Special Session Expanded to Include Corrections Budget

Governor Jeb Bush has expanded the special session of the Florida Legislature to include an appropriate review of the Department of Corrections budget.

"We will work with the members of the Florida House and Senate this week to ensure our prisons are funded," said Secretary James Crosby, Jr.

The department's budget is based on projections from the Criminal Justice Estimating Conference. Funding for the current fiscal year was based on a September 2002 projection that estimated prison admissions to be 24,241 through June 2003. In contrast, the actual number of inmates admitted in the Florida Prison system from September 2002 through June 2003 was 25,232.

CJEC met again in July 2003 to revise the projection because of the differences in actual vs. projected populations over the past 4 months. With the revised projections and the current upward trend in prison admissions, the department will seek additional and fixed capital outlay appropriations for additional prison beds.

The current population is over 77,000.