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The First District Court of Appeal is refusing to hear the state’s challenge of a prison privatization ruling. A lower court had ruled plans to privatize several South Florida prisons unconstitutional, because of the way the legislature wrote the deal in the budget. The Florida Police Benevolent Association challenged the privatization plans last year. Spokesman Matt Puckett says the issue needs more research.

“There needs to be an independent study. Does this really work? Is the squeeze worth the juice to privatize a function of law enforcement? Obviously we feel there’s not,” said Puckett.

The privatization plans were written into the 2011 budget. This past session a different prison privatization bill was defeated in the state senate.