The Florida Senate approved its budget bill on Thursday, Feb. 23 with an additional amendment against privatization adding one more layer of protection from any attempts by Gov. Rick Scott and his legislative allies to back-door prison privatization.

As a result, funds that had been set aside for privatization are back where they belong, supporting the state’s public prisons. This is another huge victory for FDOC officers and Teamsters Local 2011.

“This is another big privatization victory because we all know the governor is hell-bent to privatize prisons,” said Ken Wood, Acting President of Local 2011. “Today, the Legislature reasserted its opposition to prison privatization. Once again, kudos to FDOC officers who helped sustain the pressure to defeat privatization.”