WBHM Federal officials released a report Wednesday alleging conditions in the state’s male prisons violate the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, along with three U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the State of Alabama issued the findings. Read more.
Trafford Mayor Greg Rogers wasn’t present in the Jefferson County Commission chambers this morning but the spirit of TV’s Mister Rogers was as 22 Jefferson County mayors signed the Good Neighbor Pledge. The pact discourages poaching between cities in the county. Each city represented in the agreement pledges not to recruit business from another city within the county. “Under the voluntary agreement, we as mayors promise we will not lure businesses away from other cities in Jefferson County through solicitation or incentives,” Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said. “I’m convinced the Good Neighbor Pledge will lay a better foundation for our cities’ future … all of us within the county.” Woodfin said not having a pledge such as the one signed today put Birmingham at risk of losing small businesses, including shops, grocery stores and restaurants. “When a business closes in one city and moves to a neighboring city, we’re not creating new jobs, we’re not creating opportunities,” the Birmingham mayor continued. “We’re just shuffling them around.” Read more.
WBHM Violence is the newest strategic focus for the Jefferson County Department of Health. During Tuesday’s annual State of Health in Jefferson County address, Dr. Mark Wilson said the department added the issue in response to increasing rates of homicide. “It (violence) isn’t something that our health department has devoted resources to in the past,” Wilson said, “but it is clearly a public health problem.” Read more.
MONTGOMERY — Legislation being considered in the Alabama State House could offer better retirement benefits to public school teachers and many city and county government employees, as well. Read more.
Bingo was the subject of a lengthy discussion this morning as members of the Jefferson County Commission met for their committee meeting. Commissioner Lashunda Scales sought clarity on the county’s stance on bingo in general and electronic bingo machines that are being licensed for operation by a number of Jefferson County municipalities. Read more.
The Birmingham City Council decided Tuesday that the neighborhood officers it is sending to a conference in Palm Springs, California, don’t have to write reports to share the knowledge they gained with the city. The council in its March 19 meeting approved sending up to 297 people, three from each of the city’s neighborhoods, to the Neighborhood USA conference. At about $1,600 per person, the trips could cost the city roughly $475,000. Read more.
WASHINGTON — The House on March 27 voted 242 for and 187 against a bill (HR 7) that would expand federal prohibitions on paycheck discrimination based on gender while giving women additional legal tools for obtaining equal pay for substantially equal work. The bill now goes to the Senate. The vote was largely along party lines, including members representing Alabama. U.S. Rep Terry Sewell, D-Birmingham was the lone yes vote in the state’s delegation. Read more.
A bill in the Alabama Senate is seeking to tighten up the rules when it comes to companies screening potentially illegal workers through the federal E-Verify system. Senate Bill 71 from Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, would require businesses with five or more employees to swear via affidavit to their usage of the E-Verify system before they could receive a city or county business license. Under the bill, the affidavit would be supplied by the Attorney General’s Office, and noncompliance would be a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500. Companies already are required to use the E-Verify system under a mandate from the state’s 2011 anti-illegal immigration law. However, only 60 percent of new Alabama hires had their legal status to work confirmed by E-Verify in 2017, according to a report in Stateline, a publication of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Orr said he modeled the bill after a law in Georgia, where up to 94 percent of new workers now are screened through E-Verify. Read more.
MONTGOMERY — Last year, the state enacted a program to expand access to broadband internet in rural Alabama. Now, lawmakers say they need to “iron out” the details to make sure the program works properly. State Sen. Clay Scofield, R-Guntersville, is sponsoring legislation that would amend the law to allow more areas of the state to be eligible for funding grants. Read more.
MONTGOMERY — Legislation seeking to curb distracted driving by making it illegal to hold a cell phone while operating a vehicle could be in position to pass the Alabama House of Representatives as soon as next week. Under the bill, drivers would still be allowed to use Bluetooth and other hands-free connections for phone calls and interact with vehicle devices such as back-up cameras. State law already prohibits the act of texting while driving, but bill sponsors say an outright ban on holding electronic communication devices will be more enforceable for police. Also, increased penalties for violations will help drivers think twice before texting or tweeting, lawmakers say. House Bill 6, dubbed "Cici's Law," is being sponsored by Rep. Allen Farley, R-McCalla. He was motivated to develop the bill when he heard about a local teenager, Camryn "Cici" Callaway being killed in a distracted driving accident in February 2018. Read more.
