House Speaker McCutcheon: Meeting with Ivey on prisons ‘a productive one’

On Wednesday, leadership from both chambers of the Alabama Legislature met with Gov. Kay Ivey to explore options on how to proceed with addressing the conditions of the state’s prisons.

According to reports, in addition to Ivey, Alabama Department of Corrections commissioner Jeff Dunn met Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed (R-Jasper), House Speaker Mac McCutcheon (R-Monrovia), House General Fund chairman Rep. Steve Clouse (R-Ozark) and Senate General Fund chairman Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Atmore).

Through a release issued by his office on Thursday, McCutcheon called the meeting productive.

“I believe yesterday’s meeting with Gov. Ivey was a productive one that allowed the executive and legislative branches to coordinate our state’s effort to address serious issues within the prison system,” he said. “All of us understand the importance of bringing the corrections system in compliance with federal court orders, and everyone involved is committed to achieving that goal in a quick and timely manner that provides full accountability to the citizens we seek to serve.”

“Throughout this process, the Alabama House has promoted plans that we believe best serve the interests of taxpayers and utilize their dollars in the most responsible manner,” McCutcheon added. “We will maintain those priorities as a comprehensive solution to our prison issues is developed. As elected officials, we have a responsibility to Alabama taxpayers that must always come first. The meeting with Gov. Ivey is the first of many we will have in the coming days, weeks, and months as we work together to address a problem that has been decades in the making.”

Ivey’s meeting with the legislators comes as political obstacles jeopardized a lease-build proposal for three mega-prisons due to lack of a funding mechanism and the new need for a bond issue from the legislature to make new prison construction possible.

@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly, and host of Mobile’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on FM Talk 106.5.