Two no-bid corrections contracts canceled
By JENNIFER LIBERTO
Published April 1, 2006
TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Department of Corrections is killing two no-bid contracts with a private company, together valued at $84-million, after months of criticism and a scathing audit.
In two letters written Friday, interim prison boss James McDonough wrote that the state is ending two contracts with Tallahassee's TYA Pharmaceuticals, including one to repackage medications for prisoners, worth $72-million, and the other to split tablets, valued at $12-million.
McDonough had implied that he would review and possibly scrap the contracts during his testimony at a House committee meeting in March.
The state plans to take over the pill splitting at the end of 30 days, conducting the work in-house at a savings, McDonough wrote. Corrections Department spokesman Robby Cunningham said the department has the resources to perform the work and won't need to hire additional staff members.
The prison system plans to rebid the repackaging contract and have a new contract in place by July 1. It even invited TYA to compete for the work.
Prison system attorneys had okayed the decision to avoid bids, citing an exemption under Florida's competitive bidding law for health care services. But lawmakers were not told that the prison system gave a second no-bid contract to TYA last year even as they were scrutinizing the first.
Also, a former high-ranking prison health official, John Burke, worked for the state while the second deal was being negotiated and later worked as a $1,050-a-month consultant for TYA, according to a financial disclosure form filed with the Florida Commission on Ethics.
Angry lawmakers had ordered the pill-splitting contract to be competitively bid, but TYA was the only company that submitted a bid.
Terry Yon, who heads TYA, said he agreed with McDonough's decision, at least on the pill-splitting contract. He also said TYA plans to offer an aggressive bid on the repackaging contract.
"It's just life in Tallahassee, politics and stuff, it's just the way it is," Yon said. "I'm not negative or down about it."