HB545 Alabama 2017 Session

Under existing law, the Alabama Corrections Institution Finance Authority is authorized to issue bonds for prison construction purposes. The authority is required to construct facilities using plans and specifications of architects or engineers, or both

This bill would also allow the authority to issue bonds up to $100,000,000 to purchase, renovate, and equip the existing Perry County facility, the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women and existing regional or other prison facilities and would require the competitive bidding of all contracts for renovations

This bill would require increased reporting to the Joint Legislative Prison Committee

This bill would provide for the creation of capital improvement cooperative districts by counties and municipalities for the renovation, expansion, maintenance, and operation of county and municipal jail facilities to house state inmates

This bill would require the Department of Corrections to contract with the capital improvement cooperative districts for the housing of minimum security state inmates for the rate of $30 per day per inmate

This bill would also provide for disposal of property not required for use by the Department of Corrections and further provide for actions to be taken upon payment of all bonds issued by the authority

This bill would provide for the pledge of a portion of the proceeds of the one mill tax levied by Section 40-8-3, Code of Alabama 1975, and to pledge a portion of the proceeds of the tax on all spirituous or vinous liquors levied by current law to secure the authority's bonds

This bill would provide for the medical parole of certain inmates suffering from life-threatening illnesses when death is imminent and who meet certain criteria

This bill would require the Department of Corrections to annually identify all inmates who have spent 30 or more days in an infirmary or under a physician's care and provide that information to the Board of Pardons and Paroles for consideration of medical paroles by the board under certain conditions

Relating to prison reform; to amend Sections 14-2-1, 14-2-6, 14-2-12, 14-2-13.1, 14-2-16, 14-2-19, 14-2-21, and 14-2-28, Code of Alabama 1975, relating to the Alabama Corrections Institution Finance Authority, to allow the authority to issue up to $100 million in bonds or other forms of funding deemed optimal for the purpose of financing the purchase, renovation, and equipping of the Perry County facility, the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women, and regional and other prison facilities of the Department of Corrections or the authority, and demolishing obsolete prison facilities; to provide for contracts between the department and county and municipal capital improvement cooperative districts for the housing of state inmates; to provide for a direct appropriation from the Legislature to the cooperative district for costs associated with housing the inmates; to revise the membership of the authority; to authorize the authority to dispose of property not required for Department of Corrections purposes; to require reporting to the Joint Legislative Prison Committee; to further provide for actions to be taken upon payment of all bonds issued by the authority; to amend Section 29-2-20, Code of Alabama 1975, to revise the membership of the Joint Legislative Prison Committee; to amend Sections 28-3-201, 28-3-202, 28-3-204, and 40-8-3, Code of Alabama 1975, relating to allocation of a portion of the proceeds of the one mill tax and the tax on all spirituous or vinous liquors provided therein as a second and third priority security for the authority's bonds; to amend Section 38-4-12, Code of Alabama 1975, relating to the priority of the use of the one mill tax; to define certain terms; to require the Department of Corrections to annually identify all inmates who have spent 30 or more days in an infirmary or under a physician's care and provide that information to the Board of Pardons and Paroles for consideration of medical paroles by the board under certain conditions; to provide for the medical parole of identified inmates under certain conditions; and to require the board to report certain information relating to medical parole to certain legislative committees.