Alabama Governor Takes Oath Of Office

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – Gov. Robert Bentley says there are no easy solutions to the state’s budget and prison problems.

Bentley, in his second inaugural address, said state leaders face tough decisions as they come into office for the next four years. However, Bentley said state leaders will not shrink away from the challenge.

A budget shortfall and the state’s severely overcrowded prisons are expected to be the biggest problems facing the Legislature when it convenes in March. The governor is expected to give his proposals when he gives his State of the State address in March.

The state General Fund is projected to face a shortfall of more than $260 million. Alabama prisons house roughly twice the number of inmates that they were originally designed to hold.