Jim Zeigler to Oppose Gov. Bentley’s $800 Million Prison Plan

When the legislature re-opens Tuesday for the 2017 regular session, they will be greeted by conservative leaders from across the state at a “Welcome Back Rally” on the Statehouse steps.

State Auditor Jim Zeigler is leadoff speaker at the rally, and says he will kick off a campaign to oppose Gov. Bentley’s plan to borrow $800 for prisons.

The rally, sponsored by Tea Parties and other conservative groups over the state, starts at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Bentley has proposed an $800 million bond issue to build four “super-prisons” and close 14 existing prisons.

Zeigler says that will not solve prison overcrowding and would only raise prison capacity from 13,318 to 16,000, far short of the inmate population of 23,000.

“We incur almost a billion dollars of debt for the next 30 years but do not come close to solving the problem.  Big borrowed cost – no solution,” Zeigler said in a Facebook post Sunday.