June 2021 Group Watch: COVID Funds for Prisons?
Governor Ivey met with legislative leaders to discuss Alabama’s need for new prisons, talks that included the possibility of using federal coronavirus relief funds to help cover the costs. State officials are looking for new options after the plan by Ivey and the Alabama Department of Corrections to lease and operate three new men’s prisons that would have been financed and built by developers stalled. The governor has not backed away from a commitment to build new prisons, saying they remain an essential part of overhauling a correctional system that the Department of Justice has alleged holds men in unconstitutional conditions. State and local governments in Alabama are expected to receive about $4 billion to help with COVID-19 recovery efforts, and the spending of these funds could be more flexible than CARES Act monies. It’s likely there will be more discussion to determine how many, if any, of these federal dollars can be used to address the prison crisis. The legislature could authorize the sale of bonds for prison construction, but no firm proposal is on the table at this time. Some expect a special session will be held before the end of the summer to deal with this issue.
