Growing inmate populations prompt states to look for more prison funding

State legislatures are grappling with how to fund new prisons that Republican governors say are needed to ease overcrowding. A proposal to build a 3,000-inmate prison in Arkansas hit a roadblock in the state Senate on Tuesday, when an appropriations bill fell short. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has said the prison is needed to ease state prison overcrowding, which has caused a large number of inmates to be housed in county jails. In Alabama, lawmakers gave final approval to a bill that would ensure funding for a new mega-prison. The legislation headed to Gov. Kay Ivey would give Alabama the ability to borrow an additional $500 million for prison construction.