Alabama Governor Robert Bentley Calls For More Funds For Pre-Kindergarten Education, Prisons

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley gave his State of the State Speech earlier this week and he talked about his priorities and made it clear that these would need more funding. Bentley said more pre-kindergarten programs should be set up and more prisons should be constructed to avoid the overcrowding of prisoners.

Bentley's speech lasted for an hour and the call for more prisons was revived from last year's suggestion. Bentley said of his prison proposal, "The men and women inside these prison walls are there for just punishment. But they are not there to slip further into a cycle of dependency, crime, violence, and hopelessness." The money he wants to allot for this is $800 million, Governing reported.

Basically, the money will be borrowed in order to build three men's prisons and a women's facility. The women's facility will be replacing Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka. The proposal is yet to be approved by the lawmakers in the state.

The proposal was made by Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn and he said the construction of more prisons and a facility will create a safer environment not only for the prisoners but also for the corrections officers. However, the money being proposed for the project to materialize is a great concern for legislators.

The same proposal was not passed during the 2016 regular session and suggested Bentley has to make changes to get the bill through. House Speaker Mac McCutcheon said the bill this year will get a fair hearing.

As for the pre-kindergarten programs, Montgomery Advertiser reported, Bentley proposed an additional $20 million funding for the programs. The governor said the pre-kindergarten programs would be better if they are coordinated with early elementary school education.

Aside from these, Bentley also talked about the formation of a task force. This will study the impact of repealing the sales tax on groceries in the state. This is the seventh State of the State speech Bentley has given.