Alabama Weighs Covid Aid for Prisons After Wall Street’s Rebuff
- Earlier state effort to borrow from Wall Street fell apart
- State was sued by Justice Dept. in 2020 over prison conditions
Photographer: Jose A. Bernat Bacete/Moment/Getty Images
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Alabama asked the U.S. Treasury Department whether Covid-19 relief aid can be used to fund correctional system projects, months after the state was unable to tap Wall Street for financing to build two new prisons.
The Alabama Department of Corrections asked Treasury to allow certain prison infrastructure projects as an eligible use of federal aid, according to a July 15 dated letter to the Treasury. The letter sent by Commissioner Jefferson S. Dunn was sent as part of a comment period on federal rules guiding how to spend the $350 billion American Rescue Plan aid that states and municipalities are receiving.