Headlines
FL: Senate takes another swipe at privatizing prisons next week
OH: Dems rap Ohio turnpike lease
CA: UC system shows why privatizing higher ed is not the solution
CA: Inglewood looks to outsource parking enforcement

News summaries
FL: Senate takes another swipe at privatizing prisons next week
Senate President Mike Haridopolos will next week resurrect a prison privatization plan he set aside twice, indicating he may have garnered enough support to pass the controversial measure. Haridopolos said today the Senate will take up the privatization plan (SB 2038) and amendments on Monday, including a proposal that prompted Haridopolos last week to put the brakes on the bill that would privatize all Department of Corrections operations – including prisons and work camps – in an 18-county region in the southern portion of the state. Haridopolos stopped debate before an amendment that would have stripped out the privatization and instead ordered a study of the outsourcing. Palm Beach Post

OH: Dems rap Ohio turnpike lease
Local Democratic officials from northeast Ohio who are opposed to Gov. John Kasich’s proposal to lease the Ohio Turnpike said last week they would launch their own study of the privatization plan. Officials from five counties met in Youngstown last Friday for the first of a series of press conferences opposing the plan. They said it would lead to higher tolls, lower worker wages and the deterioration of local roads. “The Ohio Turnpike is a tremendous asset; it is not an asset of the state of Ohio though to be bought and sold or leased,” Mahoning County Commissioner John McNally told local reporters. Ohio in late November tapped KPMG LLP to act as lead advisor for the plan. The firm has until July to recommend the best way to wring cash from the Turnpike, one of the country’s largest toll roads and one with the highest ratings. Bond Buyer ($)

CA: UC system shows why privatizing higher ed is not the solution
While tuition is rising all across the nation, the University of California (UC) system serves as a great case study for understanding what is broken about public higher education in the U.S. and the problem with how we are trying to fix it. Tuition increases are not only reflective of states’ budget crises, but a change in the attitude that a good public education should be funded by the state. The recent move toward privatization by using alternative sources to fund public higher education, such as tuition and private endowments, is the wrong step in finding a permanent solution. Instead, we need to guarantee funding from the state through a constitutional amendment that would institutionally prioritize higher education. PolicyMic

CA: Inglewood looks to outsource parking enforcement
The city’s ongoing precarious financial situation — despite closing a $17 million budget shortfall last year — has been brought back into focus with the possible outsourcing of its parking enforcement services. The prospect came following a Jan. 31 meeting when the council voted 3-2 to initiate an “Request for Proposal” (RFP) process, asking staff to return with recommendations for selecting a qualified parking enforcement and meter operations provider….Paul Hawkins, a 22-year special enforcement officer who attended the council meeting, voiced his disappointment at the decision. “I was really shocked, a lot of the public spoke against it, and we’ve been rallying for the last couple of weeks,” he said. “We’ve looked at the paperwork, and to us it just doesn’t add up. The money they’re talking about saving, about $450,000 is based on eliminating our jobs alone.  Los Angeles Wave