SB228 Alabama 2019 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Arthur OrrSenator

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2019

Title

Sheriffs, co. jails, feeding or prisoners, fee increased, deposit in Prisoner Feeding Fund, increases provided every two years, continuous approp. from St. Gen Fund for emergency costs overruns, Secs. 14-6-40, 14-6-42, 14-6-47, 14-6-48, 36-22-17 am'd; Sec. 14-6-43 repealed

Summary

SB 228 creates county-level Prisoner Feeding Funds, increases the state support for prisoner meals, and adds an Emergency Prisoner Feeding Fund to cover cost overruns in Alabama county jails.

What This Bill Does

It raises the daily state feeding allowance to 2.25 per prisoner (1.75 for food plus 1.25 from the General Fund) and requires these payments to go into a Prisoner Feeding Fund in each sheriff's office. It establishes separate funds for feeding prisoners, with strict use limits, recordkeeping, and audits, and directs that state feeding money not be treated as personal income. It allows limited year-end carryover of unspent funds for feeding (and up to 25% of any balance may be used for jail operations, with the rest rolling over), while also repealing an old provision. It also creates an Emergency Prisoner Feeding Fund (starting at 500,000 per year, up to 1,000,000 total) to help counties cover unforeseen cost overruns, under strict eligibility, oversight, and repayment rules.

Who It Affects

• County sheriffs and their offices: must establish and manage the Prisoner Feeding Fund, keep proper records, ensure funds are used only for feeding prisoners, and follow audit requirements; funds become public money and cannot be personal income.
• Prisoners in county jails: their meals are funded through the new Prisoner Feeding Fund and the specified per-prisoner daily amount, with funding dedicated to feeding and subject to the fund's rules.

Key Provisions

• Increases the per-prisoner daily feeding allowance to 2.25 (1.75 for food plus 1.25 from the General Fund) and directs these payments to the Prisoner Feeding Fund in each sheriff's office.
• Creates the Prisoner Feeding Fund in each sheriff's office with monies dedicated to feeding prisoners, requires separate accounting, and exempts feeding-related expenditures from the competitive bidding law; funds are to be audited.
• End-of-year carryover rules allow up to 25% of an unencumbered fund balance to be used for jail operations or related law enforcement, with the remainder rolled over for feeding expenses (or the entire unencumbered balance may be rolled over for feeding).
• Repeals Section 14-6-43 and requires that state feeding funds be deposited into the Prisoner Feeding Fund and expended only according to this chapter; funds cannot be converted to personal income.
• Establishes an Emergency Prisoner Feeding Fund with an automatic annual appropriation of 500,000 (rising to a cap of 1,000,000) to be used for unforeseeable cost overruns, with up to 80% of the overrun funded per county (max 25,000 per year), based on joint county-sheriff applications and Department of Finance oversight.
• Requires the act to take effect on the first day of the third month after its passage and approval.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Sheriffs