On Tuesday, the Alabama Senate approved a bill by a 31-0 margin that would end the practice employed by some sheriff’s departments across the state of pocketing extra food money.

The bill, sponsored by Alabama Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, would close a loophole that has been exploited in the past that allows local sheriff’s to personally profit off of surplus meal funds.

“This has been a problem, especially over the last year, and I’m glad the Senate has stepped forward with a solution,” Orr said in a press release. “I appreciate the sheriffs working with us to update the law and end this archaic system where county sheriffs are held personally liable for the money to feed prisoners. As we have seen over the last year, that creates all sorts of perverse incentives. The vast majority of sheriffs in Alabama have acted honorably, but there have been some bad actors who have taken advantage of the system.”

In March 2018, it was reported that the previous sheriff of Etowah County, Todd Entrekin, pocketed more than $750,000 from excess food funds.

Under current law, departments are provided $1.75 per day to feed each inmate and sheriffs are allowed to retain any excess funds.

According to Dallas County Sheriff Mike Granthum, sheriffs are often left to make up the difference if the per-inmate funds don’t cover the cost of feeding inmates.

“That bill’s old,” Granthum said. “It needs to be changed.”

Orr’s bill increases the food allowance for each inmate to $2.25 per day, with 2 percent increases scheduled annually to account for inflation, and forbids sheriffs from keeping any money left over.

“We need help feeding inmates,” Granthum said. “They’re humans, they just made a mistake. They don’t deserve to be punished food-wise.”

Unlike many jails around the state, which Granthum said provide only two hot meals a day or a sack lunch, Dallas County Jail provides three meals a day and has a nutritionist on hand to format each day’s meals.

Additionally, the bill establishes a Prisoner Feeding Fund at each sheriff’s department, which will hold all food money and be earmarked explicitly for feeding prisoners, and places the responsibility of that feeding program on the state.

At the end of each year, 25 percent of any excess funds can be used for jail operations or law enforcement purposes.

For his part, Granthum is welcoming the proposed legislation, which he said the Alabama Sheriffs Association has continually supported and has independently “self-corrected” regarding the practice of pocketing excess food funds.

“We agree sheriffs shouldn’t keep what’s left over,” Granthum said. “I will never accept money from the food bill.”

Granthum noted that his department has the benefit of support from the county commission, which supplements the cost of feeding inmates in Dallas County.

Since the Dallas County Commission took on that role, many commissions across the state have followed suit.

“The commission knew we couldn’t feed inmates for $1.75 a day,” Granthum said. “I’m kind of proud that we were one of the first to see what’s happening.”

The bill is slated to go before the Alabama House of Representatives in the coming weeks, where Granthum hopes it will continue its path toward passage.

“I hope they can see the need,” Granthum said. “It’s hard.”