The head of the state Department of Corrections proposed Thursday that construction of the Suwannee Correctional Institution be delayed for at least two years, according to statewide press reports.

Corrections Secretary Jim McDonough, in a letter to Sen. Victor Crist (R-Tampa), chairman of the Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Committee, said that delaying construction of the facility, combined with other cuts, would save more that $43 million. The goal is to make up a state budget shortfall that exceeds $1 billion.

Gov. Charlie Crist did not include McDonough’s recommendations in a budget-cut proposal submitted to the legislature Friday. However, Victor Crist (the men are not related) has not publicly offered his opinion of McDonough’s plan.

See further details in Wednesday’s print edition of the Democrat.