Category: Alabama Legislature
Higher Education Looks to Fix ‘Egregious Inequities’ in Funding for Some Universities
The record $7.1 billion education budget approved in the Alabama Senate last week contains at least 5% increases for the state’s public four-year universities, but a formula to get more money to underfunded institutions met with some concern.
“I represent an institution that feels like they were not made whole in the budget,” Sen. Tom Whatley, R-Auburn, said in a budget committee meeting last week.
His complaint was about the Alabama Commission of Higher Education’s attempt to address what it says are “the most egregious inequities in funding” at some universities.
The proposal would increase funding to some universities where the funding doesn’t match up with that of other schools across the nation that have similar missions, student bodies and degree production. Read more.
Legislature Advances Broadband Bill, Funding
MONTGOMERY — Expanding access to high-speed broadband internet has been one of the hallmark issues in the Alabama Legislature the past two years. Most lawmakers agree the issue is a priority, but how exactly to go about it remains the subject of much debate.
The Alabama Senate on Thursday approved a 2020 education budget that includes $30 million in potential grant money to expand broadband internet access in the state. If approved by the House and signed by the governor, that money would go to fund a program enacted last year that helps subsidize the cost of internet providers running fiber-optic lines to less-populated areas. Read more.
Legislature Passes Jail Food Funding Bill
Updated: MONTGOMERY — Legislators gave final approval Thursday to the jail food funding practices that allowed one Alabama sheriff to buy a beach home and earned another the nickname “Sheriff Corndog” could soon be history.
The Senate agreed to changes made in the bill when it moved through the House earlier this week. It now goes to Gov. Kay Ivey. The bill would stop county sheriffs from pocketing leftover jail food funds and set new parameters for how county jail meal money is handled. . Read more.
Lottery Proposal Would Boost Turnout for Presidential, US Senate Primaries
A lottery proposal on the March 2020 primary ballot could increase Alabama’s voter participation in the presidential and U.S. Senate primaries.
“If this lottery bill is on the ballot on March the 3rd, you can expect another record-breaking turnout for a presidential primary,” Secretary of State John Merrill said this week.
“I think it certainly boosts turnout,” David Mowery, a political consultant in Montgomery said about a lottery. “But trying to figure out who it helps is interesting.” Read more.
House Members Sponsoring County-Specific Church Deadly Force Bills
Afraid the statewide bill they support will again die, some Alabama House members are sponsoring bills to clarify that church members in their local counties can use deadly force if threatened. Read more.
House Passes Bill to Criminalize Abortion
MONTGOMERY — The Alabama House of Representatives approved legislation Tuesday to criminalize almost all abortions performed in Alabama.
Seventy-four Republican House members voted for the bill, three Democrats voted against it. Many other Democrats had already left the chamber in protest when the vote was taken.
House Bill 314 makes performing an abortion a Class A felony, but women who seek or have abortions would not be criminally liable. The only exceptions in the bill are if there is a serious health risk to the woman or if the fetus has a “lethal anomaly.”
The bill now goes to the Senate.
Bill sponsor Rep. Terri Collins, R- Decatur, said on the House floor that it is designed as a challenge to Roe v. Wade, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision, and to redefine when life begins.
“When I was pregnant with my first child, my grandmother went with me to have the ultrasound,” Collins said on the House floor while introducing the bill. “When we saw that little hand on the screen, we waved at it because we knew it was a person.”
“Is that baby in the womb a person? I believe our (state) law says it is, and our people say it is, and our technology says it is,” Collins said.
There is no exception for rape or incest in Collins’ bill. Read more.
Bill Would Protect Forest Owners From Fire District Fees
Disputes between timberland owners and some fire districts have resulted in statewide legislation to prohibit any district from assessing fees or dues on timberland.
“We have, unfortunately, local fire districts throughout the state and some of them, we feel like, have been taking some measures, i.e., issuing some costs, on their own,” Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, said. “The (Alabama Forestry Association) and such have felt we have to do something to protect the landowners.”
Senate Bill 282 would leave fire protection on privately owned property used for timber production to the Alabama Forestry Commission, a state agency. The bill, which would affect money paid to Jefferson County fire districts including the one in Center Point, was given a favorable report on a 11-0 vote in the Senate Forestry, Conservation and Agriculture Committee earlier this month. The next stop is a vote in the Senate.
Fire district fees as high as $8 an acre per year have been reported in Jefferson County.
“I don’t want to call out folks, but it is my understanding that most of the issue has been raised in the northern part of the state,” Albritton said.
Gene Necklaus, president of the Alabama Association of Fire Chiefs, said the issue appears to be between a few holding companies and one or two fire districts. Read more.
Momentum Shifts on Bill to Repeal Common Core
When it comes to student achievement in math and reading, Alabama is near the bottom of the list. If you ask state Sen. Del Marsh, he’d blame Alabama’s poor performance on standards for teaching math and language arts in public schools.
Marsh wants to repeal the nationwide academic standards known as Common Core this legislative session. But the proposal seems to have lost some momentum. Read more.
Senate Passes Lottery Plan
MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Senate on Thursday passed a constitutional amendment calling for a statewide vote on a lottery.
Senate Bill 220, sponsored by Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, would put the question of establishing a lottery on the ballot in next March’s presidential primary, the nearest statewide election. The plan calls for a paper lottery and allows Alabama to participate in multi-state “Mega Millions” jackpots, among others.
The bill passed 21-12, which was the minimum vote total needed to secure Senate passage. The narrow vote came after more than three hours of intense floor debate and deliberation over amendments.
“I’m pleased, a little surprised and grateful it’s over,” Albritton said. “I came in fully anticipating this to be a very, very close vote, but we never had 21 votes in our head counts.
Read more.
Lawmaker Passionate About Banning Cell Phones While Driving Strikes Bill on House Floor
A bill to prohibit the use of hand-held cell phones and other devices while driving was supposed to get a vote in the Alabama House on Thursday, but in an unusual move, the sponsor effectively killed his legislation.
Rep. Alan Farley, R-McCalla, said on the House floor that a new version of the bill is sponsored by Rep. K.L. Brown, R-Jacksonville.
“He’s going to do a fantastic job and that legislation is going to save lives,” Farley said. Later, he said he won’t comment on why he removed his name from the legislation until after it becomes law.
Brown also wouldn’t comment on the change of sponsorship. Read more.
