Data acquired from health departments across the Gulf South show that among 12- to 17-year-olds, Black teenagers are getting vaccinated at roughly one and a half times the rate of white teenagers. Read more.
MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Legislature late Thursday passed bills to make it easier for workers in the state to opt out of federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates and prohibit minors from getting vaccinated against the virus without parental consent. Gov. Kay Ivey signed the bills Friday.
Lawmakers worked into the night on compromises between Senate and House-passed versions of the bills. The road to final passage on both bills was bumpy in the week-long special session that was supposed to focus on voting district maps.
At times the legislation pitted the GOP-dominant Legislature against business groups in the state. Senate Bill 9 would allow employees to claim religious or medical exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccine through a standardized form given to employers. The law will sunset, or expire, in May 2023. Read more.
Earlier in the Legislature:
Legislature Wraps Redistricting Work, Sends Maps to Ivey
More than 400,000 kids in Alabama aged 5 to 11 are now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, after the CDC approved Pfizer’s low-dose vaccine for kids. Several families in Jefferson County told WBHM they’re eager to get their shots and move towards normalcy. Read more.
MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Legislature could give final approval Thursday to legislation supporters say protect workers and residents in the state who want exemptions from federal COVID-19 vaccine requirements.
Senate Bill 9 and Senate Bill 15 are two of several bills the GOP-led legislature filed in this special session to push back against federal mandates and protect the unvaccinated. While the mandates for federal workers and contractors and large employers already allow for medical and religious exemptions, supporters of Senate Bill 9 say it creates an easy-to-use form for employees seeking those exemptions.
Senate Bills 9 and 15 put GOP supporters at odds with the state's business community, which argues the legislation creates confusing, dueling mandates on employers. Read more.
Also in the Legislature Wednesday:
Legislature Wraps Redistricting Work, Sends Maps to Ivey
MONTGOMERY — State lawmakers wrapped up their work on redistricting Wednesday, sending all four maps redrawn with Census 2020 data to Gov. Kay Ivey.
The Senate gave final approval to the congressional and Alabama House of Representatives district maps. Meanwhile, the House passed new district maps for the state Senate and the Alabama State Board of Education. Read More
MONTGOMERY — State lawmakers wrapped up their work on redistricting Wednesday, sending all four maps redrawn with Census 2020 data to Gov. Kay Ivey. The Senate gave final approval to the congressional and Alabama House of Representatives district maps. Meanwhile, the House passed new district maps for the state Senate and the Alabama State Board of Education. Democrats raised several objections to the redrawn congressional districts, particularly as it concerns the racial makeup of districts. Sen. Rodger Smitherman said as currently drawn, the 7th District packs too many Black voters into a single district and diminishes their voting power statewide. Read more.
MONTGOMERY — Shipt, the Birmingham-based grocery delivery service, announced Tuesday that it will start same-day delivery of beer and wine from Target, marking the beginning of alcohol delivery in the state. Read more.
MONTGOMERY — Committees in the Alabama House and Senate approved the four bills containing new congressional, state board of education and state House and Senate districts Tuesday, readying them for final passage on Wednesday. Each of the bills cleared committees without changes to the district maps. Some Senators attempted to make changes to the congressional map in the Senate General Fund budget committee but were ultimately unsuccessful. Read more.
Jefferson County commissioners will give final consideration Thursday to a proposal to chip in $500,000 to bring the USFL headquarters and teams to Birmingham. They’ll also take up maps for new commission districts. In Tuesday’s meeting, commissioners also said efforts to get a disaster declaration approved for Oct. 5 flooding are proceeding and discussed other topics. Read more.
The Birmingham City Council has delayed approval of an agreement with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement that would appoint several city police officers as customs officers for ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations jurisdiction. The 3-year deal would provide for the continuation of a previously established task force that District 2 Councilor Hunter Williams said is focused on “combating both human trafficking and large-scale narcotics operations in the city of Birmingham.” Mayor Randall Woodfin asserted that the agreement would not result in deportations or administrative removal of any undocumented Birmingham residents. “I have stated on a pretty consistent basis that the city of Birmingham does not have any interest in doing the federal government’s job, but there’s something more powerful than words, and that’s, like, your actions,” Woodfin said. “We’re not here to do the job of deportation.” But the association with ICE — and the unclear wording of the ordinance — left both advocates and councilors dubious of the proposal. Read more.
MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Legislature's special session on redistricting continued Monday as lawmakers moved quickly to advance three of four new maps based on new 2020 census data on population changes.
The Alabama House approved a new congressional district map while the Alabama Senate approved its own new districts as well as new districts for the Alabama State Board of Education.
Those were the first chamber-level votes on redistricting plans in this fast-paced special session. The House continued to debate Monday night its own new districts proposal, which is drawing opposition from both Democrats and Republicans. Read more.
Also in the Legislature Monday:
Committee Approves Anti-COVID Vaccine Mandate Bills, Move to Senate
