MONTGOMERY – A new Alabama Daily News poll shows Gov. Kay Ivey and President Donald Trump enjoying high approval ratings among voters in Alabama. In a survey conducted Feb 4-6, 64% of voters approve of the job Ivey is doing as governor while 29% disapprove. For Trump, 58% of Alabama voters approve of his performance
In a state where overcrowded, violence-racked prisons have been a longstanding issue, there are alternatives to prison — diversion is the common umbrella term — that are supposed to keep some offenders out of the system and give them help they need to stay out. These diversions take the form of entities such as drug courts, veterans courts and community corrections. In many instances, these alternatives to prison are successful. But a new report states that in far too many cases, they hinder rather than help those they are supposed to serve. “The perverse reality is that diversion programs actually drive many of the behaviors and circumstances they were devised to mitigate,” states “In Trouble: How the Promise of Diversion Clashes With the Reality of Poverty, Addiction and Structural Racism in Alabama’s Justice System,” a study by the Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice that was released Monday. Read more.
KEY VOTES AHEAD The House will take up bills to protect wilderness during the week of Feb. 10, while the Senate will vote on asserting congressional authority over any U.S. military strikes against Iran. WASHINGTON — The U.S. House voted last week to condemn a Trump administration plan to scale back Medicaid’s traditional status as an entitlement program, in which everyone who meets income or disability criteria are guaranteed set minimum benefits. Instead, the Department of Health and Human Services has proposed to allow states to shift some of their Medicaid offerings to a block-grant program. In a block-grant program, states would set their own rules for what is covered and cap the amount that Medicaid would pay for patient care in a given year. Read more.
Gov. Kay Ivey’s proposed 2021 General Fund budget includes money for a range of one-time projects focused on mental health, forensic sciences and youth services. Ivey’s budget includes funds for a new forensic science lab in North Alabama and more beds at one of the state’s three mental health hospitals in Tuscaloosa. Also, money for renovations at the Department of Youth Services’ residential facility near Montgomery is included in capital project line items totaling $95.3 million. Read more.
U.S. Senator Doug Jones today said that, in the aftermath of the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, he’d like to see procedural changes that would streamline the process in the future. “We’re done, we’re through, we’re moving on. We’re already talking to colleagues about new legislation that we’ll be introducing, one of which may deal with this impeachment,” he said. “I’d like to see some new processes and new rules in place. There’s a lot of talk. There may be some things seen in the next couple or three weeks about that.” Jones made the remarks after speaking to a full house of Cumberland School of Law students and faculty at Samford University in a talk designed to give the future lawyers from his alma mater insight into how he thought through the process and reached what he said was not a political decision on his part. Read more.
Tony Lowden was at the Jefferson County Courthouse on Thursday, speaking to the County Commission. Today, the pastor of former President Jimmy Carter was introduced as President Donald Trump’s appointment as “reentry czar” to help former prisoners as they step back into society. The appointment came during the President’s speech at the North Carolina Opportunity Now Summit in Charlotte. Read more.
U.S. Sen. Doug Jones today said that after considering the evidence through the lens of a prosecutor, he had no choice but to convict President Donald Trump of the impeachment charges brought by the House of Representatives. Ultimately, Jones said, it came down to a president putting his personal interests above the interests of the nation. Jones made the remarks to Cumberland School of Law students and faculty at Samford University in a talk designed to give the future lawyers from his alma mater insight into how he thought through the process and reached what he said was not political decision on his part. Read more.
Recent growth in Alabama’s General Fund revenues has some lawmakers wanting to save for future lean years. A bill filed Thursday in the Alabama Senate would create the General Fund Budget Reserve Fund. “Although we are currently enjoying the benefits of the longest period of growth that I am aware of, we will have an economic downturn – we always do,” Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville, said. He's sponsoring the legislation. “Creating a reserve and planning for a rainy day is just good public policy. When we save for a rainy day, we will be better prepared when tough times come.” Read more.
A proposal in the Alabama State House would do away with the Alabama Auditor’s Office and transfer its duties to the Alabama Examiners of Public Accounts Department. The auditor’s position is created in the Alabama Constitution, so abolishing it would have to be approved by voters through a constitutional amendment. With voter approval, Senate Bill 83 from Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Gadsden, would shutter the office when Auditor Jim Zeigler’s current term ends in 2022. Read more.
Three zoning matters approved today by the Jefferson County Commission provide evidence that growth is coming to the northern part of the county. Commissioners approved one zoning case in Morris and two in Mount Olive. The property at 950 Kimberly Cut-Off Road in Morris set the stage for a two-lot residential subdivision, changing the property from A-1 agricultural to R-1 single family. One case heard today makes way for a 63-lot subdivision at 4901 and 4851 Newfound Road in Mount Olive, rezoning from I-3 industrial and A-1 agricultural to R-7 planned unit development. The other proposes 204 lots at Brookside Coalburg Road and 3885 Hodges Cemetery Road in Mount Olive, shifting the site from I-3 surface mining and I-3 industrial to R-7 planned unit development. Read more.
