A new version of a prison bill passed by the state Senate in March could mean the end of Fountain and Holman prisons, but could also mean the beginning of a new facility in the area.

A new version of the bill originally introduced by Gov. Robert Bentley last year was introduced by Sen. Cam Ward (R-Alabaster) and passed the state Senate in March by a vote of 23-11. It now moves to the House.

The bill, SB302, is a retooled version of Bentley’s original bill that slashes what the state can borrow to build new prisons by $475 million and places much of the burden of construction on local, yet unnamed, entities. Those communities could include Escambia County.

Bentley’s original bill called for Alabama to borrow $800 million to replace Julia Tutwiler Prison, as well as to build three new men’s prisons, while closing all but two of the state’s existing men’s facilities. Ward’s version allows for the state to borrow no more than $325 million to build just one new men’s prison.

For the bill to work, two other communities in Alabama (a mix of county and municipality) would need to volunteer to borrow enough money to build another two men’s prisons, which the communities would then lease to the state to pay off. Once the leases are payed, according to Ward’s plan, the facilities would be owned by the state. The bill would leave Alabama with six men’s prisons, with all but three existing facilities being shut down.

This plan could drastically affect areas with existing prisons, whether those communities lose those facilities – and the jobs they create – or volunteer to help foot the bill for a new one. Or, in the case of Escambia County, possibly both.

In March, Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Range), who represents Escambia County, said he believed local officials would be interested in partnering to help construct one of the facilities. Albritton said this week getting to this point alone has been an uphill battle.

“The negotiations and getting to where we are on this has been quite traumatic and difficult,” Albritton said. “We were able to bring together a consensus on this and I’m kind of proud of it.”

But, Albritton said any new plans are far from complete.

“The biggest difficulty here is trying to find out if we’re going to pass any bill and have construction of any kind. We don’t know what the House is going to do.”

Atmore Mayor Jim Staff said Albritton is correct that municipalities and governing bodies in the area are interested in new construction, should the bill pass.

“We’ve been pursuing it,” Staff said. “We had a meeting in Frisco City last Thursday night and Greg again explained it. And we’ve been to Montgomery with the County Commission.”

Staff said, while Escambia County would be affected by the bill due to it currently housing two prisons, other local counties and municipalities are interested in becoming involved, adding their municipalities will be impacted by the final decision – including Flomaton and Brewton in Escambia. Albritton himself said the “partnership” to build a new facility could come from a combination of any of those counties and their municipalities.

But Staff echoed the concerns of lawmakers who say the bill is still too vague, with no mention of possible locations or what prisons could be shut down.

“Everybody’s interested, but nobody knows anything,” Staff said.

He did, however, point to site qualifications outlined in the bill he said makes Escambia County a good choice, including existing infrastructure requirements and personnel living within a certain radius – both of which he said are met because of the existence of Fountain and Holman prisons.

According to the bill, locations must meet the following criteria:

• encompassing communities where two or more major prison facilities are currently being operated by the department;

• at least 200 trained correctional officers reside within a 75-mile radius;

• have already invested in any necessary infrastructure currently used to operate a major prison facility;

• relative unemployment rates of the location with preference given to geographic locations with higher unemployment rates;

• if the Department constructs a regional prison facility, locations that are in communities without financial resources to form an authority shall be given higher priority;

• locations which presently have available medical care within a reasonable distance.

Staff said Escambia County fits those descriptions with available infrastructure, approximately 300 officers within the specified range, higher unemployment rates and two hospitals within the county.

Albritton said those criteria don’t necessarily mean an area in or around Escambia County would be chosen, but added not being part of new construction would almost certainly mean the end of Fountain and Holman prisons.

“We don’t’ know that for a fact; however, Fountain was built in 1952 and Holman is the next problem area,” he said. “If no bill passes, there will not be a change.”

And that fact alone, Albritton said, has led some to say he should not be supporting a bill that could risk job losses in his districts.

“In one sense of the word, the best thing I could do, would be to not do anything; just to keep the status quo,” he said. “But we’ve already had the third guard that’s been killed at Holman and several stabbings, so I don’t believe that doing nothing is the right thing to do.”

But, should the bill pass and the two prisons be built elsewhere in the state, Albritton said there could be much more at stake than just losing two prisons.

“Should we lose this, not only will we remove and lose the direct jobs that will be here, but we’ll also lose a sitting judge placed here because of Holman,” he said. “We’ll lose a sitting judge because of the judicial redistricting. This is an all-or-nothing. It could be the last great hope.”