Private Prison Industry Increases Campaign Cash in Florida

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Kevin McNellis

Florida lawmakers finalized the state’s $69.7 billion budget on May 7 after intense negotiations. Effects of this 2011–2012 budget will be felt across the state, as it will reduce government spending by $4 billion. Part of these proposed savings will come from privatizing at least 16 prisons in the southern third of the state, quadrupling the number of Florida prisons run by private firms. Put mildly, Florida’s new budget will result in a drastic reorganization of the nation’s third-largest penal system.
The private prison industry was politically active during last fall’s election, giving nearly $1 million in campaign contributions—the most the industry has given over the last decade, as illustrated by the Institute’s Industry Influence tool.
The majority of the money was supplied by four companies–GeoGroup, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), Global Tel* Link, and Armor Correctional Health Services.

Major Private Prison Contributors to Florida’s 2010 State Elections

Company	Total
Geo Group & Geo Care	$822,415
Corrections Corporation of America	$138,994
Global Tel* Link	$15,000
Armor Correctional Health Services	$9,500
Total	$985,909

• Geo Group, headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, operates 20 federal prisons and 24 state prisons in 10 states, with four in Florida. Geo Group gave $705,000, and Geo Care, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Geo Group, gave an additional 117,415.

• Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), based in Nashville, Tennessee, operates 66 prisons in 19 states and the District of Columbia, including five in Florida, according to their most recently disclosed 10-K report.

• Global Tel* Link is a telecommunications and software company that exclusively works in prisons. The company provides software and services related to prison management and communications systems.

• Armor Correctional Health Services, based in Miami, Florida, is a health care company that exclusively operates in prisons, providing inmates with medical, dental, and mental health treatment. It was founded in 2004.

Since the state’s contribution limits cap corporate donations at $500 per candidate per election, these private prison firms gave most of their money to the state Democratic and Republican parties, which can receive unlimited amounts from corporations. The companies demonstrated a signal preference for the Florida Republican Party, giving $783,494 compared to $143,000 to the Florida Democratic Party.
Implementing the budget—and the prison privatization plan—is now the responsibility of the Legislative Budget Commission, a joint House-Senate committee. Of the 14 current committee members, five received donations from private prison interests in 2010, totaling $7,000. In descending order, they are: Senator Don Gaetz, $3,000; Senator Joe Negron, $2,000; Senator Nan Rich, $1,000; Representative Darryl Ervin Rouson, $500; and Representative Mike Horner, $500.