AL SB316

Creates a Prison Oversight Coordinator position within the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts to monitor and inspect Department of Corrections facilities, with authority to hire up to two additional staff members.

Requires initial inspections of all close and medium security facilities within 18 months and all other facilities within 24 months, with subsequent inspections based on a three-tier safety and compliance classification system (Tier 1: 12 months, Tier 2: 18-24 months, Tier 3: 18-36 months).

Establishes a 12-member Corrections Oversight Board with legislative members, formerly incarcerated individuals, medical professionals, victim advocates, and inmate family representatives serving three-year terms to oversee the coordinator and hold public hearings.

Grants the coordinator broad access to facilities, confidential communications with inmates and staff, and authority to investigate complaints related to abuse, conditions of confinement, and policy violations, with anti-retaliation protections for those who cooperate.

Requires Department of Corrections employees to report all legal violations to the State Bureau of Investigations and provides one special prosecutor to each district attorney's office with close or medium security facilities; effective October 1, 2026.