MONTGOMERY — Last year, the state enacted a program to expand access to broadband internet in rural Alabama. Now, lawmakers say they need to “iron out” the details to make sure the program works properly. State Sen. Clay Scofield, R-Guntersville, is sponsoring legislation that would amend the law to allow more areas of the state to be eligible for funding grants. Read more.
More than 150 scholars, archivists and historians will come to Birmingham over the weekend to discuss how to best collect, preserve and research the history of the LGBTQ community in the South. It’s the first year for the conference, called Queer History South, but organizer Josh Burford, a historian and archivist, said there’s resounding support for the event that helps researchers facing a hard task. “If it’s there at all, it’s hard to find,” Burford said of the materials they look for. Digging into the history of a traditionally marginalized group can be difficult, Burford said. Speakers at the event will include representatives from the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Queer History South is part of the Invisible Histories Project, of which Burford is the director of community engagement. The project is a Birmingham-based nonprofit group that connects universities and libraries with LGBTQ groups and people to help preserve their histories. Read more.
MONTGOMERY — Legislation seeking to curb distracted driving by making it illegal to hold a cell phone while operating a vehicle could be in position to pass the Alabama House of Representatives as soon as next week. Under the bill, drivers would still be allowed to use Bluetooth and other hands-free connections for phone calls and interact with vehicle devices such as back-up cameras. State law already prohibits the act of texting while driving, but bill sponsors say an outright ban on holding electronic communication devices will be more enforceable for police. Also, increased penalties for violations will help drivers think twice before texting or tweeting, lawmakers say. House Bill 6, dubbed "Cici's Law," is being sponsored by Rep. Allen Farley, R-McCalla. He was motivated to develop the bill when he heard about a local teenager, Camryn "Cici" Callaway being killed in a distracted driving accident in February 2018. Read more.
After a protracted and often confused discussion, the Birmingham City Council passed a “post-construction stormwater ordinance” Tuesday, codifying a series of design specifications for new construction projects in the city and bringing Birmingham into compliance with Alabama Department of Environmental Management rules. The ordinance largely centered on changes to construction practices that would bring new development projects — and the way those developments manage stormwater runoff after construction is completed — into compliance with regulations. Read more.
The Birmingham Police Department will soon have two new high-tech crime-fighting tools at its disposal. On Tuesday, the Birmingham City Council approved nearly $75,000 for two law enforcement software systems, PredPol and Assisted Patrol Bait Systems, which are designed to increase patrol efficiency and crack down on repeat offenders, respectively. Read more.
MONTGOMERY — For more than a decade, Alabama lawmakers have debated eliminating the sales tax on groceries, but no proposal has ever passed. Could they now choose to allow cities and counties to reduce grocery sales taxes of their own? State Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, has filed legislation that would give counties or municipalities the ability to reduce or completely remove their sales taxes on groceries. England told Alabama Daily News that he developed the bill because Tuscaloosa City Council members recently decided they wanted to remove the city's sales tax on groceries, only to learn state law prohibited them from doing so. Read more.
WBHM The Alabama Public Charter School Commission approved plans for a new charter school in Birmingham on Monday. The Birmingham school board rejected the i3 Academy application in January, and school organizers appealed to the state. The next step is for i3 Academy and the state to negotiate a contract for the school. It will outline expectations for academic performance, school operations and finances, school officials said. Tommy Bice, former state education superintendent, is part of the team working to open i3 Academy as a K-5 charter school in Woodlawn in 2020. Read more.
Alabama has a voice on the recently appointed House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, but whether “climate crisis” is in Rep. Gary Palmer’s vocabulary is in question. Palmer, elected from Alabama’s Sixth District, is one of six Republicans appointed to the panel by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California. Democrats have a majority eight members appointed by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-California, who said the panel would help Congress respond to “the existential threat of the climate crisis.” Palmer, in a statement announcing his appointment, said he wants the committee to “focus on sensible solutions” but did not acknowledge a crisis and placed “climate change” in quotation marks. That’s not a surprise to some local environmental activists. Palmer was described as a “known climate denier” by the Sierra Club’s Stephen Stetson, who called his appointment “further dismaying proof that congressional Republicans have no real plan to take action on what’s confronting us.” Read more.
MONTGOMERY — Supporters of legislation to regulate the use of marijuana to treat dozens of medical conditions say it’s time for Alabama to join the growing number of states that already allow it. “There are so many reasons to (allow patients access to medical marijuana), but we can’t until we have a regulatory body to do it,” said Rep. Mike Ball, R-Madison, who filed House Bill 243 when the House returned for its regular session last week. The bill would establish the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission to administer a patient registry system for people with qualifying conditions and issue them medical cannabis cards. The bill lists about 30 qualifying conditions, including addiction, cancer, autism, epilepsy, terminal conditions and end-of-life care. Under the bill’s provisions, the commission could add more conditions. Read more.
WBHM The Alabama Public Charter School Commission is scheduled to vote Monday on a proposed charter school in Woodlawn, called i3 Academy. The Birmingham school board recently rejected i3 Academy’s bid to open in the city, and organizers appealed to the state. Read more.
