Glenn Stephens

State of the State House: Officials Consider What to do With Building in Disrepair

When replacement parts are needed for the Alabama State House’s electrical system, some have to be “scavenged” because the system is so old that new parts are no longer available. Meanwhile, the HVAC system has outlived its intended lifespan and is contributing to mold issues in the nearly 60-year-old, eight-floor building, according to a recent facility condition assessment by a Georgia-based engineering firm. The report has renewed discussions about the health and safety conditions of the building and the need for a new building, or at least significant renovations. The report and springtime presentation to the Legislative Council outlined some concerning conditions in the building and about $51 million in renewal costs needed in the next 10 years. The bottom line is that lawmakers need to act on the condition of the State House and the costs will be significant, Rep. Victor Gaston, R-Mobile, told Alabama Daily News on Tuesday. Gaston is chair of the Legislative Council, which owns the State House. Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

The Secret IRS Files: Trove of Never-Before-Seen Records Reveal How the Wealthiest Avoid Income Tax

This story was originally published by ProPublica. In 2007, Jeff Bezos, then a multibillionaire and now the world’s richest man, did not pay a penny in federal income taxes. He achieved the feat again in 2011. In 2018, Tesla founder Elon Musk, the second-richest person in the world, also paid no federal income taxes. Michael Bloomberg managed to do the same in recent years. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn did it twice. George Soros paid no federal income tax three years in a row. ProPublica has obtained a vast trove of Internal Revenue Service data on the tax returns of thousands of the nation’s wealthiest people, covering more than 15 years. The data provides an unprecedented look inside the financial lives of America’s titans, including Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch and Mark Zuckerberg. It shows not just their income and taxes, but also their investments, stock trades, gambling winnings and even the results of audits. Taken together, it demolishes the cornerstone myth of the American tax system: that everyone pays their fair share and the richest Americans pay the most. The IRS records show that the wealthiest can — perfectly legally — pay income taxes that are only a tiny fraction of the hundreds of millions, if not billions, their fortunes grow each year. Many Americans live paycheck to paycheck, amassing little wealth and paying the federal government a percentage of their income that rises if they earn more. In recent years, the median American household earned about $70,000 annually and paid 14% in federal taxes. The highest income tax rate, 37%, kicked in this year, for couples, on earnings above $628,300. The confidential tax records obtained by ProPublica show that the ultrarich effectively sidestep this system. Read more.

by Jesse Eisinger, Jeff Ernsthausen and Paul Kiel, ProPublica

Petelos Plans ‘Uncommon Retirement Process’

Tony Petelos had planned to have his replacement in place before he retired from his position as Jefferson County manager. But a new county manager has yet to be hired as Petelos counts down to the end of his county career. He laughed Tuesday at the notion that the delay in hiring his successor is because it’s so hard to replace him. “The commission waited,” he said. “They lost two months before they decided to move forward with hiring somebody to do a national search. For two months, nothing happened.” Petelos’ last day officially on the job is Friday, June 18. He has vacation days lined up, so he will remain on the payroll for a while. His will be an uncommon retirement process, he said. “Technically, the way it works is when people retire, we're still paying them but they're not here,” he said. “They clean out their desk and they're gone. I'm gonna do mine a little different. I'm not gonna clean my desk out. I will come back if they need me on certain things.” Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Katie Britt Announces Run for U.S. Senate

MONTGOMERY -- Katie Britt has made it official: the Wiregrass native and former head of the state's largest business organization is running for the U.S. Senate as a Republican. In a campaign announcement video released Monday, Britt said she would "put Alabama first and never apologize for it, championing pro-jobs policies that increase opportunity for hardworking families in every corner of our state. Because we don’t just need a senator from Alabama, we need a Senator for Alabama.” During the late 2010s, Britt served as chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, who is retiring after the end of this term. After her work in Washington, Britt was named president of the Business Council of Alabama, which advocates for pro-business policies on the state and federal level on behalf of member companies. With a little less than a year to go before primary elections, the race for Shelby's Senate seat is starting to take shape. Two Republicans were already in the race: Congressman Mo Brooks and Lynda Blanchard, a businesswoman who was recently ambassador to Slovenia under former former President Donald Trump. Brandaun Dean, former mayor of Brighton, Alabama, is the only announced candidate on the Democratic side. Read more.

by Todd Stacy, Alabama Daily News

Tuberville Talks Military, Vaccines in Montgomery Stop

MONTGOMERY -- U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville made stops in the Capital City Thursday as part of his swing through the state during the Senate recess. After visits to Maxwell Air Force Base and the 187th Fighter Wing at Dannelly Field, Tuberville lauded the missions of Alabama's military installations and spoke of the importance of maintaining them. "There's a lot of tradition here," he said, speaking of Montgomery's history with the Air Force and the "Red Tails" legacy of the 187th. "It's important that we keep it going. Obviously, coming here in the future we've got one of the best weapons the world has ever known in the F-35. We're excited about that. I'm here today to walk around and take a look to see what we can do to move that up, get the needed buildings built quicker and faster..." Read more.

