Bill to reorganize VA leadership in committee today
Legislation in the Alabama Senate would overhaul the Alabama State Board of Veterans Affairs and make the state VA commissioner an appointee of the governor.
The bill was expected, and Gov. Kay Ivey’s office has signaled her support, after months of controversy last year surrounding the department and its leadership.
Former state VA commissioner Kent Davis was at the center of an inter-agency dispute last year that ultimately led toIvey removing him in October from his position and accusing him of mishandling federal grant money. Davis denies any wrongdoing and has since said he’s considering a run for governor in 2026.
Senate Bill 67 is sponsored by Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Centre, who chairs that chamber’s Veterans and Military Affairs Committee. The committee is expected to vote on it today.
The VA commissioner is not currently a governor appointee, but is instead selected by the Alabama Veterans Affairs Board. Besides the governor, the board is made up of representatives nominated to the governor from several veterans’ organizations, including the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S.
Jones’ bill makes the commissioner a governor appointee and also changes the appointments of the nine-member board. Seven would be appointed by the governor while the speaker of the house and president pro tem of the senate would each appoint one. Board members would serve four-year terms and no more than two consecutive terms.
Lawmakers to consider raising cap on borrowing power for prison construction
Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Range, has filed a bill that would increase the borrowing power of the state to as much as nearly $1.3 billion to pay for the construction of two new 4,000-bed prisons. The bill will be in the Senate General Fund committee, which Albritton chairs, this morning.
Senate Bill 60 would lift the cap on the amount in bonds that the Alabama Corrections Institution Finance Authority is authorized to sell for use toward prison construction, increasing the cap from $785 million to $1.29 billion, an increase of more than 63%.
Funding for the two prisons – one already far into construction in Elmore County, and the other proposed for Escambia County – has been a matter of uncertainty for lawmakers after the cost for the prison in Elmore County, once estimated to be around $623 million, ballooned to more than $1 billion.
Lawmakers have floated ideas of how to secure the remaining funds to see the two prisons to completion, including the idea of the state selling more bonds. Albritton was among the lawmakers suggesting the state could make up the difference through bonds, suggesting as much to Alabama Daily News in January.
As of January, funding for the Elmore County prison was fully secured, largely from the $1.2 billion state lawmakers allocated toward the project in 2021, and for the Escambia County prison, roughly 60% had been identified. The ultimate cost of the Escambia County prison is still unknown, though it’s expected to be less than the Elmore County prison due to the absence of specialized medical and mental health facilities, as well as the reuse of some building designs.
Alabama Daily News’ Alexander Willis contributed to this report.