A bill to reduce how much state inmates can shave off their sentences under correctional incentive time, also called “good time” has won final approval in the Alabama Legislature.

Good time has been in state law since 1980 but has come under criticism the last couple of years for being too generous and for not being consistently applied. The men charged in the slayings of law enforcement officers in 2021 and 2022 had earned substantial amounts of good time while in prison.

The House of Representatives passed SB1 by Sen. April Weaver, a Republican from Bibb County, by a vote of 79-24. It goes to Gov. Kay Ivey, who can sign it into law.

The bill is named after former Bibb County Deputy Brad Johnson, who was fatally shot in June 2022 while in pursuit of a suspect in a stolen car. The man charged in Johnson’s death, Austin Patrick Hall, has a long criminal record but had accumulated more than 2,000 days of good time while incarcerated, the Associated Press reported. The fatal shooting took place near Weaver’s home.

Rep. Russell Bedsole, a Republican who is a captain in the Shelby County sheriff’s department and supervises the county jail, sponsored the bill in the House today.

During debate on the House floor, Democratic lawmakers questioned whether the bill was the right response to Johnson’s death. They said it was wrong to reduce good time opportunities from other inmates because of the incident. They questioned whether flaws in the good time law were to blame for Hall being released from custody at the time of Johnson’s death.

Most state inmates in Alabama are not eligible for good time. As of January, about 14 percent were eligible, according to the Alabama Department of Corrections. Anyone with a sentence longer than 15 years and those charged with Class A felonies, manslaughter, or sex offenses involving a child are ineligible.

But those who are eligible can substantially reduce their time behind bars. The law categorizes eligible inmates as Class I, Class II, and Class III. Class I inmates can reduce their sentences by 75 days for every 30 days served, Class II by 40 days for 30 served, and Class III by 20 days for 30 served.

The bill by Weaver and Bedsole, if signed into law by the governor, will reduce that to 30 days for 30 served in Class I, 15 days for 30 served in Class II, and five days for 30 served in Class III.

Ivey and Attorney General Steve Marshall have spoken out about what they said were inconsistent and lax policies on good time. In January, Ivey issued an executive order setting new rules for good time, including sanctions to take away good time for inmates who commit violations. Ivey said the changes were needed because the system was too lenient and the rules were applied differently in different prisons.

Marshall was at the State House today for the debate on the bill and expressed his support for the bill.

“It’s not taking anything away,” Marshall said. “It’s not punishing anybody. But instead it’s doing what correctional incentive time is designed to do, is to make sure inmates abide by the rules. And allow them if they’re eligible to get days taken off their sentence.”

Bibb County Deputy Chris Poole was also struck by a bullet during the pursuit in which Johnson was killed. Poole has recovered and was at the State House when the Senate passed the bill in March. He returned today and was on hand when the bill won final passage.

“I’m grateful to see this bill pass and to know that Brad Johnson is going to save the lives of many others,” Poole said today. “Very grateful.

Last year, the Legislature passed a bill to make inmates convicted of manslaughter ineligible for good time. That came in response to the shooting death of Sheffield Police Sgt. Nick Risner in 2021. The man charged in Risner’s death had served only three years of a 10-year sentence for manslaughter because of good time.