Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, has pushed to consolidate prisons as a way to free up money that could go to worker pay. The prison system has long struggled with low pay and high turnover among employees. Savings would be used to provide higher pay and bonuses to correctional workers. Meanwhile, the state Department of Corrections is asking the legislative panel to sign off on closing the New River Correctional Institution in Bradford County and shutting down 73 dorms at other facilities throughout the state. In a request to the Legislature, the agency said the money would help nursing homes “in their current financial crisis caused by significant occupancy declines and a tight labor market with increasing wages and shortage of staff resources.”
The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration has proposed providing $99.5 million in state and federal money to nursing homes over a three-month period through increased Medicaid payment rates.
The Joint Legislative Budget Commission, a panel of House and Senate members that can make mid-year budget decisions, is slated to take up the issues during a meeting Thursday.
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