Government

JeffCo Seeks People With the Right Stuff for Wastewater Apprentices

The deadline to apply to be a water reclamation facility operator apprentice has been extended to Friday. Already 90 persons have tossed their hats in the ring for 20 positions. Michelle C. Rodrigues, Jefferson County’s director of human resources, told commissioners at their committee meeting this morning that positions as water reclamation facility operators have been difficult to recruit. As a result, the county is developing its own pipeline of workers through its apprenticeship program.

Birmingham Council Appoints 2 to Library Board, Filling the Slate for the First Time in 8 Months

For the first time in more than eight months, the Birmingham Public Library has a full board of trustees. The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to appoint Lynn Flowers-Martin and Mona Lisa Morris to fill two vacant seats on the board.

Birmingham Council Members Spend More than $75K Traveling Near Home and Abroad on City Business

Current members of Birmingham’s City Council spent a total of $78,555 on travel between November 2017, when the bulk of councilors took office, and May 2019, a look at the council’s meeting agendas reveals. That amount does not include trips for which a final total has not yet been approved. Estimated costs for city-funded trips are approved beforehand by the council; after the trip, the council votes again to approve the actual amount spent. District 4 Councilor William Parker tops the list of the city’s most-traveled councilors, having spent $30,334.15 on 41 trips since November 2017. He’s followed by District 5 Councilor Darrell O’Quinn, who has spent $21,554.04 on 13 trips, and District 8 Councilor Steven Hoyt, who has spent $16,136.80 on five trips. District 9 Councilor John Hilliard, with $12,719.07 for 13 trips; District 7 Councilor Wardine Alexander, with $3,174.65 for two trips; and Council President Valerie Abbott, with $346.70 for one trip round out the list. The remaining councilors — District 1 Councilor Clinton Woods, District 2 Councilor Hunter Williams and District 6 Councilor Crystal Smitherman — each have no confirmed travel expenses since they took office, although Woods and Smitherman have each taken one trip, the expenses for which are pending final council approval. Read more.

‘Gut Check’ Session Ends, Here’s What They Did

MONTGOMERY – Sen. Jabo Waggoner, R-Birmingham, has been an Alabama lawmaker since 1966. "I've been through more sessions that anybody here, and this is one of the toughest sessions ever," Waggoner said Friday evening as legislators ended the annual law-making stint that began March 5. "I mean, we're talking lottery, gasoline tax, medical marijuana, abortion. It has been a gut check this year, it really has, as far as tough, impactful votes. But as far as high-profile issues, this session probably ranks No. 1 in my career." Read more.

Education Budget, Medical Marijuana Commission Pass on Legislators’ Last Day in Montgomery

MONTGOMERY — On the last day of the legislative session, lawmakers approved a record education budget, took a step toward medical marijuana legalization and sent to Alabama voters the decision of whether to scrap the elected state school board in favor of a governor-appointed commission. After debates and a change, a bill to give new teachers in the state more generous benefits died in the House without a vote. Legislators ended this year’s regular session Friday, although they are expecting to be called back in the fall for a special session on prisons. Read about the biggest bills that passed and died on the last day.

Voters Will Decide Whether to Have an Appointed or Elected State Board of Education

MONTGOMERY — The Legislature has given final approval to a plan that would replace the elected state K-12 board of education with a new commission appointed by the governor. The voters ultimately will decide whether to make that change. Because it is a proposed constitution, it will go on the ballot for voters’ approval in the next election. Read more.

Literacy, Reading Proficiency, Free Speech and Budget Bills Win Legislative Approval

MONTGOMERY -- Bills to improve student literacy and hold back third-graders who can't read proficiently, define free speech on college campuses, and allocate the state's $2.1 billion General Fund budget received final passage Thursday as lawmakers wind down their 2019 legislative session. Friday is likely the last day of the session, and some major legislation is still pending, including the state's education budget. Lawmakers from both chambers will meet Friday morning to work out differences in the $7.1 billion education budget, and a final vote is expected by the end of the day. Read more.

Legislature Moves to Regulate Pharmacy Benefit Managers

MONTGOMERY -- Legislation aimed at reining in pharmacy benefit managers to save consumers money passed the House by a 101-0 vote Thursday and now heads to Gov. Kay Ivey's desk for her signature. Senate Bill 73, dubbed the Alabama Pharmacy Benefit Managers Licensure and Regulation Act, was sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, and passed the Senate on May 15 by a 27-0 vote. The bill requires pharmacy benefit managers to register with the Alabama Department of Insurance, and outlaws gag clauses that keep pharmacists from telling consumers about cheaper options for prescription drugs and claw backs the require them to charge more for medication. Read more.

‘Difficult’ Budget Negotiations Ongoing

MONTGOMERY — The Alabama General Fund will pay for a health insurance program for low-income children, Senate leaders said Wednesday. But there are still other details in the $2.1 billion budget to be worked out Thursday, which might be the last day of this legislative session. Meanwhile, Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, said Wednesday evening that the court system would not receive money from an Alabama Department of Transportation fund, a budget transfer that has happened for the past 10 years. Read more.

Lawmakers Boost Money for Prisons and Will Return in the Fall to Take on Pervasive Problems

As the Alabama Legislature winds down its regular session, state lawmakers are on track to boost the budget for the state's prisons, they have approved a pay raise for correctional officers, and they expect to meet again in the fall to address other issues in a system that is still overcrowded, under-resourced and under the watchful eye of a federal judge and the U.S. Justice Department. “There are lot of different issues, from mental health to overcrowding, the pay, to facilities,” said Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston. Friday is likely to be the last day of the regular session. On Wednesday, Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law a bill that will give correctional officers “a one-time two-step salary increase,” and expand bonus opportunities for Department of Corrections employees. The measure takes effect Oct. 1, the first day of fiscal 2020. Over the past few years, the Department of Corrections has seen its budgets increase by small amounts. For fiscal 2020, it expects to have a budget of $601 million. Most of that money would come from the state General Fund, which pays for most of state government’s non-educational functions. The Legislature has approved and sent to the governor a General Fund budget that is slated to include money to cover the pay increase signed into law by Ivey, give money to hire and train 500 new corrections officers during fiscal 2020 and improve the prison system’s mental health services. Read more. BirminghamWatch, in collaboration with B-Metro Magazine, documented the conditions under which correctional officers work for a story last year:

Guarded: Alabama Correctional Officers Work Long Hours in Dangerous Conditions for Low Pay – and There Aren’t Nearly Enough of Them.