State Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, is trying to stop county sheriffs from pocketing money leftover from feeding prisoners in county jails.

Alabama law allows sheriffs to retain surplus money from their inmate food budgets. For many years, the practice has been controversial. The recent case of former Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin saving enough jail food money to buy a $740,000 beach house appears to have been the limit for many voters, making them eager to eliminate sheriffs’ ability to do this, said Orr, who drafted a bill to disallow the practice statewide. The bill, SB228, has just been introduced and is currently in the Senate governmental affairs committee, but will be making its way through the state Legislature in the coming months, he said.

“Personally, I think it reflects poorly on the state, and … it has the appearance of sheriffs being incentivized to underfeed or undernourish inmates while they are in captivity,” Orr said. “If the bill passes, it will eliminate this possibility forever.”

52 still do it

Currently, 52 counties allow their sheriff to pocket unspent jail food money. At one time, the law made sense — sheriffs often lived next to county jails and their wives would cook food for the prisoners.

Voters in Morgan County are so fed up with the practice they recently approved an amendment that would keep jail food money in a separate account that could not be pocketed by the sheriff. Former Morgan County Sheriff Ana Franklin admitted using $150,000 in jail food money for a personal investment. Although she said she replaced the money, she recently pleaded guilty to a related federal charge of not filing a tax return.

Blakely’s pay raise

Some counties have worked out alternatives to pocketing jail food money. For example,

Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely no longer keeps unspent jail food money.

“He does not pocket it because he received a substantial pay raise 10 to 15 years ago, so there is no need for the jail food supplement to the sheriff’s salary,” Orr said. “His salary is tied to the circuit judges and the food fund must be used on prisoners.”

Orr tried before to remedy the situation but the support wasn’t there. He thinks the mood has changed.

“The current system just doesn’t cast Alabama in a positive light,” the senator said.

Last August, Gov. Kay Ivey tried to stop the practice through the state comptrollers office, Orr said. Sheriffs were asked to sign an affidavit that said they would spend the money only to feed prisoners. But, that was not a permanent solution like a law change would be, Orr said.

Raise the per diem

Orr’s bill would also raise the amount of state food aid per prisoner from $1.75 per day to $2.25.

“The per diem has not been raised in some time,” Orr said, noting the federal per diem is much higher.

Orr said he is optimistic about the passage of the bill.