Headlines
PA: Privatize the lottery? No sure bet private manager would be better – editorial
NH: Officials mull private prison bids
AZ: Critics cast doubt on new Ariz. prison health-care contractor
FL: Let Life Force be a lesson on risks of privatization – opinion
CA: Budget official sounds warning on LA finances

PA: Privatize the lottery? No sure bet private manager would be better – editorial
If Gov. Corbett wants to privatize operation of the state lottery system, he needs to do a better job of selling the idea…Under federal law, the state cannot sell its lottery outright, but it can contract out day-to-day management of the agency. It is not clear whether legislative approval is required. Unlike the troubled state-run liquor system, which has been ripe for privatization for years, the lottery has operated effectively for four decades and provided a windfall for state coffers. If it isn’t broken, what is there to fix? ..Pennsylvania’s lottery, the sixth-largest in the nation, is the only state lottery with proceeds dedicated solely to the needs of older residents, providing $21.5 billion for prescription drugs, transportation, long-term care, and other services. A similar proposal to privatize New York’s lottery in 2008 was dropped after backlash from senior citizens, who also benefit from some lottery proceeds there. In 2010, Illinois became the first state to contract with a private manager for its lottery in an effort to increase sales. There will undoubtedly be a protest by Pennsylvania’s 230 lottery agents and clerical workers, who would be affected by privatizing. Their concerns must be addressed. The private sector can manage some businesses cheaper and better, and the lottery may be one of them, but the state shouldn’t proceed with this gamble as if it knows it has the winning numbers. Philadelphia Inquirer

NH: Officials mull private prison bids
Still, privatizing prisons is a conversation state leaders say is worth having, even if the state ultimately decides to retain management of its prisons and inmates. “The governor thinks we need to look at different options, including various forms of public/private partnerships to ensure we can meet the future needs of our corrections system,” Gov. John Lynch’s spokesman, Colin Manning, wrote in an email. “The responses to these (requests for bids) will provide important information about the feasibility of various alternatives and how they compare to our current model.” Under orders from Lynch and the Legislature, the state Department of Corrections recently asked companies to submit bids if they were interested in building and running prisons for the state. The directive was part of last year’s budget discussions, during which the state Department of Corrections saw its 2011 budget of $106 million cut by about $4 million this year and next. Concord Monitor

AZ: Critics cast doubt on new Ariz. prison health-care contractor
Arizona’s Department of Corrections, fighting a federal lawsuit that accuses it of providing grossly inadequate health care, issued a contract to Wexford this week as part of the state Legislature’s attempts to save money by privatizing prison health care…Some prison-system observers are raising questions about whether the company can provide the savings the state hopes for while providing significant improvements in service….Although there were pre-existing problems, that audit, by the Institute for Law and Policy Planning, was more critical than Wexford admitted. It concluded that “Wexford has systematically failed to comply” with its contract and had failed to provide adequate staffing, properly licensed staff, and adequate and timely medical service. The auditors, who said they examined Wexford’s record elsewhere, wrote that “past experience in other counties reveals that jail administrators typically put up with Wexford’s cost cutting and substandard level of care until the problems become too egregious to be borne.”  AZ Central.com

FL: Let Life Force be a lesson on risks of privatization – opinion
…Businesses typically care only about the bottom line. That means profits are more important than people. That means corners may be cut, missions may be compromised and promises may be forgotten. That kind of cutthroat thinking may be tolerable in other segments of the business world, but it’s hard to defend when you’re talking about classrooms filled with children. In the case of Life Force Arts and Technology Academy in Dunedin, that translated into discontinuing bus service, cutting off student supplies and paying educators about half of what a starting teacher typically makes in Pinellas County.
Meanwhile, the for-profit management company in charge used your tax dollars to pay itself almost double what it originally told a bankruptcy court it would charge, according to a revealing series of stories done by the Times’ Drew Harwell.  Tampa Bay Times

CA: Budget official sounds warning on LA finances
Los Angeles’ top budget official says the city could go bankrupt if it doesn’t overhaul its finances with new taxes, possible layoffs and the privatization of some city services…In a sweeping report, Chief Administrative Officer Miguel Santana blamed the shortfall on stagnant revenues and rising employee costs such as payroll and pensions…Santana also wants to dole out some city services to private companies, including the management of the LA Convention Center and the zoo. Seattle Times