SB227 Summary

• Court or court clerk must send electronic notification to the Department of Corrections through the State Judicial Information System when a defendant is sentenced to the department, with the clerk ensuring electronic entry within five business days of receiving the court's order.

• Department of Corrections must arrange inmate transfer from county jails within five business days of electronic sentence entry, with transfer and transportation completed by the 15th calendar day unless the county participates in the Inmate Housing Cooperative or agrees to delay transfer.

• Counties are not financially responsible for health care costs of state inmates, whether provided on-site or off-site; the Department of Corrections bears all health care expenses.

• Establishes the voluntary Inmate Housing Cooperative allowing counties to temporarily house state inmates for a maximum of 90 days; the department must develop a uniform memorandum of agreement by August 1, 2020 with the Alabama Sheriffs Association and Association of County Commissions.

• State inmates convicted of violent offenses, Class A felonies, or escape are ineligible for county jail housing under the Cooperative; counties receive payment of at least 50 percent of the average daily cost of state inmate care, paid within 45 days of invoice.