Organization says the state urgently needs to shore up funding to repair prisons

Prisons in the state are in dire need of urgent repairs, a report from a global consulting firm found. 

State lawmakers commissioned KPMG to look at the most pressing needs inside Florida’s correctional institutions.

KPMG visited all 153 Department of Corrections facilities in Florida and found that over a third of them were in “critical” or “poor” condition.   

After analyzing the report, the Florida Policy Institute is now recommending lawmakers move quickly to fix prisons in need of critical repairs. 

Tachana Joseph-Marc is a senior policy analyst with FPI.

She said instead of the needed repairs, the state has been giving correctional facilities band-aid repairs during the past few years. 

“The study that was commissioned is saying it is bad,” Joseph-Marc said. “And if lawmakers do not prioritize this and take the department off this cycle, it’s going to get worse.”

Joseph-Marc said that’s especially the case because the incarcerated population is expected to go up by 10% in the next four years. 

Around $100 million was allocated in this year’s fiscal budget to improve infrastructure, which includes over $42 million for general maintenance. But Joseph-Marc said that isn’t enough.

KPMG recommended three strategic options to improve conditions at Florida’s correctional institutions.

The least expensive route is Option 3, which would cost the state $2.2 billion. Joseph-Marc said that money could come from the state’s general fund reserves, and said Option 3 is the most immediate way for the state to take action. She added if lawmakers aren’t willing to dip into reserves, they also have alternative federal funding sources from the Inflation Reduction Act. 

Option 1 is to modernize:

• Re-open closed capacity starting in 2024 (open work camps, open closed dorms, add dorms to existing facilities, and reopen one annex).
• Build one new 600-bed hospital by 2030.
• Build a second new 300-bed hospital by 2035.
• Build one new prison to come online by 2036.
• Build a second new prison to come online by 2030.
• Build a third new prison to come online by 2041.
• Close select facilities with high immediate needs costs, that are perpetually understaffed, and past their service life.

Option 2 is to manage:

• Re-open closed capacity starting in 2024 (open work camps, open closed dorms, add dorms to existing facilities, and reopen one annex).
• Build one new 600-bed hospital by 2030.
• Build a second new 300-bed hospital by 2035.
• Build one new prison to come online by 2036.
• Build a second new prison to come online by 2030.
• Close select facilities with high immediate needs costs, that are perpetually understaffed, and past their service life.

Option 3 is to mitigate:

• Re-open closed capacity starting in 2024 (open work camps, open closed dorms, add dorms to existing facilities, and reopen one annex).
• Build one new 600-bed hospital by 2030.
• Build a second new 300-bed hospital by 2035.
• Build one new prison to come online by 2036.

The report adds that across all options, “foundationally, improvement enablers such as HVAC, LAN, and WAN, Camera Systems, and modernization of program and recreation buildings are critical needs across all strategic options.”

Joseph-Marc said critical repairs like fixing HVAC systems or installing new roofs cannot be delayed any longer.

“So we have seen record high heat and families of those who are incarcerated have been really vocal for years,” she said. “(They’re) saying, ‘Hey, like, it is our loved ones who are really suffering when it comes to the summer months because there’s no AC.’”

And while DOC funding in the state has been increasing over the past few years, Joseph-Marc said there are other contributing factors to why maintenance has not been a priority. 

One reason is because people are spending more time in prison. 

“So there is this thing called the 85% rule,” Joseph-Marc said. “Where everyone has to spend at least 85% of their sentences in prison, regardless if it’s for a nonviolent crime.”

And she said that rule, also referred to as the gain-time law, contributes to an aging population, which requires more funding for healthcare. 

Joseph-Marc said modifying that rule to 65% for nonviolent crimes could save the state hundreds of millions of dollars in a few years. In addition, a study from Tough Enough on Crime found that move could improve correctional officers’ safety and shrink prison populations.

A bill from Jan. died in the Florida House that wanted to move to a 65% rule.

The DOC has a constitutional mandate to maintain a safe and humane environment for those incarcerated. But Joseph-Marc said right now, that isn’t happening.