Article author:
Associated Press
Kim Chandler
Montgomery, Alabama (AP) — Alabama authorities 725 million Thursday to help fund the construction of two super-large prisons Approved the sale of dollar bonds. 4,000 inmates each as part of a construction program that also relies on some of the state's pandemic bailouts.
The Alabama Legislative Treasury, chaired by Governor Kay Ivy, briefly met at the Alabama Legislature to approve the sale of the bond. That funding will be added to $ 135 million in state funding and $ 400 million in pandemic bailout dollars that the state has already agreed to invest in the project.
Alabama authorities are building new prisons to replace dilapidated facilities, seeking partial solutions to the state's long-standing correction problems. .. The U.S. Department of Justice continues to file proceedings against the state over the condition of the prison.
Construction plan critics argue that the state is ignoring the bigger problem of focusing on buildings: prison staffing and leadership. State officials claim that the new facility will replace aging and costly prisons, providing a safer environment for both prisoners and staff.
"We are not adding beds. Instead of adding them, we will replace them with facilities that utilize modern design to meet the standards of modern prisons and modernize them. Health. We will strengthen our care and mental health facilities. We plan to strengthen our vocational facilities, "Treasurer Bill Poole told reporters after the meeting. He said the state would go to the bond market next week.
Alabama State Assembly members approved the construction plan in October. This includes raising $ 400 million from a state share of US bailout program funding to help pay for construction.
Two new prisons will be located in Elmore and Escambia counties. Some field work is underway with the available funds. "We are working on some simple soil work on the project, and we are excited to move up with construction from scratch as soon as possible," Poole said.
Approval comes after the construction plans pursued under two different governments have run into various problems over the years. In previous versions of the plan, state rental prisons would have been built and owned by private companies. However, it failed after the underwriting company withdrew from being involved in a private prison company under pressure from activists.
The US Department of Justice has sued Alabama over a prison system that states it is full of prisoner-to-prisoner and prison guard violence. The Justice Ministry said in a previous report that aging facilities contributed to the unconstitutional state, but due to issues such as cultural issues, poor management, corruption and violence, "new facilities alone will not solve". I wrote.
