Office of Senate President Pro Tempore Del Marsh
Press Clips
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
· Prison reform bill clears committee (Decatur Daily)
· Alabama prison reform bill passes first vote (Montgomery Advertiser)
· Charter school bill sponsor says virtual schools still allowed; could be up to courts (Decatur Daily)
· Charter school bill nears final approval (AP)
· Alabama Senate approves 5-foot safety margin for passing bikes (AL.com)
· Bentley brief calls same-sex marriage a 'social experiment' (AP)
· Alabama joblessness drops to 6 percent, marking 14 months with no increase in unemployment (AL.com)
· Bill allowing electronic attendance of some meetings passes Senate (Decatur Daily)
· Charter schools must be part of education picture (Montgomery Advertiser)
· Shelby says Bentley tax hike could hurt Alabama’s economy: ‘Taxing is not the answer’ (Yellowhammer News)
Prison reform bill clears committee
Legislation to reduce the state’s prison population, now at nearly double the capacity for which the facilities were built, will have a minimal impact on local jails, officials said Tuesday.
Senate Bill 67 sponsored by Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, cleared its first hurdle when it received a 9-0 vote in committee. Some sheriffs and county commissions have expressed concern about what the bill might mean for them. It was amended in committee.
“I do think we’ve alleviated the vast majority of their concerns,” Ward said. “There isn’t going to be anyone getting run over in this. Now, will everyone be completely happy? No, they won’t be, because this is not an easy process. But I do think between prosecutors, judges and the sheriffs, yes, we can alleviate their concerns.”
Sen. Larry Stutts, R-Tuscumbia, is on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which gave the bill a favorable report Tuesday.
“All the stakeholders, all the people who are involved, have had input back and forth,” Stutts said. “I think we’ve ended up with a very good bill.”
It now goes to the full Senate, but Ward said that won’t happen until lawmakers return from next week’s spring break.
One of the things the bill does to reduce prison recidivism is enact “quick dips” in county jails for parolees who violate a technical condition of their parole, such as missing a meeting with their parole officer or a drug test. Currently, they go back to prison, occupying valuable bed space, Ward said.
His bill would put them in a county jail for three days. It has worked in North Carolina, he said.
“Generally, once they do it once, they don’t do it again,” Ward said.
Moran County Sheriff Ana Franklin said her concern is unfunded mandates on counties.
“We are happy to do what we can to help, but we need funding to do that,” she said.
Ward said sheriffs will have the option of not accepting state inmates if jails are at capacity or if the inmates have costly medical needs.
Ward’s bill would get the state’s prison capacity down to about 140 percent.
The bill includes adding 1,700 prison beds statewide and hiring about 100 additional parole officers to monitor offenders when they’re released. It also includes a new class of felony for non-violent crimes, including thefts and forgeries,that would not be subject to the habitual offender act, which leads to more inmates serving life in prison without parole.
It also includes increased community corrections programs.
Ward and others today said the inmates won’t be dumped in county jails as a result of the legislation.
The legislation, including the installation of the new beds, would cost about $35 million a year for each of the next five years.
The legislation also calls for increased funding and oversight of community corrections programs around the state and more split sentences for offenders.
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Alabama prison reform bill passes first vote
The Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday unanimously approved legislation aimed at relieving the state prison overcrowding crisis through renewed investments in Alabama’s parole and probation system, a greater emphasis on supervision and a reclassification of certain offenses.
The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, the chairman of the committee, passed 9 to 0 after committee members adopted a substitute that changes some of the terms of the initial bill, including one that would have redefined and reclassified third-degree burglary as a nonviolent crime.
Ward said the final bill -- which he hopes to see the full Senate vote on by the end of the month -- reflects give and take between numerous groups, including county commissions and law enforcement.
“It is the Goldilocks approach,” Ward said after the vote. “Nothing is perfect . . . I do believe we’ve addressed a majority of the concerns.”
Under the bill, Alabama would hire an additional 123 parole and probation staff; require split sentences for those convicted of Class C felonies, with limits on maximum incarceration time and mandatory supervision following release; the creation of a new Class D felony for the least serious nonviolent offenses, and be subject to presumptive sentencing guidelines. Technical violations of parole would also be subjected to new terms, and new funding would be provided to the state’s community corrections programs.
Long-term, the legislation aims to relieve the overcrowding issue by targeting recidivism. Ward said new sentencing guidelines implemented in Alabama in recent years have cut the intake of prisoners by 18 percent; however, outflow of prisoners has remained flat as the number of paroles granted to qualified inmates has declined.
On its own, the package is not expected to resolve the state’s prison overcrowding crisis. Supporters estimate that implementing the policy changes -- costing approximately $23 million a year -- would bring overcrowding in the state’s prisons from 186 percent to about 162 percent over the next five years, giving the state net savings of about $42.8 million a year.
Ward is also seeking funding to add an additional 1,700 beds to the state’s prison system, which would bring the annual price tag of the bill up to $35 million. If the construction portions were implemented, the overcrowding could come down to 140 percent, a level that could be acceptable to a federal judge.
The substituted bill departs from some recommendations made to the Alabama Prison Reform Task Force by the Council of State Governments. The CSG initially recommended reclassifying third-degree burglary as a nonviolent offense involving uninhabited dwellings, such as sheds. The new bill retains the violent classification, but applies it to buildings within 50 feet of an inhabited dwelling.
Ward said Sen. Trip Pittman, R-Montrose, pushed for the change. Shay Farley, legal director of Alabama Appleseed and a member of the Alabama Prison Reform Task Force, said the substitute “falls short” of what could be expected, and criticized the push toward additional prison construction.
“We do praise Cam’s leadership on this,” she said. “However, they left a lot on the table, up to and including diversion programs.”
