News
LA: Civil Service Commission rejects hospital privatization plans. The state Civil Service Commission on Wednesday narrowly rejected privatization plans for four LSU hospitals that would lead to the layoff of some 3,000 state employees. Some commissioners complained about the lack of information provided by LSU as they were confronted with making such a major decision…. If LSU moves forward with the contracts after a commission denial, the commission would have standing to go to court to file an injunction challenging the pacts, Templet said. The Advocate
LA: Jindal’s Moe, Larry and Curly privatizing Louisiana’s hospitals. Depending upon which source you consult, there are from four to six essential components of a contract that make the document legally binding. The LSU Board of Stuporvisors apparently is unaware of any of them. Bayoubuzz
CA: Slim lead in vote to privatize trash collection in Fresno, Calif. Privatizing the service would raise at least $14 million over several years for Fresno from the company taking on the work from the city. But the shift would cost about 120 city employees their jobs, which prompted city employees’ unions to contest the ballot measure. Reuters
FL: Fla. appeals court approves prison outsourcing. A Florida appeals court is giving the state’s prison agency the green light to privatize health care services. The 1st District Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday that a lower court judge was wrong to block plans for outsourcing in three of Florida’s four prison system regions. A Department of Corrections spokeswoman says the agency will begin to carry out the privatization effort after the new state budget takes effect on July 1. Miami Herald
FL: Alex Friedmann: For-profit prisons are not necessary. In a recent op-ed, “Prison privatization can provide real benefits,” Temple University professors Simon Hakim and Erwin Blackstone discussed their recent research that found cost savings and equal or better performance by for-profit prison companies. …Unfortunately, the professors neglected to mention that their research lauding the benefits of prison privatization was funded by members of the private prison industry, according to a press release issued by Temple University. Likewise, their study itself, which has not been published or peer-reviewed, fails to reveal that it was funded by private prison firms. Sun-Sentinel
PA: Lawmakers pan potential privatization of prison mental health services. A tentative proposal to privatize mental-health services in Pennsylvania’s prisons is drawing opposition in the Legislature. witf.org