Government

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

Alabama Delegation Experiences Life in the Minority, with Some New Committee Assignments

Alabama’s freshman lawmakers in Washington are stepping into committee roles — and, in one case, into a brand new committee — as most of the state’s veteran lawmakers continue life in the minority party or experience it for the first time in years. On the Senate side, Republican Sen. Richard C. Shelby has moved from chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee to vice chairman, with Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont assuming the chair. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, Alabama’s new senator, who has moved into office with a high and controversial profile, has secured spots on the Armed Services; Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry; Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; and Veteran’s Affairs committees. Among Alabama's seven House members and two senators, only Rep. Terri Sewell of Birmingham is in the majority party, Read more.

by Brett Davis

5G Infrastructure Bill Clears Senate

MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Senate on Thursday approved legislation to create a statewide standard for deploying 5G cellular infrastructure and setting limits on how much money local governments can charge providers for access to utility structures. “This legislation provides a consistent framework for the deployment of small cells, giving providers some certainty as they invest in local communities to expand this very necessary infrastructure,” bill sponsor Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, said. Read more. More from the Legislature: Medical Marijuana, Alcohol Delivery, COVID Liability Bills Pass First Tests Legislative Session Starts With Caution, Big Bills Bill Would Filter Emergency Health Orders Through Layman Board in Jefferson County Read more on the legislative session, which began Tuesday.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Report: Changes to Habitual Offender Law Needed

A new report urges Alabama leaders to change state laws that mean “death in prison sentences” for inmates convicted of crimes in which victims were not injured. “Condemned,” from the Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, details how Alabama’s Habitual Felony Offender Act is more punitive than most other Southern states’ laws and how keeping these men — many of them now senior citizens — in prisons is costing the state millions of dollars in medical care. “We hope (lawmakers and other officials) realize that hundreds of people are still trapped in life without parole sentences for crimes where there was no physical injury and who if sentenced today would do a fraction of their current sentences,” Appleseed Executive Director Carla Crowder told Alabama Daily News. Read more. More from the Legislature: Legislative Session Starts With Caution, Big Bills Marsh Steps Down, Reed Steps Into Pro Tem Role in the Senate Bill Would Filter Emergency Health Orders Through Layman Board in Jefferson County Read more on the legislative session, which began Tuesday.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Marsh Steps Down, Reed Steps Into Pro Tem Role in the Senate

MONTGOMERY — After ten years of leading the Alabama Senate as president pro tempore, Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston, officially stepped down from the upper chamber's top job Tuesday, relinquishing the role to Sen. Greg Reed, R-Jasper. The friendly leadership transition, first reported in November, became official as lawmakers opened the 2021 legislative session. Turning in his letter of resignation to the secretary of the Senate, Marsh thanked his colleagues, staff and family for their support during his tenure as pro tem, the longest in Senate history. "It has been a privilege to serve as pro tem of this body since 2010," Marsh said from the Senate floor, choking up at moments. "I believe we've accomplished some great things together." Read more.

by Todd Stacy, Alabama Daily News