Alabama bond sale for mega prisons falls $200 million short

By KIM CHANDLER
Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama officials said they are moving forward with plans to build two supersize prisons despite a bond sale falling more than $200 million short of expectations.  The Alabama Corrections Institution Finance Authority hoped to sell $725 million in bonds for the project. Instead, the authority was only able to sell $509 million. State Finance Director Bill Poole told reporters Thursday that the bond sale’s outcome would not impact the construction timeline. The state plans to build two prisons housing up to 4,000 inmates each with a total $1.2 billion construction price tag. Activists had urged buyers to reject the bond offering.