Tallahassee, FL – Today, Florida Democratic Party Chairman Rod Smith issued the following statement in response to the announcement the Florida Department of Corrections, at the direction of Gov. Rick Scott, will close seven prisons, eliminating an estimated 1,293 jobs:

“Today, Governor Rick Scott continued to implement his extreme Tea Party agenda that has eliminated jobs and moved our state in the wrong direction. At the Governor’s request, the Department of Corrections will close seven prisons and eliminate nearly 1,300 jobs.

“As a former State Attorney, I know firsthand many of these prisons house some of the most difficult inmates in the system. I continue to believe it is wrong to reward the Governor’s political cronies with taxpayer funded contracts to oversee Florida’s inmate population at the expense of hardworking Floridians.”

Please see below information on state prison closures along with estimated job losses:

Prison name

Total
Capacity

FTE
reductions

Est. FY11-12
Savings

Est. FY12-13
Savings

Closure
Date

Broward CI

611

50

$210,281

$2,523,371

May 1, 2012

Demilly CI

342

118

$—

$6,068,260

June 1, 2012

Gainesville CI

507

150

$3,012,948

$9,038,845

Feb. 1, 2012

Hillsborough CI

431

115

$2,078,663

$8,314,653

Mar 1,2012

Indian River CI

381

155

$668,994

$8,027,931

May 1, 2012

Jefferson CI

1179

177

$1,705,057

$10,230,340

April 1, 2012

New River CI

1362

281

$3,961,002

$17,644,740

Mar 1,2012 CI

April 1, 2012 O

Levy Forestry Camp

292

65

$1,295,421

$3,886,263

Feb. 1, 2012

Hendry Work Camp

280

74

$—

$4,028,832

June 1, 2012

Caryville Work Camp

133

31

$576,264

$1,728,792

Feb. 1, 2012

River Junction Work Camp

736

77

$1,422,818

$4,269,454

Feb. 1, 2012

Total

1,293

$14,931,448

$75,760,481

Full details on prison closures can be found here: http://www.abc-7.com/story/16506748/2012/01/12/state-closing-7-prisons-4-work-camps