The Shady Grove Fire Department will benefit from a “fire sale” transaction between the state of Alabama and Jefferson County. During their committee meeting today, commissioners moved a resolution to the agenda of Thursday’s commission meeting to buy property from the state that is adjacent to the fire department and plan to offer $100. Read more.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin is supporting a bill in the Legislature that would both compel the city to fully fund its pension obligation and increase employee contributions to the pension fund by half a percent. The bill would be Woodfin’s latest step toward correcting the city’s longtime underfunding of the city’s pension plan, which he warned could cause a future financial crisis for the city. HB510 is sponsored by Rep. Allen Treadaway, R-Morris, who was the Woodfin-appointed assistant chief of the Birmingham Police Department from 2018 until his retirement in October. Read more.
U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks of Huntsville filed notice with the Federal Election Commission on Sunday that he will be a candidate for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat of retiring Sen. Richard Shelby. He announced his candidacy Monday at a rally at the Bullet and Barrel indoor shooting range in Huntsville, where he was joined by Stephen Miller, controversial former senior adviser and speechwriter for former President Donald Trump. In a filing with the FEC dated Sunday, the north Alabama congressman set up the Mo Brooks for Senate committee. Read more.
MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Senate on Thursday unanimously approved a record-setting $7.6 billion education budget for 2022. The proposal includes a 2% across-the-board cost of living pay increase for K-12 and community college employees and two other more targeted pay increases for teachers. The bill now goes to the House of Representatives. The Senate also approved Senate Bill 327 to create a program to offer increased pay to middle and high school math and science teachers who meet certain qualifications. Additional money would also be available to those teachers who work in hard-to-staff schools. Read more. Read complete legislative coverage
MONTGOMERY — A day full of contentious bills in the House of Representatives Thursday was paired with multiple motions to cut off debate, which many Democratic members said were “unjust.” Rep. Mary Moore, D-Birmingham, said at one point during the debate that the cloture motions were taking away her right to debate on legislation. “You’ve taken all my voice away when you give up that cloture,” Moore said. House Majority Leader Nathaniel Ledbetter said the motions were necessary to keep Democrats from dragging out debate in an effort to delay or kill legislation. Read more.
MONTGOMERY — Legislation dealing with absentee voting in Alabama overcame the first legislative hurdle Wednesday as the bills passed through the House Constitution, Campaigns and Elections Committee. A bill that would allow for more sites to be opened in a county to accept in-person absentee ballots was debated and approved, as was a bill to require absentee applications be submitted earlier. Read more. More from the Legislature: Committee-Approved $7.6B Education Budget Includes Multiple Pay Raises Riot, Voter Bill Taken Up in Legislature Read complete legislative coverage
A House Committee passed a bill that would increase penalties for those who participate in riots with several changes. Also, the House passed a bill to allow certain individuals to omit their personal identifying information from the state’s voter registration list. Read more.
MONTGOMERY — Across the state, there are about 7,500 positions for math and science teachers in public schools. About 4,600 are filled with credentialed educators, Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, said Tuesday. In an effort to attract and retain more math and science teachers, Orr and other lawmakers are proposing spending about $100 million on a new program to boost qualifying teachers’ pay. The proposal is part of the $7.67 billion 2022 education budget approved Tuesday in the Senate Finance and Taxation Committee. “We’re being more strategic in our compensation conversations,” Orr told Alabama Daily News. He chairs the committee. Read more. More from the Legislature: Riot, Voter Bill Taken Up in Legislature Read complete legislative coverage
The Birmingham City Council approved a loan and incentives program Tuesday that will keep the Woodland Park neighborhood’s Save A Lot location from closing. The city will provide the store, at 873 Dennison Avenue SW, with a 24-month loan not to exceed $1,000,000 at 3% interest. It also will give the company up to $750,000 in tax rebates over the next 10 years. The money will go toward renovations, inventory changes and new staff positions. Read more.
Voterama in Congress WASHINGTON — Congress gave final approval to the coronavirus relief bill this week, but there were other essential issues discussed in Washington, as well. The House passed two bills aimed at strengthening background checks on gun sales, for instance, and the Senate confirmed several key appointments by Biden, including Merrick Garland as attorney general. Here are votes on major issues during the legislative week ending March 12. HOUSE Final OK to Virus Relief Voting 220 for and 211 against, the House on March 10 gave final congressional approval to a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. Read more.
