New prisons 'generally ineligible' for COVID-relief aid, U.S. Treasury says

A new U.S. Treasury Department ruling on how COVID-19 relief funds can be spent declares the construction of correctional facilities "generally ineligible," but falls short of issuing a clear verdict on Alabama's prison plan.

The $1.3 billion prison overhaul, passed by the state legislature and signed by Gov. Kay Ivey in October, makes use of $400 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding allocated to the state for COVID-19 relief. The plan includes the construction of two 4,000-bed men's prisons, replacing facilities in Elmore and Escambia counties, with a new women's prison to be built in a later phase that would replace the Julia Tutwiler Prison for women in Wetumpka.