MONTGOMERY, Ala. — An Alabama House committee on Wednesday approved legislation to require the state’s public health department to inspect both jails and prisons to ensure they meet standards for sanitary conditions.
SB 84, sponsored by Sen. Larry Stutts, R-Tuscumbia, mandates that the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) inspect and recommend correctional measures in cafeterias and other areas in correctional facilities to ensure they are sanitary.
“Every person who I have talked to, their reaction has been, ‘You mean they don’t already do that,’” Stutts told the House Health Committee about ADPH not having the authority to oversee food service areas in jails and prisons. “Everyone just assumes they do, and they don’t. That has been the universal response that I have received.”…