MONTGOMERY — Gov. Kay Ivey has replaced the three members of the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. The new members are Col. Alan Spencer of Tuscaloosa, Melissa Morrissette of Mobile and Walter Bell of Mobile. The appointments require confirmation by the Alabama state Senate, which won’t likely happen until the next regular session in February, but the new members begin serving immediately. Their terms expire in 2022. Read more.
A bill approved on the final day of the legislative session will require more regulation of a drug used in the outpatient treatment of opioid addiction. “What we’re trying to do is set up some guidelines of how opioid addiction ought to be treated in today’s world,” said Sen. Larry Stutts, R-Tuscumbia, sponsor of Senate Bill 425. “(The goal is to steer) people toward buprenorphine and away from cash methadone treatment.” Buprenorphine, under the brand name Suboxone, is a low-grade opiate. It blocks cravings for opioids, without the same high level as methadone. But to treat addiction, its use needs to come with treatment, supporters of Stutts’ bill say. Read more.
The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to replace Municipal Court Judge Cathy E. Daniel with attorney Jermeria Moore, a move that Council President Valerie Abbott said might “politicize the court.” Daniel’s term as judge expired in January, but the council’s decision to replace her was unusual. “This council has never replaced a sitting judge in municipal court before,” Abbott said. “We have always allowed them to either retire, to move to another position if they get elected to another judgeship, or unfortunately, some of them pass away.” Read more.
MONTGOMERY— Gov. Kay Ivey did not sign a human trafficking bill meant to deter individuals from soliciting prostitutes because of a drafting error that could have weakened its intent, supporters said Tuesday. House Bill 262 would have prohibited without a court order the publishing of photos of those charged with prostitution, while allowing publication of photos of those charged with soliciting or procuring prostitution. Ivey's office said the bill as passed by lawmakers was not the sponsors' intended legislation. Read more.
MONTGOMERY — Court-ordered chemical castration of child molesters as a condition of their parole will soon be required in Alabama, but exactly how the treatments will be administered is still being determined. The law, signed by Gov. Kay Ivey on Monday, goes into effect in three months. It requires the Alabama Department of Public Health to administer the treatment. “We’re still reviewing (the law) to understand exactly how our role will work,” Public Health Officer Scott Harris said this week. “We’ve done some work looking at other states, trying to get an idea of how it works.” Read more.
MONTGOMERY — An additional $318 million for K-12 schools is in Alabama’s 2020 education budget, and lawmakers and education leaders say that money will make tangible differences in local schools. Gov. Kay Ivey signed the record-setting education budget into law Thursday. “This budget represents significantly more resources for education,” Senate education budget committee chairman Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, said. Here’s what some of the new money will mean to K-12 schools. There’s nearly $190 million more for the K-12 Foundation Program that supports schools’ basic functions. The 2020 total is $3.9 billion. There’s also an additional $27.8 million for transportation. Read more.
MONTGOMERY — A recently-passed bill aimed to spur job growth in rural and urban areas of the state has been signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey. Sponsored by Rep. Bill Poole, R-Tuscaloosa, House Bill 540, dubbed the Alabama Incentives Modernization Act, is a set of tax incentives designed to enhance development in counties that are experiencing slow economic conditions and to help bring new technology companies to the state. Proponents of the legislation say it enhances current incentives, encourages investments in designated opportunity zones and offers a capital gains tax cut for tech companies moving to Alabama. Read more.
Alabama’s public four-year universities will receive funding increases of between about 6% and more than 12% under the 2020 education budget recently approved by lawmakers. “I think all of higher education is happy with where we ended up,” Alabama Commission on Higher Education Executive Director Jim Purcell said Wednesday. During the budgeting process, some university officials and lawmakers expressed frustration over this year's proposed budget including additional money for a few institutions that had previously been underfunded. Purcell said ACHE was attempting to fix “egregious inequities in funding.” Read more.
Plans for a concrete batch plant in the Five Points West community have been placed on hold, but some Birmingham city councilors warned residents that the fight to keep Sherman Industries out of their neighborhood is not over. Read more.
MONTGOMERY — Alabamians won't be able to get wine delivered to their homes anytime soon, but wet counties and municipalities can now have Sunday sales without going through the Legislature. There were several alcohol-related bills in the 2019 legislative session that ended last month. See what passed and what didn't.
