MONTGOMERY – A new poll of Alabama Republicans shows voters are open to a prison infrastructure plan, want the State House open to the public and support both charter schools and the Alabama Literacy Act. In addition, a plurality of Republican voters supported the 2019 gas tax increase, known as Rebuild Alabama. State lawmakers and
The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to approve using $18 million in American Rescue Plan funds to cover unexpected extra costs in construction of the city’s Bus Rapid Transit system. The BRT project, which will create a 10-mile, higher-speed public transit corridor through 25 neighborhoods, broke ground in December. But last week, Charlotte Shaw, the city’s deputy director of capital projects, told councilors that the project had run into rising costs in the construction industry — a “perfect storm” resulting from COVID-19’s strain on the market. Even with significant cuts, she said, the city would need at least $14 million more to complete the BRT, which originally had been budgeted for $45.8 million. Read more.
The Jefferson County Commission on Friday named Cal Markert as the new county manager, effective Oct. 1, 2021. Markert has been deputy county manager while the commission looked for a replacement for its first county manager, Tony Petelos, who retired in June. Read more.
MONTGOMERY – Summer discussions between lawmakers and Gov. Kay Ivey’s administration on how to fix the state’s crowded and crumbling prisons have entered the draft legislation phase. Officials aren’t talking publicly about the details, but Ivey said she’s “encouraged” by the work done so far. A draft bill prepared at the State House calls for new and renovated prison infrastructure over a 10-year period. “While there has yet to be a final plan in terms of legislation, I’m encouraged by the progress being made from the ongoing discussions with the Legislative leadership,” Ivey told Alabama Daily News in a written statement. “For several months, they have engaged with our team, and I can assure the people of Alabama that we are like-minded and laser-focused on finding a solution to our decades-long problem within our correctional facilities. I’m extremely hopeful they are on the right-track, and I am encouraged by their holistic approach to this issue.” Read more.
MONTGOMERY – A new state commission studying how to help released inmates stay out of prison spent much of a meeting Wednesday working on a definition of recidivism that all state agencies can use. One of the goals of the Joint Commission on Reentry is to create a definition so the state can implement best practices to aid those leaving prisons and create a safer Alabama. Cam Ward, director of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Parole, said during the meeting that since every state agency defines recidivism differently, it is a nearly impossible task to settle on a singular meaning and mission. Read more.
The Birmingham City Council is set to allocate $18 million of the city’s American Rescue Plan funding toward the construction of the city’s Bus Rapid Transit system. The project, which will create a 10-mile, higher-speed public transit corridor through 25 neighborhoods, broke ground in December. But rising construction costs due to the COVID-19 pandemic had placed significant strain on the project. Read more.
The Alabama Department of Transportation recently moved $7 million from a road fund to help cover administrative costs for the last three months of the fiscal year. The department said the move is allowable and typical late in a budget year. The money is coming from ALDOT’s Public Road and Bridge Fund, which consists largely of gas tax receipts and federal funding receipts, but not the 2019 gas tax increase. That account, known as the Rebuild Alabama Fund, is specifically prohibited from being diverted from road and bridge projects for other purposes. State agencies often transfer Legislature-allocated money between funds throughout a budget year, as allowed by law. The actions have to go through the Department of Finance. Still, the decrease in road funding and increase in administrative funding first reported by Alabama Daily News Monday gives some lawmakers pause. Read more.
Huntsville is now the largest city in Alabama, surpassing Birmingham by 14,273 residents, according to new information from the U.S. Census Bureau. However, the Birmingham-Hoover metro area and Jefferson County still reign supreme in the state, topping the next-largest areas by hundreds of thousands of residents each. Read more.
William Bell wants to reclaim his legacy.
Lashunda Scales was inspired to run for government office after watching politicians and becoming disenchanted with the way they did business.
