Gov. Kay Ivey’s office says she will sign two 30-year leases for privately built mega prisons today (Mon. Feb. 1), but Press Secretary Gina Maiola says Ivey will not release copies of the contracts and costs until later:
Ivey’s press secretary stated, “We are anticipating her to put pen to paper and as soon as she does, we will be releasing more details. We hoped it would have been sooner, but we are working as quickly as possible to get the best deal as possible for the state.”
The Ivey plan to lease prisons is rotten. There is no other way to describe it.
For months, we had been told the rent would be capped at $88 million a year for three privately constructed prisons. Just this Friday, we were told – for the first time – that the cost for the first year will be $94 million — and the rent will go up yearly.
For months, we had been told that the total rent over the 30-year rental period would be $2.6 billion. Just this Friday, we were told the total rents will exceed $3 billion.
All of this is coming while the administration insists it will go ahead and sign two leases Monday, Feb. 1, three days after the increased costs were mentioned for the first time. That is rotten.
Gov. Ivey is using a Nancy Pelosi approach – we have to sign it before you can know what is in it. She has not provided the legislature with copies of the leases, cost information, nor other details. This conduct is irresponsible.
For months, I have been saying that the governor is bypassing the legislature. She has had no legislation and other input from the legislative branch. She has provided almost no information to the legislature. Now, she is hurrying the signing of two of three leases on the day before the legislative session starts. That timing indicates that the governor does not want legislative input.
The Ivey plan would have the state paying rent of $94 million a year and increasing for 30 years. At the end of that time, the state will have paid over $3 billion in rent. The state will then own equity in the prisons of exactly zero. The state would have to start over and pay for the prisons a second time.
The principal partner in two of the leases, CoreCivic, has a questionable track record in other states where they have private prisons deals.
Gov. Ivey needs to postpone signing the prison leases. The legislature needs to review the entire plan and consider bills to correct the fatal flaws. The Department of Corrections needs to be subjected to a management audit. CoreCivic needs to be vetted. What could possibly wrong with these actions?
There is an old saying, “Something’s rotten in Denmark.” Well, something is clearly rotten in Montgomery. It is the Ivey prison plan – and the way it is being ramrodded.
Jim Zeigler has been the Alabama State Auditor since 2015.
