MONTGOMERY — The Alabama State Senate on Friday passed a series of bills to address matters relating to the dire state of Alabama’s prison system.
The legislature’s upper chamber successfully passed House Bills 2, 4, 5 and 6, with little to no defection from its ranks. The plan implements a phased approach to revamping the state of Alabama’s prisons.
Largely, the few concerns members expressed, which were voiced by a handful of Senate Democrats, directly related to the size of the prisons to be constructed and the appropriation of “American Rescue Plan” dollars to be utilized in the funding of new prison infrastructure.
However, while some members of the chamber’s minority party had concerns, they acknowledged the need to address the state’s embattled prison system, thus leading to the bills garnering support from an overwhelming majority of the Senate body.
House Bill 4 was the only piece of legislation to be amended from the lower chamber’s version, which was modified by a committee amendment offered by State Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Atmore). The legislation deals with the finance, renovation and construction of prisons.
State Sen. Billy Beasley (D-Clayton) voiced concerns over prison capacity, citing potential violence that could occur due to the amount of individuals that would be held at a single facility. He stated that Alabama apparently wishes to be known as the “Mega Prison State.” The Democrat senator offered a substitute to House Bill 4, which the body inevitably tabled after a motion from Albritton to kill the effort.
The Senate then held a vote on House Bill 4, with it passing the body by a margin of 27-3.
House Bill 5 was the next piece of legislation the upper chamber took up, which appropriates $400 million from “American Rescue Plan” dollars to be applied toward prison infrastructure.
While agreeing with the need to address issues relating to prisons, State Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison (D-Birmingham) urged the body to enact legislation supporting financially struggling hospitals and health care providers. She desires for the Senate to not wait until the legislature convenes for its regular session next year to confront the matter.
A handful of Democrat senators gave remarks regarding the bill, voicing some concerns they had while thanking Albritton for his work on the legislation. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 30-1.
House Bill 6, an additional supplemental appropriations bill, passed the body with no opposition.
Lastly, the Senate took up consideration of House Bill 2, which concerns the mandatory supervised release and electronic monitoring of certain prisoners. The so-called sentencing reform measure, which makes retroactive reforms from a 2015 sentencing law to be applied to convictions prior to the time it was passed, garnered opposition from a handful of Senate Republicans. The bill passed by a vote of 24-6.
Senate Pro Tem Greg Reed (R-Jasper) speaks with the press following the chamber’s successful passage of a comprehensive prison reform plan. #alpolitics pic.twitter.com/aA720A58V9
— Dylan Smith (@DylanSmithAL) October 1, 2021
Concerning the single amendment that was added to House Bill 4 in committee, which removes the Hamilton Aged and Infirmed Center in Marion County from the list of facilities being closed within one year of the completion of Phase 1, State Sens. Larry Stutts (R-Sheffield) and Garlan Guger (R-Cullman) applauded its passage.
“I’m extremely pleased that 124 jobs at Hamilton are secure and will remain in place, and I am appreciative to Pro Tem Reed, Chairman Albritton, and Senator Gudger for their hard work on this issue,” said Stutts. “It was very critical that we prevented this early closure in Marion County, and to ensure that these hardworking constituents of mine were not put out of jobs, especially in today’s economic market.”
“Our guys in the Senate were determined to preserve over 100 jobs for rural Alabamians, and I’m proud that our members chose to put rural, hardworking Alabamians at the forefront of our efforts to successfully accomplish this goal,” Gudger stated. “Every decision we make in the legislature is focused on how we can positively impact the folks back in our hometowns. It is our responsibility to represent the voices of those in our districts and advocate on their behalf, and this is a perfect example of the Senate putting our local communities first.”
With the Senate now having done its part by passing a comprehensive prison plan, which originated in the House, House Bill 4 now returns to the lower chamber where members will have an opportunity to concur with their Senate counterparts’ modifications.
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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