Government

$13 Billion and a U.S. House Seat Ride on Participation in This Year’s Census

Gov. Kay Ivey and state census officials say participation by Alabamians in this year’s census “will make or break” the state. Poor census participation by state residents could result in the state losing a member of the U.S. House and about $13 billion in federal health care and education funds. Anyone living in Alabama on Friday is being asked to complete the census. For the first time, the census can be completed online, as well as by phone or mail. Letters encouraging residents to complete the census are now being mailed to Alabamians. Kenneth Boswell, director of the Alabama Department of Community Affairs, is spearheading the census in Alabama. Boswell and Ivey pointed out that federal funding disbursements are tied to census data. “It is the most important census the state has ever seen,” Boswell said. Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald

Yoga Still Being Taught to Some Students Despite 27-Year-Old Ban

WBHM Alabama is one step closer to overturning a decades-old ban on yoga in public schools. This week, the Alabama House of Representatives voted in favor of democratic Representative Jeremy Gray’s bill – which would give school systems the option to teach yoga poses and stretches as long as they don’t chant, recite mantras or say “namaste.” Jimi Lee heads the non-profit Yoga & Love and volunteers with Alabama 4H. He tells WBHM’s Janae Pierre that, despite the ban, he’s led yoga at some schools; they just had to call the practice by another name. Read more.

by Janae Pierre, WBHM

Prison Reform Bills Advance

MONTGOMERY — A number of criminal justice bills were approved in Alabama House and Senate committees Wednesday, marking progress for Gov. Kay Ivey's endorsed prison reform proposals and others. Read more.

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

Lottery, Gambling Compact Bills Introduced in State House

MONTGOMERY — A new version of a lottery bill has been filed in the Alabama House with enough co-sponsors to easily get it through that chamber, if it makes it to a vote. A different lottery bill filed recently in the Senate also sets up a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians to allow table games at its casinos, including two new sites in Jefferson County and north Alabama. Both bills are constitutional amendments requiring voter approval. Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Inmate Work Release Monitoring Bill Passes House

MONTGOMERY — The House on Tuesday passed legislation that would require state inmates who work outside of the Alabama Department of Corrections facilities to wear electronic monitoring devices. Read more.

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

School Calendar, Literacy Rollback Bills Stir Debate in State House

MONTGOMERY — An Alabama senator wants to undo a major provision of the 2019 Alabama Literacy Act with legislation eliminating the mandate that students not reading on grade level must repeat the third grade. In the House, another bill to require longer summer breaks has some powerful co-sponsors. Both bills were filed last week and are now awaiting committee action, but they are already stirring debate in the State House. Read more.

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

Alabama Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities Screening Visitors to Battle Risk of Coronavirus; National Groups Advise Strict Limits

Alabama nursing home and national assisted living officials are taking the coronavirus threat seriously enough to analyze visitors’ health even though Alabama did not have any reported cases of the virus late Tuesday. The president of the American Health Care Association, Mark Parkinson, on Tuesday advised nursing homes and assisted living centers to curtail social visits and take steps to keep some employees away. Parkinson recommended that family members not visit nursing homes. Parkinson called the mortality rate at five Seattle-area nursing homes “shocking.” While Alabama nursing home officials have not gone that far, they have increased security for visitors at most nursing homes. Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald

Changes Shake up Birmingham City Council Committees

The Birmingham City Council quietly restructured its committee system Tuesday, voting without discussion to institute several leadership changes and to split the Administration and Education Committee in two. The changes were spearheaded by William Parker, who took over as council president in October. Parker added the new lineup to Tuesday’s meeting agenda as a last-minute addendum, handing out paper copies of the assignments just before the vote was called. “Just make sure we pass that,” he said to the council. Councilors appeared to be studying the list intently up until the moment of the vote. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

New Poll Shows Tuberville Leading Sessions in Alabama Senate Race

MONTGOMERY — A new poll shows former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville with a double-digit lead over former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions in the Republican runoff for U.S. Senate. A survey conducted by Cygnal showed that if the March 31 runoff election were held today, 51.5% of voters would choose Tuberville, while 39.5% would choose Sessions. Nine percent of voters remained undecided. Read more.

by Todd Stacy, Alabama Daily News

House, Senate and President Agree Across Party Lines to Adopt Coronavirus Funding Bill

Voterama in Congress WASHINGTON — All of Alabama’s representatives in Washington last week voted in favor of a bill to appropriate $8.3 billion for public-health initiatives to counter the spread of the coronavirus in the United States while helping the U.S. diplomatic community cope with the epidemic overseas. The vote cut across party lines, being passed by the House and the Senate and signed by the president in just days. Read more.

by Voterama in Congress