Government

Cooper Green Mercy Health System Executive Director Resigns

Less than a week after the Jefferson County Commission hired a deputy director at Cooper Green Mercy Health System, Executive Director Armika Berkley today resigned from her position. Her last day is Aug. 16. Efforts to reach Berkley were unsuccessful. County manager Tony Petelos acknowledged receipt of the letter and said Berkley’s resignation has been accepted. He said the resignation was unanticipated. “She’s just moving on,” Petelos told BirminghamWatch. “She’s been with us over two years now. We were very fortunate to have her during this period of time. “It’s been difficult at Cooper Green over the past several years with the work that’s going on and the lack of staff that we have,” he said. “We’ve lost some key positions over there.” Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Congressional Votes for the Week Ending June 21

WASHINGTON – Alabama’s delegation in the House of Representatives split along party lines last week on a vote aimed at funding the Trump administration's proposed addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census. The House voted 192 for and 240 against the amendment, which was offered to a $690.4 billion spending package (HR 3055) for fiscal 2020 that remained in debate at week's end. The outcome of the census affects many things, including some federal funding and the number of congressional seats a state is allocated. Amendment opponent Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., said the amendment would “reduce the accuracy and increase the undercount in places like Florida, Texas, Alabama, Michigan, California and New York. This, in turn, will affect reapportionment and the distribution of federal funds for the next decade in many of the communities we represent.”

by Voterama in Congress

Why No One Opposed a $31M Transfer From Alabama’s Education Budget

MONTGOMERY — In the last days of the legislative session, in late May, lawmakers quickly and quietly transferred a tax revenue worth nearly $31 million a year from the state’s education budget to the General Fund budget to fill a "hole" created by other financial commitments. Those normally opposed to diverting money from schools to other state expenses didn’t complain. Education advocacy groups were relieved the education budget didn’t get stuck with the growing expense of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, so losing a small, flat revenue source was an acceptable tradeoff. Some Republicans have said they didn’t know many details of the transfer, but leadership said the idea wasn’t new. Democrats in the House say they didn’t have time to oppose it. They found out about it when it was on the House floor on the second to last day of the session via an amendment to an economic incentives bill they supported. If they tried to kill the transfer, they’d kill the incentives. “What do you do?” said House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville. “You go on record voting against a bill for rural incentives?” Daniels said. “Or do you approve an amendment that there’s a year to contend with?” Read more.

by Mary Sell and Todd Stacy, Alabama Daily News

Next Phase in Minimum Wage Battle Begins Tuesday

Oral arguments are slated to begin this week in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals as part of the latest stage of a prolonged legal battle over Alabama’s minimum wage law. The focus of the case is the Alabama Uniform Minimum Wage and Right-to-Work Act, which was passed by the state Legislature in 2016, quashing an attempt by Birmingham’s city government to raise its minimum wage from the federal minimum of $7.25 to $10.10. The act gives that authority exclusively to the state — meaning that raising the minimum wage above the federal level can only be done by an act of the Legislature. Plaintiffs in the case, which include several Democratic state legislators, the Alabama NAACP and Greater Birmingham Ministries, allege that the law was racially motivated; state Attorney General Steve Marshall has argued, instead, that the state law has no racial animus and was based on purely economic factors. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Housing Out of Reach of Many Minimum Wage Workers

A new report concludes that housing costs outpace wages at such a rate that now a worker being paid the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour has to work nearly 127 hours – the equivalent of more than three full-time jobs – to afford an average two-bedroom apartment. Read more.

by Virginia Martin

New Law Will Help Medicaid Recoup Money From Estates

MONTGOMERY — Federal rules allow state Medicaid programs to recover money they spent on some enrollees after their deaths, including costs for recipients’ nursing home care and other medical care. But Alabama Medicaid doesn’t always find out when recipients or their spouses die and their assets, such as homes, are sold, state officials said. Now, a new law will require specific notice to Medicaid at the commencement of a probate proceeding. Read more.

by Mary Sell and Will Whatley, Alabama Daily News

Trash Going to Mt. Olive Landfill to Increase

Jefferson County Commissioners were told today that the trash going into the county’s Mount Olive Landfill will be increasing, ultimately doubling from up to 1,500 tons a day to up to 3,000 tons a day. Santek Environmental of Alabama leases and operates the landfills. The additional trash is allowed under the landfill’s permit, which was approved in 2004. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

New Law Helps Firefighters Diagnosed with Cancer

In Gene Necklaus’ 36-person Scottsboro Fire Department, he’s seen three firefighters in recent years diagnosed with occupation-related cancers. One of them died last year. The other two were able to return to work after treatment. One had $20,000 in out-of-pocket expenses, including deductibles and co-pays, Nicklaus said. “It shouldn’t cost him because he got cancer on the job,” Necklaus, president of the Alabama Association of Fire Chiefs said. Fire officials around the state praised a new Alabama law that will require local governments to provide supplemental insurance coverage for career firefighters diagnosed with cancer. Read more.

by Caroline Beck and Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Academy Drive Being Upgraded

Deputy Jefferson County Manager Cal Markert talks about the cooperative effort between the county and the city of Bessemer to make upgrades to Academy Drive. The project aligns with the ongoing construction of the Amazon Fulfillment Center. Watch the video.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Cities Opposed 5G Bill Because They Wanted Better Terms

A north Alabama lawmaker says telecommunications companies’ ability to offer 5G service has been stalled by cities that want too much money for access to their existing infrastructure, including utility poles. But city leaders say they opposed 5G legislation that died in the recent session because it would diminish their control of their rights-of-way and fees and ability to set their own application approval schedules.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News