Government

House Approves Improved Benefits for Newer Teachers

The Alabama House on Thursday approved a bill to modify retirement benefits for newer teachers in the state. Advocates say more attractive benefits, including the ability to roll over sick leave and collect retirement after 30 years, will help with the state’s teacher shortage. The bill is a scaled-back version of legislation that has previously passed the House and died in the Senate. Rep. Alan Baker, R-Brewton, told Alabama Daily News that House Bill 93 will reduce disparity between the older Tier I and newer Tier II retirement tracks and help keep young teachers in the state. Read more.

by Mary Sell and Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

Tax Reform, Economic Development Bills Sent to Ivey

The Alabama Senate on Wednesday gave final passage to bills preventing the taxing of federal relief funds and revamping the state's economic development incentives, sending the first two of three priority bills to Gov. Kay Ivey for her signature. Read more. More from the Legislature this week Broadband Expansion Bill Passes First Vote in Legislature AI in Crime Fighting, Wine Shipments, Memorial Preservation, Other Topics Discussed in the Legislature Wednesday School Funding Change on the Move in the Legislature PTSD Coverage for First Responders, Wiretapping Bill Passes House Read more on the legislative session.

by Mary Sell and Todd Stacy, Alabama Daily News

Broadband Expansion Bill Passes First Vote in Legislature

Legislation to organize and fund greater broadband internet expansion across the state passed its first committee vote on Wednesday with no opposition. Senate Bill 215 is sponsored by Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston, who is also sponsoring a large gambling bill that if passed would be able to partially fund broadband efforts. “It was very clear that there was a strong emphasis that if we were able to get a gaming package, we need to address broadband,” Marsh told Senate Tourism Committee members. He chairs that committee. Read more. School Funding Change on the Move in the Legislature Legislative Briefs Read more on the legislative session.

by Caroline Beck and Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

PTSD Coverage for First Responders, Wiretapping Bill Passes House

Several Bills Were passed in the House on Tuesday. Read more.

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

Wide-Ranging Gambling Bill Introduced in Legislature

MONTGOMERY — A wide-ranging gambling bill in the Alabama Senate could allow state voters to institute a lottery, expand casino gambling and legalize sports betting. The proposal, introduced Tuesday by Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston, comes after an extensive report from Gov. Kay Ivey's study group on gambling showed such proposals could bring in hundreds of millions in revenue and that voters favored expanded gambling. "I feel good about where the bill is right now," Marsh told reporters in the State House Tuesday. "This takes a lot of the (study group's) input into the bill. I think the people of the state are ready to address this issue and want to." Read more. School Funding Change on the Move in the Legislature Legislative Briefs Read more on the legislative session.

by Todd Stacy, Alabama Daily News

Jefferson County Commission May Hire More Road Clean Up Help

Jefferson County commissioners Tuesday put in motion the hiring of temporary workers to address road cleanup. During their committee meeting, Commission President Jimmie Stephens offered a proposal to hire 12 laborers to pick up trash along county roads. That dozen will also aid, as needed, in clean up from the tornado that recently struck Fultondale and Center Point. The proposal, which will be on the agenda of Thursday’s commission meeting, will cover the remainder of the fiscal year. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Mr. Parker Goes to Montgomery; Council Approves Trip to Meet With Legislators and Historical Commission

The Birmingham City Council has approved its first official travel since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year. During a virtual meeting Tuesday, the council approved last-minute funding for Council President William Parker to take a two-day trip to Montgomery to meet with Alabama legislators. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

School Funding Change on the Move in the Legislature

Between the fall of 2019 and fall 2020, 59 public school systems’ enrollment grew by nearly 6,500 students. But under the state’s current funding structure, systems have to fund most of that growth, including hiring the needed teachers, out of their local tax revenue, and state funding is slow to catch up, if it ever does, educators say. For some of the systems with the largest growth, that’s hundreds of students and millions of dollars. Senate Bill 9 would amend the state’s Foundation Program to calculate growth so systems don’t have to wait a year for per-student funding, which this year is about $6,271. It would estimate non-virtual enrollment based on the previous years’ growth. Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Candidates Lining Up to Run for Birmingham City Council

UPDATED May 18 — Three months before Birmingham’s municipal elections, the pool of candidates for City Council is shaping up to be a large one. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

‘For everything there is a season’: Richard Shelby Declines Senate Reelection Run in 2022

Sen. Richard Shelby, who has represented Alabama in the United States Congress since 1979 and in the Senate since 1987, has decided that his sixth and current term will be his last. Shelby made the announcement on the Senate floor Monday, and also released it through his official Senate website. It was a call that many political observers in Alabama had expected when the Democrats took the majority after winning Georgia's two Senate seats in runoff elections early in January. “For everything there is a season,” Shelby said to begin his speech. Read more.

by Robert Carter