Alabama Speaker Demands Halt to Second Prison Amid $635 Million Overrun

Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter requested a suspension of work on the state’s second new men’s prison, citing a financial crisis at the first facility. The demand came in a letter sent to Governor Kay Ivey on Thursday.

The letter arrived by email just before the Alabama Corrections Institution Finance Authority convened to vote on funding for the Escambia County project. Ledbetter noted that the meeting was scheduled only two days prior to the date of the letter. Legislative leaders had not reviewed any change orders or site renderings for the new construction.

"We do not even know what we are being asked to pay for," Ledbetter wrote. "That is the opposite of transparency."

Ledbetter referenced a meeting held on July 20 with members of the Governor’s staff and Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Greg Lovelace. During that session, officials updated him on the status of the Governor Kay Ivey Correctional Complex in Elmore County. The completion date for that facility is now projected for sometime between March and May 2027, a delay from the original target of October 2026.

"During that meeting, we were disappointed, but ultimately unsurprised, to learn that the completion date of that facility was again being pushed back," Ledbetter wrote. He described the project management as a "complete and total chaotic mess." He stated that the department appeared afraid to pressure the contractor, Caddell Construction, due to fears the firm might abandon the project.

The Department of Corrections announced on October 16 that Caddell missed its final completion deadline. The authority is withholding $14.2 million in liquidated damages. The department reported the Elmore complex is 85% complete. Ledbetter characterized the first facility as being more than $635 million over budget and one year behind schedule.

The finance authority approved up to $195 million in new bonds for the Escambia prison in August. Those bonds sold on October 6 for $190,190,000. The Alabama Department of Finance identified Regions Capital Advantage, a division of Regions Bank, as the buyer on Wednesday. Ledbetter estimated the second prison will cost close to $1 billion, bringing the total for both facilities to well over $2 billion. The Legislature authorized $1.3 billion for these projects in 2021.

Ledbetter wrote that the authority is composed largely of Executive Branch public officials who are accountable to the governor. Governor Ivey and Commissioner Lovelace serve on the body alongside State Sen. Greg Albritton and other legislators. Ledbetter argued that committing taxpayers to another major financial obligation without addressing previous failures was an unacceptable risk to public funds.

"To make matters worse, you will be exiting office in less than three months, leaving the next administration to clean up the mess," Ledbetter wrote. He made two specific requests in the letter: halt construction of the second facility and conduct a full investigation into the first.

"No one is disputing that Alabama needs new prisons, but this is simply not the way to go about it," Ledbetter concluded.