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