To allow, but not require, the Department of Corrections to contract out the incarceration of prisoners to a private prison in a five year contract, if doing so would save at least 5 percent. The bill specifies that this could include a contract to house adult prisoners at the former Michigan youth correctional facility in Baldwin, a privately owned and managed prison whose previous contract with the state was revoked by Gov. Jennifer Granholm in 2005.   Official Text and Analysis.

With the recommendation that the bill pass.

To replace the previous version of the bill with one that requires even greater savings before contracting out management of a prison. Note: Private prison management companies (like the one that formerly ran the Baldwin prison) are extremely unlikely to employ guards who belong to the state's largest prison guard union, because the terms of its contract are in large part why Michigan prisons reportedly cost more per prisoner than in other states. The prison guard union has lobbied heavily against this bill, and in favor of making it harder to privatize prisons.

To prohibit contracting out a prison to a company that allegedly has "a history of violations related to security," employment conditions, cost overruns, etc.

To establish that a privatized prison is financially liable for any damages arising out of a security breach (whereas current statute exempts prisons run by the state are immune from such liability).

To require the calculation used to determine whether a privatized prison saves 10 percent to include a number of specified factors, including some indirect ones, that would essentially make this requirement harder to meet.

To allow, but not require, the Department of Corrections to contract out the incarceration of prisoners to a private prison in a five year contract, if doing so would save at least 10 percent. This could include a contract to house adult prisoners at the former Michigan youth correctional facility in Baldwin, a privately owned and managed prison whose previous contract with the state was revoked by Gov. Jennifer Granholm in 2005.