Alabama Solution News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Governor kay ivey signed bills in to law that allow the state to use federal covid relief funds to build new prisons. this is money the federal government earmarked for states to help plug budget shortfalls caused by the pandemic. dianne gallagher has details. >> reporter: the state of alabama planning to use hundreds of millions of dollars in covid relief funds to build new prisons. >> we've got an alabama problem and we're going to give it an alabama solution. >> reporter: that solution? a roughly $1.3 billion package laid out in a series of bills to build two new prisons while closing or re...

We are 53 minutes past the hour, and we want to check top stories for you before we go. alabama is one of the states that's been hardest hit by covid, but they're not using all of their federal covid relief funds to fight the pandemic. >> instead, republican lawmakers are allocating up to $400 million from the american rescue plan to build two new prisons. democrats have raised questions over the legality of the funding. others are questioning its morality. alabama governor kay ivey signed the bill yesterday and said, quote, this is an alabama problem. we're going to give it an alabama solutio...

Prisons. critics call the move absurd, saying the federal dollars should be used to improve the state's pandemic response. here now is cnn's dianne gallagher. >> reporter: the state of alabama planning to use hundreds of millions of dollars in covid relief funds to build new prisons. >> we've got an alabama problem and we're going to give it an alabama solution. >> reporter: that solution, a roughly $1.3 billion package, laid out in a series of bills to build two new prisons, while closing or renovating the existing ones. the majority is paid for in bonds and through the state general fund. bu...

Cnn's dianne gallagher reports, the governor's idea is being met with a bit of criticism. >> reporter: the state of alabama planning to use millions in covid relief funds to build new prisons. >> we've got an alabama problem and we're going to get an alabama solution. >> reporter: that solution, a roughly $1.3 billion package laid out in a series of bills to build two new prisons while closing or renovating the existing ones. the majority is paid for in bonds and through the state general fund but up to $400 million, more than 30% of the total cost would come from the money issued to alabama u...

February 2, 2021 Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Monday signed 30-year leases for new prisons to be constructed near Atmore and in Elmore County. The two new men’s correctional facilities wilk be constructed by CoreCivic’s Developer Team. The state signed a lease agreement with Government Real Estate Solutions of South Alabama, LLC, a CoreCivic entity, for the Escambia County facility on Bell Fork near Atmore. The agreements are not subject to annual renegotiation; however, options to negotiate occupancy extensions beyond the 30-year lease term are available to the state. The Alabama Department ...