Glenn Stephens

Jones Says His Vote to Convict Trump Was Not Partisan

U.S. Sen. Doug Jones today said that after considering the evidence through the lens of a prosecutor, he had no choice but to convict President Donald Trump of the impeachment charges brought by the House of Representatives. Ultimately, Jones said, it came down to a president putting his personal interests above the interests of the nation. Jones made the remarks to Cumberland School of Law students and faculty at Samford University in a talk designed to give the future lawyers from his alma mater insight into how he thought through the process and reached what he said was not political decision on his part. Read more.

by Nick Patterson

Lawmakers Pitch Reserve Account for General Fund

Recent growth in Alabama’s General Fund revenues has some lawmakers wanting to save for future lean years. A bill filed Thursday in the Alabama Senate would create the General Fund Budget Reserve Fund. “Although we are currently enjoying the benefits of the longest period of growth that I am aware of, we will have an economic downturn – we always do,” Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville, said. He's sponsoring the legislation. “Creating a reserve and planning for a rainy day is just good public policy. When we save for a rainy day, we will be better prepared when tough times come.” Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Proposed Constitutional Amendment Would Abolish State Auditor’s Office

A proposal in the Alabama State House would do away with the Alabama Auditor’s Office and transfer its duties to the Alabama Examiners of Public Accounts Department. The auditor’s position is created in the Alabama Constitution, so abolishing it would have to be approved by voters through a constitutional amendment.  With voter approval, Senate Bill 83 from Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Gadsden, would shutter the office when Auditor Jim Zeigler’s current term ends in 2022. Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Three North Jefferson Zoning Proposals Win County Commission Approval

Three zoning matters approved today by the Jefferson County Commission provide evidence that growth is coming to the northern part of the county. Commissioners approved one zoning case in Morris and two in Mount Olive. The property at 950 Kimberly Cut-Off Road in Morris set the stage for a two-lot residential subdivision, changing the property from A-1 agricultural to R-1 single family. One case heard today makes way for a 63-lot subdivision at 4901 and 4851 Newfound Road in Mount Olive, rezoning from I-3 industrial and A-1 agricultural to R-7 planned unit development. The other proposes 204 lots at Brookside Coalburg Road and 3885 Hodges Cemetery Road in Mount Olive, shifting the site from I-3 surface mining and I-3 industrial to R-7 planned unit development. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Iowa’s Election Problems Can’t Happen in Alabama, Merrill Says

Problems like the ones in the Iowa Democratic caucus cannot happen in Alabama because the state holds elections, not closed meetings of political parties to select candidates, the state’s top elections official said Thursday. “A caucus is not like any election that we have here,” Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said. “A caucus is administered and counted by (political) parties in Iowa and not by the secretary of state. It has nothing to do with the election process in that state.  “People running the election do not do so on a regular basis,” Merrill said. Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald

JeffCo Commission Approves Fees for Credit, Debit Card Payments to Revenue Department

Travis Hulsey was a bit late for the Jefferson County Commission meeting this morning at the courthouse in Bessemer. “I got caught up in some traffic,” he said later. Upon arrival, Hulsey learned that his request for convenience fees on credit and debit card use for over-the-counter payments to the county’s Revenue Department didn’t face the traffic jam it did two weeks ago. It passed on unanimous consent along with 49 other resolutions. The resolution that passed was Hulsey’s original request of a 1 percent convenience fee, with a $1.95 minimum. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Birmingham City Council Delays Vote on Five Points West/CrossPlex Grant

The Birmingham City Council on Monday delayed voting on an item granting funding to the Five Points West/CrossPlex Business Alliance under the city’s Building Opportunities for Lasting Development (BOLD) initiative. The grant, proposed by Mayor Randall Woodfin’s office, would give the Five Points West/CrossPlex Business Alliance $26,500 to use for a variety of initiatives, including the creation of five new murals, the development of a training and resource program for the area’s business community, the establishment of a business office for the alliance, and the collection of data regarding businesses and commercial properties in the Five Points West commercial corridor. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Court Says Gardendale Must Pay Opponents’ Legal Fees in Failed School System Breakaway

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund got an early Christmas present this week, at the expense of the city of Gardendale. In what may be the last act in the six-year-long saga of the city’s abortive attempt to break away from the Jefferson County Schools, U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala ruled on Monday that Gardendale must reimburse the LDF and attorney U.W. Clemon for costs and legal fees incurred in their effort to stop the breakaway. That effort was victorious for Clemon and his team when the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Gardendale could not split from JefCoEd because the proposed split was motivated by racial animosity. Haikala ruled that Gardendale must pay almost $850,000 in fees and expenses because their effort was in bad faith, and that awarding those fees to the LDF and Clemon “…hopefully will prompt more respectful arguments in the future.” Read more.

by Robert Carter

Jones Gives House of Representatives Shade About “Partisan Bickering” Over Impeachment

Sen. Doug Jones has had a busy week in the United State Senate, and members of his chamber traditionally tend to be subdued in any remarks they make publicly about “the other body,” the House of Representatives. But the Alabama Democrat couldn’t resist getting in a little dig at the House, where an investigation into articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump has been dominating headlines and time on cable news channels. “I really wish that, rather than tuning in to partisan bickering over in the House of Representatives, that the people had been watching the Senate floor this week and last week to see what all we have done in a bipartisan way, and the accomplishments we have done in spite of everything going on,” Jones said at the beginning of a teleconference with Alabama reporters Thursday. Read more.

by Robert Carter

Incentives Keep Samuel Associated Tube Group in Jefferson County

Commissioner Steve Ammons could have been humming the country song ‘Dance With Who Brung You’ as he talked about Jefferson County working to hold onto businesses while striving to add new businesses to its dance card. The subject came up after the Jefferson County Commission today approved an incentive package to keep Samuel Associated Tube Group of Birmingham from leaving the county. Instead, the manufacturer of small diameter electric-resistance-welded and fabricated carbon steel tubing is moving just a few miles away, remaining in the Pinson area. Read more. Related read: Let’s Make a Deal: What Metro Birmingham Cities, Counties Give Away to Get New Businesses

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.