3/20/2017 Group Watch: New Prison Plan
An updated version of legislation to build new prisons in Alabama has been filed, and it’s a scale back of previous plans. The plan calls for construction of three new prisons, but the updated version requires at least two of them to be built by local governments or groups. The state would build a third prison, but only if it first gets leases on the two local facilities. If two communities or groups don’t build, the entire plan becomes null. The new plan stipulates that the state could bond out at $350 million, down considerably from the $775 million and $800 million of previous plans. The new plan shifts the financial burden to local governments or groups. Local communities that build prisons would be required to enter a 30-year lease-to-own agreement with the state and would be paid at a rate of $13.5 million per year, per agreement. The Department of Corrections will have the final say on which groups get the go-ahead to build.
