will give the PA House and Senate the opportunity to modernize the PLCB and also generate $75 million a year in new state revenues which could be used to forestall some of Governor Corbett’s proposed budget cuts.  Senate Bill 1287 would free the PLCB to operate like a modern, wholesale and retail business and deliver a greater return for all Pennsylvania taxpayers.. Keystone Politics

Headlines
FL: Unions sue over plan to privatize prison health care system
LA: Following the money on Jindal’s privatization of Louisiana Group Benefits
AZ: Arizona still doesn’t own its capitol
VA: ALEC in Virginia
PA: Philly mayor wants to sell city’s gas works

News summaries
FL: Unions sue over plan to privatize prison health care system
Two labor unions have filed suit against the state Department of Corrections in an effort to prevent privatizing health care for all 100,000 inmates in the Florida prison system. It’s the latest controversy in the outsourcing of inmate health that began as a campaign pledge by Gov. Rick Scott. Protests by health vendors objecting to the original bid specifications have delayed the plan by months and contributed to ousting Scott’s former prison chief. The lawsuit was filed by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the Federation of Physicians and Dentists/Alliance of Healthcare and Professional Employees. It was filed Tuesday, the same day the state Senate voted 21-19 to reject privatization of more than two dozen prisons and work camps in South Florida.  Tampa Bay Times

LA: Following the money on Jindal’s privatization of Louisiana Group Benefits
Why is Governor Bobby Jindal pursuing the privatization of the Office of Group Benefits?  Is that approach to reforming government in the best interest of the taxpayers?..Louisiana has the only self-administered and self-funded health insurance for state workers and retirees. The plan provides competitive rates to members and to the state. Remember, the taxpayers pick up most of the cost. And unlike some other departments OGB has for the last seven years grown in becoming a model of what other states should emulate….Experts are telling us that the private insurance company will have to ease in another increase of roughly 10 percent to meet the needs of executive compensation, marketing, stockholder dividends, profit, taxes and other expenses we don’t currently have at the not-for-profit OGB…
This privatization will be very costly to the taxpayers of Louisiana, but then we get to fire 177 rank-and-file state workers to counter the hiring of former chief of staff Teepell’s family members and all of the politically-connected, deposed elected officials over the last four weeks, most at six figure salaries. You only need to follow the dollars to understand why the Governor wants this to happen. Bayoubuzz

AZ: Arizona still doesn’t own its capitol
Jan Brewer did not get what she wanted for the state’s 100th birthday. In her State of the State speech last month, the governor pointed out that Arizona does not currently own the House, the Senate and the Executive Tower. They were essentially mortgaged off two years ago as part of $1 billion in borrowing to balance the budget. Brewer, however, sketched out a plan where the state could put the $106 million payoff into a special account and get the lenders to let go of their hold…But the birthday came and went on Tuesday. And there is not even legislation in the pipeline to do what she wants….”A lot of members want to pay down the debt,” he said. “And others want to put it into a larger rainy day fund so in 2015 if we have a major shortfall we can handle it without drastic program cuts.” Kavanagh said lawmakers will revisit the early payoff proposal next year after they have a better idea of the long-term revenue prospects. Arizona Daily Star

VA: ALEC in Virginia
Between 2001 and 2010, the Commonwealth of Virginia spent over $230,000 to send legislators to ALEC conferences in order to meet with corporate lobbyists behind closed doors. ALEC has spent over $70,000 feting Virginia legislators. Over 50 bills drawn from ALEC sources have been introduced in the Virginia General Assembly in the past few years.  As Governor, Bob McDonnell has requested the introduction of at least 3 pieces of ALEC legislation.  At least 115 current or former Virginia legislators have ties to ALEC. Progress VA

PA: Philly mayor wants to sell city’s gas works
It could take two years to close the deal, but Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter favors selling the city’s 175-year-old gas company if price and conditions are acceptable. “The time is right to consider a sale of Philadelphia Gas Works,” the mayor said in a statement…Philadelphia is among only four of the 30 largest cities in the United States that still owns its gas company, and is the largest in that group. PGW has about 500,000 customers…Officials say the city could get up to nearly $2 billion for a privatized PGW. Messages seeking comment were left with budget director Rebecca Rhynhart.  According to Lazard, the city could realize a net $496 million from the sale after accounting for PGW’s liabilities, and could also collect real estate taxes from a privatized utility, though potential tax revenues could be lower than the current $18 million annual franchise fee. Bond Buyer ($)

Headlines
House transportation bill lets states privatize rest areas
Private prison corporation offers cash in exchange for state prisons
FL: Prison privatization dies in Senate 21-19
MI: Michigan’s hostile takeover
CA: Privatize everything in the universe?
CA: Sacramento council votes to privatize parking
NC: State eyeing privatization for aquariums

News summaries
House transportation bill lets states privatize rest areas
A little-noticed provision of the House transportation bill would allow states to privatize interstate rest areas, open them up to advertisers, and let them sell a variety of goods “serving the traveling public” — which under the bill’s definition, includes lottery machines. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the bill, which will face a tough road to becoming law, later this week.  Critics charge that privatizing interstate rest areas, which are generally prohibited from selling commercial goods and services under federal law, would harm gas stations and convenience stores at interchanges…Dan Gilligan, president of the Petroleum Marketers Association of America, said he was concerned that maps and lottery machines could be a first step to eventually opening up rest areas to a far wider range of business activities. His organization represents companies that currently operate gas stations along interstates, but at interchanges and full highway exits. Huffington Post