by Todd Stacy, Alabama Daily News

Lawmaker: Pubic Money Shouldn’t Be Used to Influence Voters

A state senator says he is considering legislation to prevent government agencies from spending state money to promote ballot referendums and proposed constitutional amendments. “We shouldn’t use public money to influence voters’ decisions,” Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, told Alabama Daily News on Thursday. “The government doesn’t need to put its finger on the scale, attempting to influence decisions that the voters will need to make.” Orr’s comments were prompted by a Legislative Contract Review Committee meeting on Thursday and information the committee received from the Alabama Department of Conservation about a proposed $200,000 public relations contract. The committee was told that the contract was to inform the public about a 2022 constitutional amendment that, if approved by voters, would let the state borrow $80 million to improve parks. The committee can’t kill contracts, but it can delay them for up to 45 days. It moved to delay Conservation’s Thursday. Read more. More from the Alabama State House

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

New Testing, Revised ‘Implied Consent’ Law Target Drugged Drivers

The number of drugged drivers on Alabama roadways has steadily increased in recent years, and more impaired drivers were found to have marijuana in their systems than alcohol in 2019. “Last year, for the first time ever, THC (marijuana) surpassed alcohol in prevalence in our DUI cases,” Angelo Della Manna, director of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, told Alabama Daily News. His department performs all of the forensic laboratory testing in DUI cases across Alabama. Meth, alprazolam (Xanax) and cocaine rounded out the top five substances found in impaired drivers. Under a law passed in the recent legislative session, Della Manna and law enforcement expect the ability to collect saliva at the roadside and more accurately detect the substances and quantities in a person’s system will get more drugged drivers off the streets. The law adds the collection of a roadside saliva sample to the state’s implied consent law, allowing for oral fluid collection at the time of a wreck or traffic stop. Read more. More news from the Alabama State House Lawmaker: Pubic Money Shouldn’t Be Used to Influence Voters

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

State’s COVID Numbers Stay Steady Over Long Holiday Weekend

The three-day Memorial Day holiday weekend saw little change in Alabama’s COVID-19 data, with averages staying near lows not seen since the early days of the pandemic. In BirminghamWatch’s periodic analysis of COVID data, the 7-day moving average of new cases reported by the Alabama Department of Public Health on Thursday stands at 264.43 per day, which is the lowest that average has been since May 6, 2020. The 14-day average was nearly the same as the short-term mark at 271.29, its best level since May 13 of last year. The 7-day average has dropped from 278.14 a week ago; the 14-day average was not available last week due to a large influx of old, unreported cases that distorted new-case numbers over mid-May. The total caseload from the start of the pandemic is now at 545,028, or 10.9% of the state population of 5.03 million as measured in the 2020 Census. Read more.

by Robert Carter

Lawmakers Considering Federal Covid Relief Money for Prison Fix

As the clock runs down on Gov. Kay Ivey’s plan to lease new prisons, several lawmakers say they want to consider using some of the more than $2 billion in new federal coronavirus relief money on improved prison infrastructure. Earlier this year, Ivey signed lease agreements with Tennessee-based CoreCivic to build two large men’s prisons. Tuesday was the deadline for those agreements to be final, but CoreCivic’s funding has been in jeopardy as support from potential underwriters as fallen away. Meanwhile, lawmakers have signaled to Ivey they want another crack at a state-funded prison plan. Alabama budget makers and leaders are continuing to lay the groundwork for the distribution and spending of Rescue Plan funds. The state this summer will start seeing some of the more than $4 billion allocated to it and local governments in the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan Act. Separately, there is nearly $2 billion going to K-12 schools in the Rescue Plan. Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Report: More Data, Tracking Needed on Prison Education Efforts

While the Legislature and Gov. Kay Ivey this session put more money toward prison education programs and incentivized participation for some with earlier release, the state is not doing enough to track what programs are actually helping offenders find jobs and stay out of prison, a recent report says. Meanwhile, there are still significant barriers to accessing prison education programs, the report from the Alabama Commission on Evaluation of Services said. “The state is not tracking the necessary performance metrics to determine if our educational efforts are working for our population,” Marcus Morgan, ACES director, told Alabama Daily News. “We should know and we can know.” Read more. More from the State House on Alabama prisons: Lawmakers Considering Federal Covid Relief Money for Prison Fix

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News