Government

As Prison Lease Plan Fizzles, Ivey, Lawmakers Considering Options

As the clock ran out on Gov. Kay Ivey’s plan to lease new prisons, several lawmakers say they want to consider using some of the more than $2 billion in new federal Coronavirus relief money on improved prison infrastructure. Earlier this year, Ivey signed lease agreements with Tennessee-based CoreCivic to build two large men’s prisons. Tuesday was the deadline for those agreements to be final and Ivey confirmed to reporters Wednesday that the lease route is no longer an option as support from potential underwriters has fallen away. “To that end, my team and I will meet with legislative leaders again in the coming days to review all that we have learned through this process thus far, including the complexity and depth of the multi-faceted challenge at-hand," Ivey said in a statement. "Anyone who is serious about these issues understands that replacing our failing prison infrastructure with safer, more secure facilities that accommodate the rehabilitation of incarcerated people is essential. It is not a question of if this will happen, but how. Read more. More prison debate: Report: More Data, Tracking Needed on Prison Education Efforts

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

“No Step Too High for a High-Stepper”: Gov. Kay Ivey Says She’s Running for Another Term

For those who wondered whether the oldest sitting governor in the United States would seek four more years in office, Kay Ivey has provided her answer. Ivey announced Wednesday that she will seek a second full term in the 2022 gubernatorial election. In a video announcement, Ivey touted the accomplishments of her administration since 2017, with a handful of her famous homespun expressions thrown in for good measure, including one of her most famous lines, “There’s no step too high for a high-stepper.” In scenes filled with sweeping vistas and familiar Alabama sights that are staples of many a campaign ad, she described Alabama as a place “where a red dirt road can take you anywhere, and the sky is never the limit.” Read more.

by Robert Carter

Lawmakers Considering Federal Covid Relief Money for Prison Fix

As the clock runs down on Gov. Kay Ivey’s plan to lease new prisons, several lawmakers say they want to consider using some of the more than $2 billion in new federal coronavirus relief money on improved prison infrastructure. Earlier this year, Ivey signed lease agreements with Tennessee-based CoreCivic to build two large men’s prisons. Tuesday was the deadline for those agreements to be final, but CoreCivic’s funding has been in jeopardy as support from potential underwriters as fallen away. Meanwhile, lawmakers have signaled to Ivey they want another crack at a state-funded prison plan. Alabama budget makers and leaders are continuing to lay the groundwork for the distribution and spending of Rescue Plan funds. The state this summer will start seeing some of the more than $4 billion allocated to it and local governments in the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan Act. Separately, there is nearly $2 billion going to K-12 schools in the Rescue Plan. Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Report: More Data, Tracking Needed on Prison Education Efforts

While the Legislature and Gov. Kay Ivey this session put more money toward prison education programs and incentivized participation for some with earlier release, the state is not doing enough to track what programs are actually helping offenders find jobs and stay out of prison, a recent report says. Meanwhile, there are still significant barriers to accessing prison education programs, the report from the Alabama Commission on Evaluation of Services said. “The state is not tracking the necessary performance metrics to determine if our educational efforts are working for our population,” Marcus Morgan, ACES director, told Alabama Daily News. “We should know and we can know.” Read more. More from the State House on Alabama prisons: Lawmakers Considering Federal Covid Relief Money for Prison Fix

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Birmingham City Employees One Step Closer to Receiving Bonuses for Working Through Pandemic

The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday, approved Mayor Randall Woodfin’s proposal to give $5,000 to each full-time city employee and $2,500 to each part-time employee. These one-time payments will total about $16.8 million, which will come from the city’s American Rescue Plan funding. The premium payments, designed to reward employees for their work through the pandemic, still need to be approved by the Jefferson County Personnel Board, which will meet June 8. If that happens, city employees can expect payments by June 30. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

LifeTech Expected to Reopen in Late Summer

LifeTech, a previously successful residential job-training center for the recently paroled, is expected to reopen later this year. The center was shuttered last year in a controversial move by the then-leader of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles. Now, new director Cam Ward says he expects a “soft opening” of the Thomasville center in late summer. Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Orr Not Running for Congress, Seeks to Stay in State House

State Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, will seek a fifth term in the Alabama Legislature next year. The Morgan County native had considered a run for Congress in Alabama’s 5th District, the north Alabama seat Mo Brooks is leaving to run for the U.S. Senate. Orr said he had potential donors and supporters discuss a congressional bid with him. “I think with the current field of candidates, the race is wide open, but the Lord is just not calling me to do that at this time in my life,” Orr, 57, said. “It was an easy decision.” Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Ivey Vetoes Literacy Act Delay Bill

MONTGOMERY — Gov. Kay Ivey has vetoed a bill that would have delayed until 2024 a requirement that third-grade students who are not reading proficiently repeat the grade. Senate Bill 94, sponsored by Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, would have delayed the holdback provision in the Alabama Literacy Act from spring 2022 to spring 2024. Democrats and many Republicans supported the bill arguing that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected students’ education, forcing some out of the classroom, and to test them after next school year under the act would be unfair. Read more.

by Caroline Beck and Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

‘Earmarks’ Are Back, but Not All Alabama Lawmakers Are Participating

It has a new name and many new requirements, but the process known as earmarking, or designating federal funds for distribution at the request of members of Congress, is now officially back on Capitol Hill. This spring, the House Appropriations Committee invited all House members to submit proposals for “Community Project Funding,” a new term for the age-old practice of earmarking that has been banned by rule for the past ten years. In a new effort at ensuring transparency, those proposed projects have been published member by member. Alabama’s House delegation was split on the prospect of placing community projects in the budget. Reps. Robert Aderholt, R-Haleyville, Mike Rogers, R-Saks, Jerry Carl, R-Mobile and Terri Sewell, D-Selma each submitted multiple projects for consideration, while Reps. Mo Brooks, R-Huntsville, Gary Palmer, R-Birmingham, and Barry Moore, R-Enterprise, did not. Read more.

by Todd Stacy and Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Birmingham Promise Gets $8 Million Boost From Private Companies

The Birmingham Promise educational initiative has received $8 million in donations from local corporations, Mayor Randall Woodfin announced Tuesday. That number includes $5 million from Birmingham-based investment firm Vulcan Value Partners — the program’s largest private donation to date. It also includes $1 million each from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama and Protective Life, as well as from Alabama Power, which donated for the second consecutive year. Birmingham Promise offers juniors and seniors in city schools paid internships, dual enrollment opportunities and scholarships to two- or four-year public colleges. Read more.

by Sam Prickett