The state of Florida will appeal a judge's decision striking down a prison privatization plan as unconstitutional. Minutes before 5 p.m. Monday, Attorney General Pam Bondi released a notice of appeal filed with the First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee -- this after a spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Scott said earlier in the day that an appeal would not be filed.

Bondi's spokeswoman, Jenn Meale, said the appeal was filed at the request of the Legislature. While not a party to the original lawsuit, the Legislature was sharply criticized in the original decision for the manner in which it went about ordering the privatization. 

The state is appealing a Sept. 30 decision by Leon County Circuit Judge Jackie Fulford, who ruled that the Legislature unconstitutionally created the prison privatization plan by attaching it to the Department of Corrections in so-called proviso language rather than as a stand-alone piece of legislation.