Criminal Justice (Corrections)

SB 84 requires the Alabama Department of Public Health to establish and enforce sanitation standards for food services in state correctional facilities, county jails, and municipal jails. The bill mandates regular inspections of food preparation, storage, and serving areas, and obligates facilities to correct identified violations. It grants the Department authority to issue sanitation scores and prescribe corrective actions but prohibits suspending food services without approval from the facility's governing body (e.g., the Corrections Commissioner for state facilities or local government for county/municipal jails). The law takes effect on October 1, 2026.

HB 91 would change how funds from court fees are used by Alabama sheriff's offices. Currently, money allocated to the sheriff's office from these fees can only cover jail operations. This bill expands that use to include all sheriff's office functions, such as patrols or investigations, for law enforcement purposes. The change would take effect on October 1, 2026, and directly affects all Alabama sheriffs' offices receiving these court fee funds.

HB 86 revises Alabama's parole guidelines to require the Board of Pardons and Paroles to give special attention to three specific factors when considering parole: an inmate's low risk of reoffending (based on a validated assessment), their employment during incarceration, and education completed while in prison. The bill also mandates that the board consider other factors in its guidelines and provide written reasons for all parole decisions. This change directly affects inmates seeking parole and the board's decision-making process, though the board retains full discretion to approve or deny parole. The revised guidelines must be reviewed every three years and posted online for public access.

HB 54, the Alabama Women's Childbirth Alternatives, Resources, and Education (CARE) Act, allows pregnant women sentenced to jail to serve probation before incarceration instead of being jailed immediately. It requires jails to offer pregnancy testing within three days of intake, releases pregnant women on probation (with electronic supervision and no fines) if they pose no threat, and mandates they serve probation through 12 weeks after birth. The bill requires women to self-surrender to jail 12 weeks after giving birth, with failure to do so classified as a Class A misdemeanor. This directly affects pregnant women in Alabama facing incarceration sentences, changing their path to jail from immediate admission to supervised probation during pregnancy and postpartum.