One of the justifications for the Ivey administration to pursue a build-lease prison plan instead of the traditional bond issue for the construction of three new mega-prisons throughout the state is the legislature has not been able to reach an agreement over the past several years, and that has forced Gov. Kay Ivey to go at it alone.
The legislature may still try, according to House Speaker Mac McCutcheon (R-Monrovia). Last week, McCutcheon revealed there was a “backup plan” if Ivey’s lease proposal falls through. According to McCutcheon, Rep. Mike Jones (R-Andalusia) has an effort underway for a bond issue if needed.
During an interview on Monday’s broadcast of Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5’s “The Jeff Poor Show,” Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur), the chairman of the Senate Education Trust Fund Budget Committee, says it is possible in theory for the legislature to execute Jones’ plan.
He explained how in the past the legislature had some success at deal with new prison construction proposals. However, he noted that then-Gov. Robert Bentley, who led the efforts, could not get traction in the House. Since then, he said the legislature has not had an opportunity to take a crack at prisons.
“I think [Jones’ bond issue plan] is theoretically possible, for sure,” he said. “But what we’re seeing is a couple of things. One is you said the legislature didn’t get it done. Well, that goes back to the Robert Bentley days and the Senate passed by my recollection, two prison bond bills. They went to the House and died. We never got them back for a conference committee or anything like that. I don’t want to point fingers at my colleagues but we do take solace in that. That doesn’t get it done for the taxpayers. Since the Bentley days, we’ve had no real proposal or anything out of the Ivey administration. They, of course, are proceeding with this leaseback-type scenario, and that’s what they’ve been pursuing.”
“With a part-time legislature — we weren’t in session very long in 2020 because of COVID, this is kind of the fruit of that,” he said. “The executive has most of the cards. And, of course, they’re the ones duty-bound and responsible for the prison system and constructing prisons. But they’re holding most of the cards in this environment, particularly when we’re not in session and able to deal with it.”
If Bentley, who at the time was at odds with the Alabama Legislature the last time the legislature attempted to tackle new prisons, had not been the driving force behind fixing the prisons, there might have been a different outcome, according to Orr.
Orr also said Ivey, who proved to be capable early after her 2018 election win with the passage of the Rebuild Alabama Act, could have gotten a bill passed by the legislature had she tried.
“I think so — I think that is highly probable,” he replied. “If you see what Governor Ivey came in after the election of 2018, and we passed the infrastructure legislation. And she was very much invested in that, worked votes and came out way on top when it came to the legislation getting passed. She made that certainly the top priority. I don’t think it would have taken that much political muscle to get a prison bond bill through the legislature under her leadership.”
He predicted if Ivey put forth a proposal to the Alabama Legislature, there would be a near certainty for passage.
“I think beyond feasible,” Orr said. “I think it would have been a fait accompli. I think it would have happened. Here’s one thing there’s no dispute about, Jeff — we have to build new prisons, 21st century-style prisons with angles and allowing for cameras and more electronics, which reduces the guard count necessary. There is no dispute about that. I just think we could have done it before we wind up where we are where there is still this standoff between the lease model and the old design-build model using bond proceeds.”
The Morgan County Republican lawmaker said he anticipated the Department of Justice would cease its pursuit of Alabama if the Ivey administration can successfully execute its plan with the three facilities. He also downplayed the possibility the Biden administration’s DOJ would be more aggressive than the Trump administration.
“I think if we get the three mega-prisons built, and we staff them adequately and provide the required services for the inmate, the Justice Department will have bigger, other fish to fry to deal with rather than try to continue to pursue Alabama,” he added. “And that’s whether there is a Democratic or Republican administration in D.C. I think they’ll move on if we get on with it, and, of course, that is what Governor Ivey is certainly attempting to do is get on with it without involving the legislature.”
“We’ve got to move,” Orr added. “That’s where talk is cheap and they’ve got to see some progress. We’ve known about this and known about this. I wish the legislature — we had had the proposal from the executive branch of the old design-build model. I think it would have passed but since no proposal came in, then I guess the governor decided to just to take it on herself and do that way using the lease model, and crunch the numbers and concluded that that makes more sense. My hope is whatever makes the most sense financially for the state is ultimately what we wind up doing.”
According to Orr, the reason there has not been a proposal from any member of the Alabama Legislature was because it functions on a part-time basis, and big projects as such as remaking the Alabama prison system would come from the executive branch.
“That gets back, Jeff, something that I alluded to earlier, or mentioned earlier — the legislature, we are not in sessions full-time like the Congress or a few other states like California,” he said. “So therefore, something this big, this heavy a lift, billions of dollars — really needs to originate from the executive branch, from the governor’s office. They are the ones that are going to have to implement it. And that’s where it should start. The plans should be proposed. The legislature should tweak it, kick it around, do what it will do. But this is where having the governor and all the powers behind the executive branch for a heavy lift like this.”
“If, for example, Senator Greg Albritton, the general fund chair, had come up with his own plan, it would have been much more difficult to pull off when a single legislator comes up and says, ‘Hey guys and gals, this is how we want to spend a billion dollars-plus on prisons,” Orr added. “It would be met with much more skepticism — not because of Senator Albritton but just because of the nature of who started it and who was behind it.”
@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.
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