Senate bill aims to provide identification cards to parolees
The Alabama Senate last week passed SB102, which will provide a non-drivers identification card for people being released from the Alabama Department of Corrections.
“This legislation will assist our citizens who have been released from our penal system in putting their lives back together,” said Senate Minority Leader Quinton T. Ross Jr. (D-Montgomery). “By immediately providing these residents with identification, they will be better prepared to apply for a job, open a bank account and find a place to live.”
The identification cards will be issued by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and will be provided free of charge to the individual.
If this law passes the Alabama House and is then signed by the governor, upon release from prison, all individuals immediately will be provided with identification cards.
According to the bill, the program would have a target establishment day of no later than Jan. 1, 2018.
“I think it would be a good idea,” Franklin County Sheriff Shannon Oliver weighed in. He said particular for those inmates who have been “in the system” for a long duration, it can be challenging to take care of the logistics of obtaining such an ID card, which is crucial for reintegration into society.
