Author: Virginia Martin
The Alabama Legislature is returning. Here’s what to expect.
The Alabama Legislature will kick off the 2024 session on Tuesday with work on the state’s two budgets and a host of other issues awaiting them.
Lawmakers this year are expected to take up legislation that would create a voucher-like program for schools in the state and possible legislation creating mandatory kindergarten or something very close to it. Legislators may also consider bills on gambling; ethics and trafficking and kidnapping. Read more.
Givan Bill Would Require Fathers to Pay for Abortions or Have Vasectomies
UPDATED — Alabama Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham is introducing a bill in the upcoming session that would require a father either to pay in the rare case that a woman has an abortion in Alabama or to have a vasectomy.
Addressing more common issues, Givan’s bill would add exceptions to the state’s abortion law in cases of incest and rape and to preserve the health of the mother. Now, the state’s law allows an abortion only to prevent a serious health risk to the mother. Read more.
Birmingham Council Approves $50K for Arts Program at Juvenile Detention Center
The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday approved $50,000 to establish an arts enrichment program at a juvenile detention center. The project, a partnership between the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the F. Ross Bell Detention Center, is to include activities such as music, visual arts, expressive writing and dance to address educational disparities. Read more.
A Call to Call: BSC Alumni Again Urged to Appeal to Legislators to Save Their School
Alumni of Birmingham-Southern College have again received a call to contact state legislators, this time to seek a rewrite of last year’s legislation that had been designed to provide a reprieve from the college’s possible closing. Read more.
Tune In Next Time: Jefferson County Democratic Party Awaits Ruling Before Declaring Its Nominee for Treasurer
Daytime soap operas have nothing on politics in Alabama when it comes to drama.
After seeing both candidates for Jefferson County treasurer removed from the ballot for the March 5 primary, the Jefferson County Democratic Party is awaiting a ruling from the state Ethics Commission to determine whom it can — or can’t — nominate.
Read more.
Journalists Can’t Let Horrors on the Job Get to Them
This post about the mental health effects of reporting on awful news stories kept getting delayed in favor of other timely topics because I figured another news peg would be right around the corner. A risky assumption it was not. Thursday, five journalists witnessed the state-administered suffocation death of an Alabama Death Row prisoner.
Few reporters go a career without having to report on a horrific event, such as a war, a mass shooting or even a violent crime with a single victim. According to the Columbia Journalism School’s Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, the psychological toll of seeing and hearing about the heinousness that people are capable of can include sleeplessness, unwelcomed recurring thoughts of the violence, a sense of impending doom and anger. Read more.
New Alabama Law Aims to Improve Police Interactions With People With Disabilities
Some advocates said the law’s requirement of an hour-long training on working with people with “invisible” disabilities and sensory needs is a good start. Read more.
Commissioners Endorse Amendment 1, Say It’s Needed to Address Local Issues
The Jefferson County Commission on Thursday passed a resolution endorsing Amendment 1 on the March 5 ballot, but not before two commissioners gained greater understanding of the measure.
Joe Knight explained during Tuesday’s committee meeting that the amendment would make it easier for legislators to pass local legislation earlier in the session. It would allow legislators to take up bills that are specific to one county before it takes up the state’s budgets. Normally, the legislators must have 3/5 of a quorum vote to OK a budget isolation resolution, which allows them to take on other bills before the budgets. It often is late in the session before the budgets are passed. Read more.
Earlier This Week:
JeffCo Commission Considers Backing Amendment to Make Passing Local Laws Easier
County Works With Cities for Quicker Emergency Response Times in Unincorporated Areas
Jimmie Stephens said the decline in complaints about lengthy emergency response times in Jefferson County is no accident.
The president of the Jefferson County Commission said it is because the county has established agreements to partner with municipal fire and rescue departments throughout the county to provide service beyond the limits of their town or city. Read more.
Southern Research Opens New Biotech Incubator
Southern Research this week expanded its efforts to encourage the growth of the biotech industry in Birmingham by opening its Station 41 biotech incubator. Read more.
