Government

Revamped Gambling Package Goes to House Floor

MONTGOMERY -- A wide-ranging gambling package advanced in the Alabama Legislature Tuesday and is expected to be considered on the floor of the House of Representatives on Thursday. The plan, which passed the Senate in April, would institute a lottery, authorize sports betting and legalize casinos around the state. It has since been awaiting action in the House of Representatives, where previous gambling legislation has struggled in recent years. There are three pieces of legislation: a constitutional amendment that would go before voters in November 2022 and two enabling bills fleshing out the details of gambling policy and enforcement procedures. Each passed through its respective House committee Tuesday. Read more. More from the Legislature: Judicial, DA Pay Changes Go to the Governor Bill Would Allow Police to Issue Citations Rather Than Make Arrests Read complete coverage of the Legislature

by Todd Stacy, Alabama Daily News

Birmingham City Council Approves Incentives for HBCU Classic at Legion Field

Legion Field is adding another HBCU football classic to its schedule. The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to approve an agreement with Morehouse College and Tuskegee University to host their annual match-up for three years, starting this October. The deal calls for the city to provide up to $500,000 per year in incentives and in-kind services to host the event. The Tuskegee-Morehouse Classic previously has taken place in Columbus, Ga. — but Mayor Randall Woodfin, a Morehouse alumnus, told the council that organizers “have not felt the support they need” to stay there. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Legislature Takes Up Wine Delivery, Budgets, Bonds for Parks and More Bills as Session Winds Down

MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Legislature met for the 27th legislative day of its 30-day regular session Thursday. Here's what happened at the State House. Home Delivery of Wine  Alabamians could start ordering wine shipped directly to their homes starting Aug. 1 if Gov. Kay Ivey signs a bill sent to her Thursday. Read more. More from the Legislature this week: Literacy Act Delay Bill Running Out of Time Bill to Limit State Emergency Declarations Moving in the House Bill Requiring Accommodations for Pregnant Workers, Other Bills Won't Get Vote Bill Puts Into Law Unemployment Benefit Fraud Protections Bill Would Ban All Chemical Abortions in Alabama

by Caroline Beck and Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Bill Requiring Accommodations for Pregnant Workers, Other Bills Won’t Get Vote

MONTGOMERY — The House Judiciary Committee heard Wednesday about Democrats' bills to protect pregnant employees in the workplace, prevent discrimination based on hairstyles and alter some of the state's parole rules. But committee chairman Rep. Jim Hill, R-Moody, didn't have the committee vote on any of the proposals, saying it was too late in the session. With four legislative days left, bills would have to be fast-tracked to clear both chambers.  Read more.

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

Bill to Limit State Emergency Declarations Moving in the House

MONTGOMERY — A bill to shorten state of emergency orders and take away the governor’s power to restrict activities during a public health emergency passed a House committee Wednesday. Read more.

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

Literacy Act Delay Bill Running Out of Time

A bill to delay next year’s requirement to hold back third grade students who aren’t proficient in reading is running out of time in the Legislature. The Senate-passed measure was discussed for more than an hour in a public hearing Wednesday in the House Education Policy Committee. Committee Chairwoman Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, opted not to vote on the bill and said the committee may take it up Tuesday. If approved there, it would need a House vote during the two remaining legislative days of this session. Sponsor Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, said the pandemic has greatly altered education delivery in the state to the disadvantage of students. He argued the holdback requirement, part of the 2019 Literacy Act, should be delayed two years. Otherwise, too many students will be held back. Read more. More from the Legislature this week: Bill to Limit State Emergency Declarations Moving in the House Bill Requiring Accommodations for Pregnant Workers, Other Bills Won't Get Vote Bill Puts Into Law Unemployment Benefit Fraud Protections Bill Would Ban All Chemical Abortions in Alabama Legislature Nearing Passage of State Budgets as Session Nears End

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Bill Puts Into Law Unemployment Benefit Fraud Protections

Earlier this month, Lad Drago received an email notification from the Alabama Department of Labor saying someone had filed an unemployment insurance claim against his Spanish Fort insurance agency. He went to the state’s online system for more information. “Lo and behold, Lad Drago was the claimant, and they had my Social Security number, as well as my date of birth,” Drago said. This began hours of trying to get more information about the fraudulent claim, including telling a Department of Labor representative it was a fake. He was pointed to a claims dispute webpage. “That’s where everything really started getting frustrating,” Drago told Alabama Daily News. He said he tried multiple ways to convey to Labor that payments shouldn’t be made to the bank account set up to collect the money. He said there’s an out-of-state phone number attached to the claim and a strange email address. On Monday, he received a notice of payment on the claim. Read more. More from the Legislature this week: Bill Would Ban All Chemical Abortions in Alabama Legislature Nearing Passage of State Budgets as Session Nears End

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Bill Would Ban All Chemical Abortions in Alabama

MONTGOMERY — A bill that would outlaw all chemical abortions, or the use of prescription “abortion pills,” in Alabama will get a public hearing Wednesday in a House committee. House Bill 377, from Rep. Andrew Sorrell, R-Muscle Shoals, would make it a Class C felony for anyone in the state to administer medication that is commonly used to end a pregnancy during the first trimester. Sorrell said he thought the bill was needed now after seeing a push in some states to increase access to the medications through telemedicine means, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more. More from the Legislature this week: Legislature Nearing Passage of State Budgets as Session Nears End

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

Birmingham Agrees to Sell Old Ensley High to Be Redeveloped as 244-Unit Housing

Plans are moving forward to redevelop the former Ensley High School property as a 244-unit housing development. The Birmingham City Council approved an ordinance Tuesday selling the campus, which has been abandoned since 2006, to the North Carolina-based Zimmerman Properties for $50,000. The city also will provide incentives for the project in the form of a grant of up to $1.5 million, some of which will come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Home Investment Partnerships Program. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Alabama Avoids Loss of Congressional Seat with Slight Population Gain

Alabama avoided the loss of a congressional seat as its population grew from 4.8 million in 2010 to 5.03 million last year, according to figures released Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau. State officials had feared Alabama would lose one of its seven seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and one of its nine Electoral College members, based on the 2020 census. The census is taken every 10 years, and the 435 seats in the House are apportioned according to the population of the states. The Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama released in analysis in January, predicting Alabama would keep its seven congressional seats and that New York would lose one seat. Read more.

by Virgina MacDonald