Private prison corporation offers cash in exchange for state prisons
As state governments wrestle with massive budget shortfalls, a Wall Street giant is offering a solution: cash in exchange for state property. Prisons, to be exact. Corrections Corporation of America, the nation’s largest operator of for-profit prisons, has sent letters recently to 48 states offering to buy up their prisons as a remedy for “challenging corrections budgets.” In exchange, the company is asking for a 20-year management contract, plus an assurance that the prison would remain at least 90 percent full, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Huffington Post.  The move reflects a significant shift in strategy for the private prison industry, which until now has expanded by building prisons of its own or managing state-controlled prisons. It also represents an unprecedented bid for more control of state prison systems….But estimated savings often come down to how those calculations are made, and outside researchers have questioned the numbers. In Arizona, for example, a 2010 report from the state’s auditor general showed that it cost the state more to house prisoners in private facilities than public prisons after factoring in administrative costs and adjusting for the types of medical care provided to less healthy inmates who tended to be housed in public facilities. And in Florida, where lawmakers this week could decide whether to privatize more than two dozen state prisons, reports about private prisons from the state’s legislative research office note, “cost savings estimates are subject to caveats and should be evaluated cautiously.” Huffington Post

FL: Prison privatization dies in Senate 21-19
A massive expansion of private prisons in Florida collapsed in the Senate Tuesday as nine Republicans joined a dozen Democrats in handing a setback to Senate leaders and a victory to state workers. As a result, the state will not undertake what would have been the single greatest expansion of prison privatization in U.S. history, affecting 27 prisons and work camps in 18 counties and displacing more than 3,500 correctional officers.  Senate leaders immediately said they would have to cut education and health care programs by $16.5 million, the amount privatization would have saved in the first year… Tuesday’s vote was a triumph for a rebellious group of Republicans who rejected supporters’ arguments that for-profit prisons would save tax dollars and increase efficiency. All 12 Democrats also voted no, putting the minority party in the unaccustomed role of being on the winning side…Senators debated privatization for nearly three hours, and opponents’ floor speeches often showed more passion. Rather than talk about numbers, they talked about people, such as the treatment of correctional officers, whose starting salary is $34,000 a year and who have not received an across-the-board pay raise for the past six years.”What’s wrong with state employees?” said Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Seminole. “We should be taking care of them, rather than kicking them under the bus.” Tampa Bay Times

MI: Michigan’s hostile takeover
A new “emergency” law backed by right-wing think tanks is turning Michigan cities over to powerful managers who can sell off city hall, break union contracts, privatize services—and even fire elected officials. When the city of Pontiac, Michigan, shut down its fire department last Christmas Eve, city councilman Kermit Williams learned about it in the morning paper. “Nobody reports to me anymore,” Williams says. “It just gets reported in the press.” This was just the latest in a series of radical changes in the city, where elected officials such as Williams have been replaced by a single person with unprecedented control over the city’s operation and budget.  

Gov. Rick Snyder put Louis Schimmel in charge of Pontiac last September, invoking Public Act 4, a recent law that lets the governor name appointees to take over financially troubled cities and enact drastic austerity measures. Under the law, passed last March, these emergency managers can nullify labor contracts, privatize public services, sell off city property, and even dismiss elected officials…Michigan’s emergency-manager law is the centerpiece of the fiscal program enacted by state Republicans after they took over the Legislature and governor’s mansion in early 2011. The law’s supporters say it allows for a more efficient and nimble response to the budget crisis confronting local governments in the wake of the housing crash and near collapse of the auto industry. Critics are seeking to block and repeal what they call an illegal power grab meant to usurp local governments and break up public-sector unions. “We haven’t seen anything this severe anywhere else in the country,” says Charles Monaco, a spokesman for the Progressive States Network, a New York-based advocacy group. “There’s been nothing in other states where a budget measure overturns the democratic vote.” Williams says emergency managers are able to enact draconian policies that would cost most city officials their jobs: “They couldn’t get elected if they tried.” Mother Jones

CA: Privatize everything in the universe?
Michelle Rhee and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson are leading the charge locally and throughout the country to privatize public education and bust unions…I wrote this song, “Privatize Everything,” back in 2000. The song was meant as political satire, but unfortunately, many of these lyrics have already become reality in recent years…Ocean conservation management has been privatized under the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative’s creation of so-called marine protected areas in California that fail to protect the ocean from oil spills and drilling, pollution, military testing, corporate aquaculture, wind and wave energy project and all other uses of the ocean other than fishing and gathering. Catherine Reheis-Boyd, the President of the Western States Petroleum Association, chairs the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force that imposed the “marine protected areas” that went into effect in Southern California waters on January 1, 2012. The water in Central Valley rivers and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is being privatized though the Obama and Brown administration Bay Delta Plan (BDCP) to build the peripheral canal, designed to increase water exports to corporate agribusiness interest. Bay Area Indymedia

CA: Sacramento council votes to privatize parking
The Sacramento City Council unanimously voted to move ahead with plans to privatize city parking assets Tuesday night.  The motion, which passed 9-0, requests bids from companies that want to take over the city’s parking. The city believes it could raise up to $240 million if it handed over revenue from city parking to a private company for the next 50 years. The money would go towards construction costs for building a new sports and entertainment complex, which is estimated at $400 million. News10.net

NC: State eyeing privatization for aquariums
Privatizing the state-owned aquariums’ operations and implementing other management changes for tourism attractions could save the state almost $2 million each year, according to a government oversight report released Tuesday….Recommendations include seeking public-private partnerships for the state’s three aquariums and zoo; closing historic sites for a couple of days each week; and studying visitation data to determine whether state parks should close for several months in the winter…North Carolina is the only Southeastern state that owns and operates an aquarium or a zoo, and Minnesota is the only other state in the country that owns and operates a zoo at all, the report states. StarNewsOnline