Category: Alabama Legislature
Lawmakers Boost Money for Prisons and Will Return in the Fall to Take on Pervasive Problems
As the Alabama Legislature winds down its regular session, state lawmakers are on track to boost the budget for the state’s prisons, they have approved a pay raise for correctional officers, and they expect to meet again in the fall to address other issues in a system that is still overcrowded, under-resourced and under the watchful eye of a federal judge and the U.S. Justice Department.
“There are lot of different issues, from mental health to overcrowding, the pay, to facilities,” said Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston.
Friday is likely to be the last day of the regular session. On Wednesday, Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law a bill that will give correctional officers “a one-time two-step salary increase,” and expand bonus opportunities for Department of Corrections employees. The measure takes effect Oct. 1, the first day of fiscal 2020.
Over the past few years, the Department of Corrections has seen its budgets increase by small amounts. For fiscal 2020, it expects to have a budget of $601 million. Most of that money would come from the state General Fund, which pays for most of state government’s non-educational functions.
The Legislature has approved and sent to the governor a General Fund budget that is slated to include money to cover the pay increase signed into law by Ivey, give money to hire and train 500 new corrections officers during fiscal 2020 and improve the prison system’s mental health services. Read more.
BirminghamWatch, in collaboration with B-Metro Magazine, documented the conditions under which correctional officers work for a story last year:
Guarded: Alabama Correctional Officers Work Long Hours in Dangerous Conditions for Low Pay – and There Aren’t Nearly Enough of Them.
Medical Marijuana Study Commission Could be Voted on Thursday
The Alabama Legislature’s new version of a medical marijuana bill wouldn’t legalize its use but instead would set up a study commission to make recommendations for the 2020 legislative session.
Fantasy Sports Bill Passed by Legislators
MONTGOMERY – The Legislature gave final approval Tuesday to a bill that would allow Alabamians to wager on fantasy sports.
Sponsored by Rep. Kyle South, R-Fayette, House Bill 361 would allow adults to place bets on fantasy sports through sites such as FanDuel and DraftKings. The bill passed the House on May 8 by a vote of 74-22. But the Senate amended it to raise the tax rate on operators. The House approved that amendment Tuesday, and it now goes to the governor. Read more.
Pardons and Paroles Overhaul Bill Advances
MONTGOMERY — A bill to overhaul the state Board of Pardons and Paroles advanced through a Senate committee Tuesday over the objections of the current board leadership, Democrats and prisoner advocates. Read more.
$7.1 Billion Education Budget Clears House, Varies From Senate Version
The Alabama House of Representatives approved a $7.1 billion education budget Tuesday, but its final passage still depends on agreement with the Senate on several points, including health insurance for low-income children.
House education budget chairman Rep. Bill Poole, R-Tuscaloosa, told his colleagues the proposed budget, a nearly $500,000,000 increase over the current budget, would not fix all of the state’s education problems but is part of the equation.
“This is a positive budget for the state,” Poole said.
It was approved 99 to 0 with four abstentions. Read more.
Parents, Teachers, Lawmakers Divided Over Making 3rd Graders Repeat if They Fail Reading Target
UPDATED — The Legislature today passed the Alabama Literacy Act to require flunking third graders who don’t read at grade level. The bill is headed to Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk.
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, and modeled on a Mississippi law.
“In my heart I believe that if we pass a child out of the third grade that cannot read, we are failing that child,” Collins has said.
But not everyone agrees on the idea of holding children back because they don’t have the reading skills of other children in their grade. Some educators, parents and policy makers believe the practice sets students up to fail. They also think that automatic retention penalizes poor children. One study found that children of wealthier parents are 14 percent less likely to be retained than the child of a high school dropout, even though the students’ test scores were the same.
Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Craig Pouncey said the Literacy Act offers no long-lasting reforms and no recurring revenue.
“The bill has its aspirational points, but there is no adequate funding,” Pouncey said before the final passage.
“This bill ignores the retention aspects of schools,” Pouncey said. “If a student is retained, it is unlikely they will graduate, and no parent wants older, more mature boys (who have been held back) in their 12-year-old daughter’s class.” Read more.
Budgets Remain a Sticking Point as Legislature Enters Final Week, CHIP Funding Still on the Line
MONTGOMERY — Alabama’s two proposed 2020 budgets are a combined $9.24 billion dollars, but their final passage depends on an agreement about $35 million for low-income children’s health insurance.
“The CHIP issue is probably the biggest right now — who is going to handle the CHIP issue,” Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh said about funding the state’s $35 million match to the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Whether the state funds it through the $2.1 billion General Fund or the $7.1 billion Education Trust Fund remains the biggest sticking point facing lawmakers as they enter what is likely the last week of the 2019 legislative session. Read more.
BirminghamWatch’s Nick Patterson looked at the importance of the CHIP program before it was renewed by Congress last year.
Lawsuit Filed Challenging Alabama’s Abortion Law
The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Alabama and Planned Parenthood filed a federal lawsuit Friday seeking to block Alabama’s strict new abortion law.
“We are proud to take this fight to the state,” Staci Fox, president of Planned Parenthood Southeast, said. “They asked for it, and we promised it, and today we delivered.” Read more.
Bill to Allow Former Convicts Access to More Occupations Advances
MONTGOMERY — Alabama lawmakers are close to removing many restrictions in state law about where convicted felons can work.
“Everyone says we want people who get out of prison to be employed, taxpaying citizens,” Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, said Thursday. “But then the government puts barriers in the way of people getting jobs.”
There are more than 700 places in Alabama law that restrict the occupations and business licenses of the felons. For example, they can’t be interior designers or get some cosmetology licenses, Ward said.
Read more.
Fantasy Sports Bill Stalls in Senate
MONTGOMERY — A bill that would allow Alabamians to wager on fantasy sports stalled in the Senate Thursday but is expected to be brought back to the floor after the Memorial Day weekend.
Sponsored by Rep. Kyle South, R-Fayette, House Bill 361 would allow adults to place bets on fantasy sports through sites such as FanDuel and DraftKings. The bill passed the House on May 8 by a vote of 74-22.
Fantasy sports contests allow fans to draft players from real professional rosters and select teams to compete against peers in regular contests. Many sports are offered, but professional football, basketball and baseball are the most popular.
Playing fantasy sports is legal and common in Alabama, but betting on the contests is no longer allowed.
Read more.
