Commentary

Florida Outsourcing Gets Mixed Reviews

One of Governor Jeb Bush’s largest, and most important privatization initiatives got mixed reviews from the state’s auditors office. The report noted that the Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s “re-engineering” with Accenture to create an online licensing system, Internet portal and call center will save the state nearly $40 million. The biggest knock on performance was the “interactive voice response” system — but who doesn’t hate these! Bottom line: “The project has been successful in centralizing many functions, enhancing customer access to services and achieving staff reductions,” and the state saved money. Read more about Florida’s privatization initiatives here and here.