As I’ve reported on extensively in the past, ALEC is a nefarious front group for conservative legislation that has been a major driving force behind our nation’s crisis of mass incarceration.  So there’s no way I could pass up highlighting a new report that has come out detailing how effective ALEC has been at getting corporate-sponsored legislation passed in the state of Arizona. 

You’ll probably remember that ALEC was where SB1070, Arizona’s “Breathing While Brown” law, was born, before ALEC member Russell Pearce brought it home and introduced it to the state legislature.  The law was drafted with CCA at the table, and would have a direct impact on their bottom line as it resulted in increased incarceration of illegal immigrants, almost half of whom are detained in private facilities.  Arizona also happens to be home to many private facilities that currently house out-of-state prisoners and immigrants, and the state is seeking to add 5,000 additional private beds to its existing state-run facilities.

So this report comes at a critical time for Arizona, as it evaluates whether or not it wants to proceed with a plan to contract away millions of taxpayer dollars to an industry that hasn’t even been able to demonstrate savings in the state of Arizona.  ALEC has pushed for the privatization of prisons in the past, and it has given private prison companies direct access to state legislators who are considering the privatization bids.  Those same companies have also donated thousands of dollars to these politicians, all of which amounts to a tremendous amount of political influence for the industry in the state.  As The Executive Director of the People for the American Way stated, “There’s no way ordinary citizens can match the level of access and influence that ALEC provides to these corporations.”

For now, the state is holding back on awarding contracts until some time in January, after it was twice sued over the request for proposals because it has for years failed to conduct an efficiency audit of its existing private facilities.  Once that report is complete, the state should have (even more) data to demonstrate that private prisons don’t actually save any money, which will hopefully compel state legislators to reject the industry’s influence and make wiser decisions with the constituents’ hard-earned money.

I had been hoping to write some witty entry perfectly capturing the craziness that Bob Ortega has been covering in Arizona.  A little background; the state is seeking proposals for 5,000 new private prison beds (which is a step back from last year’s plan to privatize the entire state system and sell off then re-lease the state house.  I wish I was kidding about that.), despite the problems its private prisons have had for their entire history and recent reports showing they don’t even save money, and could in fact wind up costing the state more.

So the state has been seeking suitors to build a bunch of new private prison beds, and thankfully has set up multiple public hearings to air the situation out.  Bob Ortega, a reporter at the Arizona Republic, has done some fantastic reporting recently on the histories of the companies bidding for these beds, and the public hearings to discuss the potential risks and benefits of bringing private prisons to towns.

So rather than try to steal his thunder, I’m just going to link to his fabulous work.

First is a story about the lack of oversight of the industry, and its failure to deliver on promises of cost-savings while being incapable of running a secure facility.

Next is a great piece on the sordid history of the GEO Group, the second-largest private prison company in the world.

Then today he released two articles, the first of which goes into MTC’s also pathetic history.

The second discusses one of those public meetings, at which officials for the GEO Group found strong opposition from the citizens of Goodyear, Arizona.

CCA and other private prison companies have a business model that relies upon a steady flow of prisoners to remain profitable.  It’s a natural outcome of the industry.  Unfortunately for everyone not profiting from locking human beings up, this plays out as companies help write and pass legislation that increases criminal and civil penalties, to the degree that we now have the highest rate and real numbers of incarceration in the entire world. 

In Georgia, as in Arizona, CCA has sought to ensure itself a steady flow of “revenue” by first drafting what would become SB1070, and Georgia’s copycat bill, HB87, then by contributing to the campaigns of representatives likely to vote on the legislation.  So after spending untold thousands of dollars for a seat at the table with ALEC to write the legislation (literally untold – its pretty much impossible to see who contributes, and how much, to this shady nonprofit), CCA spent over $240,000 in the past 7 years in campaign contributions in the state of Georgia alone.  Of 17 representatives who received contributions from CCA in the previous 2 cycles, only 2 voted against HB87, a piece of legislation that allows police to check immigration status and will undoubtedly result in more immigrants being incarcerated.  Hell, CCA even took 8 of them out to dinner, and, shocker – none of those 8 voted against the bill.  This all in a “conservative” state (wait, I thought they didn’t like government intervention?)

But Georgia’s legislators didn’t stop at illegal immigrants, because there’s money to be made in locking up their own citizens as well.  It doesn’t seem to matter that private prisons cost the state nearly $10 more per prisoner, per day (so literally millions of dollars more per year, as there are 7 private prisons in Georgia) – the state is forging ahead with plans to open a new, 1,500-bed private prison.  As an advocate said, “These prisons are new plantations, and immigrants are a new crop… there’s a huge profit margin.”

Lobbyists often have great access to politicians, and in many cases either come directly from government or head there after leaving the lobbying business. By utilizing lobbyists to advocate for their interests, the private prison industry is able to simultaneously amplify their voice within the legislature, and to some extent prevent the public from knowing just exactly who and what is influencing political decisions.

In Arizona, for example, I have reported extensively on the ties between Governor Brewer’s office and a huge lobbying firm that works for CCA, Highground Consulting.  Highground’s manager, Chuck Coughlin, is the governor’s chief of staff, and one of its principal lobbyists used to work for CCA (and his wife still does).  To make the situation worse, the chair of the state’s appropriations committee (that would be the committee that controls public funds), John Kavanagh, looks to be quite close with the GEO Group, the country’s second-biggest private prison company.  Public Policy Partners, an Arizona lobbying firm that GEO employs, donated at least 6 times to Kavanagh in the last election.

Is it any wonder this is the same state that passed an immigration bill that’s essentially a handout to private prison companies, or that they’re looking to privatize an additional 5,000 prison beds?

Meanwhile, over in Tennessee, state Republican representatives are coming under fire for participating in a fundraiser while the legislature was in session, that featured some of the biggest industries with a financial stake in Tennessee’s politics (fundraisers during the legislative session are supposed to be illegal).  Among the businesses represented was CCA, which is headquartered in Nashville.  They were so willing to help raise funds for state Republicans because the new Republican governor recently used the budget as an excuse to reverse a decision to close a CCA prison.

 

crossposted from Pay to Play

The Republican governor of Alabama just signed another version of SB1070 into law in his state. This bill unfortunately goes even further than SB1070 and its copycat in Georgia; it requires police to check the immigration status of anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally (read: “anyone with a skin tone darker than white”).

Land of the free my ass.