The substitute also aimed to alleviate the concerns of sheriffs and county commissions that inmates being diverted out of state prisons would land in the state’s overcrowded jails. Looking to reduce the number of inmates facing lengthy sentences for technical violations of parole, the legislation states that sentences for nonviolent parole violations not involving arrest cannot exceed 45 days in a state prison. Technical violations could result in three days in a county jail; however, Ward said sheriffs would have to right to refuse inmates when their jails are at capacity or if the inmate has a medical condition.
In addition, judges sentencing individuals to community corrections would have to explore a full range of options, including intense probation, to prevent county programs from being overrun. Sonny Brasfield, executive director of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama, said the bill in his eyes was a “not too cold, not too hot” approach, but stressed that counties were already struggling to incarcerate state prisoners.
“There is no guarantee this will not cost counties more money,” Brasfield said. “There is a chance it will cost more money.”
Ward said they would continue to work with counties on addressing the issue.
Alabama’s Prison Reform Task Force signed off on the proposed changes earlier this month, but members also pushed for additional studies of the state’s Habitual Offender Law and its effect. While the proposal is not included in the current package, convictions under the Class D Felony would not fall under the Habitual Offender Act.
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Charter school bill sponsor says virtual schools still allowed; could be up to courts
The bill that would create charter schools in Alabama is set for a vote in the House today. Though it makes no reference to virtual charter schools, its sponsor said he thinks it does leave room for them.
“The way I look at it, it’s open,” said Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston, sponsor of the Senate version.
A reference to virtual charter schools was removed last week in the Senate at the wish of some lawmakers and the governor.
Marsh, citing challenges in other states, said not mentioning virtual charter schools is not equal to prohibiting them.
“So, it’s going to be up to the courts to decide if it’s challenged,” he said. “But in my opinion, they’re allowed because they’re not mentioned to be excluded.”
That’s a concern to some.
“We would like virtual charters to be expressly prohibited,” said Eric Mackey, executive director of the School Superintendents of Alabama.
Charter schools are publicly funded but operate outside of traditional rules and regulations. The bill will allow 10 start-up schools per year, chartered by nonprofit groups that can contract educational services to private businesses. State funding, and most local funding, will follow the students. Local school systems, partnering with nonprofits, can create an unlimited number of conversion charter schools under the bill.
Mackey said private, out-of-state companies running virtual schools with no brick-and-mortar building or support staff could “make a huge profit” if they can operate charters here.
“They’d get money to help pay for employees that don’t exist,” Mackey said. “That’s not a good use of state resources. There is not a good reason to put virtuals in the charter bill.”
Those looking to create start-up charter schools would first have to apply to the local school system for approval. If denied there, there is an appeals process to a statewide commission.
Terri Collins, R-Decatur, is the House sponsor. She said she doesn’t want to expressly prohibit virtual charter schools because many local school systems are creating virtual schools and she doesn’t want them limited.
“I think that as it is written now, it gives the local board and state commission, whoever is making the choices, (the ability) to make the best choice for the state,” she said.
A spokeswoman for Gov. Robert Bentley said Tuesday he does not support virtual charter schools because he believes the state needs to study the concept of virtual schools more in-depth to understand the benefits and how they are held accountable for educating students.
The bill, already passed by the Senate last week, will have to return there if approved by the House because of changes made in a House committee.
Those in favor of the legislation said it will provide more educational choice for families.
Virtual school bill
Meanwhile, Rep. Ed Henry, R-Hartselle, is sponsoring a bill that requires public high schools to offer a virtual school option, including the possibility of contracting with other schools systems.
“If a school system didn’t want to establish their own, they could contract with the Hartselle system or the Florence system for, say $4,000 per student, but that student would still be a member of the local system,” Henry said.
The student would still be eligible to play sports or participate in other extracurricular activities in their original district.
Several Tennessee Valley systems are setting up online schools. In June, Hartselle will launch its virtual academy for grades eight through 12.
Superintendent Vic Wilson said the online courses will benefit a variety of students: advanced learners looking for additional courses, juniors and seniors who want to explore a subject before they go to college, and students who may not be able to come to a brick-and-mortar school. Remediation courses also will be offered.
Some students will just take one class online, some will take all their classes online and only come to school for assessments.
So far, 50 students have signed up, Wilson said.
Hartselle is contracting with a private company, Edmentum, to provide the curriculum. It offers a “vast number of courses,” Wilson said, more than any other provider the school considered. Hartselle will pay $27,000 for the first year.
“If I get six kids to come to Hartselle, (at about $5,200 in state funding), it’s paid for my virtual school,” Wilson said.
A companion bill to Henry’s is in the Senate, sponsored by Education Policy Committee Chairman Dick Brewbaker, R-Montgomery. That bill will get a committee vote today.
Florence City Schools began offering virtual classes in 2013. The system already allows students outside of it to attend virtual classes. Superintendent Janet Womack has worked with Brewbaker on the legislation.
“I think the virtual school bill is a model of how we can work productively together,” Womack said about school districts.
Wilson and Womack said there is a big difference between their virtual schools and possible charter virtual schools.
“Alabama schools are going to follow Alabama standards,” Womack said. “Virtual schools aren’t under local control.”
Henry said that there are Internet access issues in rural parts of the state, but that shouldn’t stop the legislation.
Mackey said he’s in favor of Henry’s bill because there is local control.
“We think it’s a good bill,” Mackey said. “It’s local school boards setting up what they think is best for their schools.”
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Charter school bill nears final approval
Legislators could soon give final approval to charter school legislation that Republicans named a top priority for the 2015 session.
The Alabama House of Representatives on Wednesday afternoon will debate the bill that would allow charter schools in the state. The bill is expected to spark a filibuster from Democrats and other opposed lawmakers.