Glenn Stephens

Push for No-Excuse Absentee Voting Likely Going Nowhere

The Alabama Senate approved Tuesday a resolution that says it’s “imperative to the democratic process to propose and adopt” no-excuse absentee voting, but the passage of actual legislation to loosen restrictions on the ballots seems unlikely in the Republican-controlled body. Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, filed a bill Monday that would authorize no-excuse absentee voting. Smitherman’s Senate Bill 335 strikes out the list of excuses that qualify a voter for an absentee ballot and deletes a section of state law that says a voter must have one of those excuses to apply for an absentee ballot. Some cities have been pushing for no-excuse absentee voting in recent weeks. Read more.

by Sara MacNei, for Alabama Daily News

House Committee Approves $7.2 Billion Education Budget

A House committee on Tuesday approved a $7.2 billion 2021 education budget, a first critical step in funding the state's public schools, community colleges and universities. The proposed 2021 Education Trust Fund contains an increase of about $91 million from the 2020 fiscal year budget, but less than the $411 million increase Gov. Kay Ivey proposed before the coronavirus pandemic altered state revenues. Read more.

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

Senate Passes General Fund Budget, Stakes Domain Over Coronavirus Funds

The Alabama Senate on Tuesday passed a General Fund budget totaling $2.389 billion. It includes modest increases for mental health, public health and state prisons, but no state employee pay raises that were expected earlier this year. The fiscal year 2021 budget, which pays for non-education state agencies and services, contains $167 million more than the budget for the current fiscal year, but less than the record levels projected before the coronavirus outbreak impacted the state’s economy. Read more.

by Todd Stacy, Alabama Daily New

Jeffco Commission to Get Information on County’s Stimulus Money

The Jefferson County Commission is likely to go into executive session at its meeting Thursday to get information about the $115 million in stimulus money it received to help the county deal with the effects of the novel coronavirus. The subject came up during today’s commission committee meeting. “There has been lots of information that has come out regarding the use and expenditure of these funds,” said County Attorney Theo Lawson, “and the way that it will be looked at in terms of illegal spending and potential exposure that we have or may not have depending on how we use those funds.” Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

City Council Places May 15 Deadline on Birmingham’s Mask, Public Safety Ordinances

Birmingham has placed a May 15 deadline on its mask and public safety ordinances, bringing them in line with Gov. Kay Ivey’s safer-at-home order. The face mask order — which requires Birmingham residents to cover their faces in public to slow the spread of COVID-19 — was originally passed by the City Council on April 28, but with no expiration date; that omission led District 2 Councilor Hunter Williams to vote against the bill. The council extended the deadline to May 15 a meeting today. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Number of COVID-19 Deaths in Alabama Climbs Above 300 Mark

The number of COVID-19 deaths in Alabama climbed above the 300 mark today, the Alabama Department of Public Health reported. The department said 310 people who tested positive for the coronavirus have died in the state, including 38 since the beginning of March last Friday. The number of those testing positive stood at 8,206. The latest report said 106,003 people have been tested in Alabama. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Change Proposed in State Funding for Students in Growing School Systems

A bill in the Alabama Senate would change the per-student funding model for growing K-12 schools, taking some burden off of local systems to pay for additional students, advocates say. Currently, systems receive a per-pupil allocation from the state based on prior year enrollments. Senate Bill 316 would change the funding formula to account for enrollment increases, projecting growth based on the previous two years’ enrollment growth. Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Bill Would Change Rules for States of Emergency, Public Health Orders

Some state senators want more say in extended emergency orders like the ones put in place in response to the coronavirus. Current law says the Alabama governor can issue a state of emergency for up to 60 days. A bill filed Monday in the State House would limit that to 14 days and then require legislative approval for an extension. Senate Bill 334 also says that no public health order issued by the state health officer will take effect until it is signed by the governor and delivered to the secretary of state. Current orders, like the late March order that closed many Alabama businesses and limited public gatherings, are signed by Public Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris alone. Read more.

by Mary Sell and Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

State House Preview: Lawmakers Want Say in Spending of Federal Coronavirus Funds

The Alabama Senate this week will consider legislation giving it and the House significant say in how the state’s nearly $1.8 billion in federal coronavirus relief money, and future funds, are spent. The Senate General Fund budget committee last week amended an existing bill, Senate Bill 161 related to supplemental appropriations, to create a three-person panel of the governor and the Legislature’s two General Fund budget chairmen to make decisions about that money. “This is almost equal to the General Fund budget; we believe it makes sense that we have a voice,” Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Range, told Alabama Daily News. Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

In Rural Alabama, Pandemic Highlights Need For Broadband Access

Ben Eaton is one of roughly 9,000 people who live in Perry County, about an hour’s drive south of Tuscaloosa in the Black Belt region of Alabama. Eaton’s house is one mile from the center of town and, according to him, it is the last one on the street that has internet. “It works sometimes. Sometimes it doesn’t,” he said.  He has a dial-up connection, which is pretty much the only option. Internet access has been a problem for years throughout rural Alabama. According to one survey, the state ranks 38th nationwide in broadband coverage.  People in Perry County have especially felt the impact during the COVID-19 crisis. Read more.

by Mary Scott Hodgin, WBHM