Alabama scored a 66 in the Electoral Oversight category of the State Integrity Investigation, ranking it 27th in the country on that measure. The state scored well on having an agency, the Elections Division of the Secretary of State’s Office, tasked with monitoring the state election process and for having good public access to election
Alabama was scored 65.4 in the Procurement category, ranking it 35th in the country in the State Integrity Investigation. Alabama got high marks for having a competitive bid law, which requires most contracts involving $15,000 or more be awarded through a competitive bid process. This includes contracts for labor, services, work, or purchase or lease
Alabama scored a 61.8 on the Judicial Accountability category in the State Integrity Investigation, but that was enough to rank it 12th-best among states across the country. The state’s low overall score is based in large part on the state having elected judges, an issue of frequent debate in Alabama. The only professional standard candidates
Alabama scored 41.5 in the Political Financing category on the State Integrity Investigation, ranking it 42nd among states. The biggest reason for Alabama’s dismal showing in this category is that the state does not cap political contributions to political candidates from any source. The state had capped contributions from corporations, but it lifted that cap
Alabama chalked up its lowest score in the State Integrity Investigation in the category Access to Public Information. The state scored a 40.6 in that category, ranking it 33th in the country. The state’s low score in this category is almost entirely because it has no central office or defined mechanism for people to complain
Judicial Correction Services, the private probation company that charged Alabama’s poorest residents fees to collect municipal fines on a payment plan, announced it will no longer operate in the state. The company sent a statement to cities that continued to contract with JCS, despite a threat of lawsuits by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which led the push for cities to stop working with JCS.
About half of the 100 Alabama cities that once contracted with a private probation company, JCS, have cancelled their agreements for the company to collect city debts. The cancellations come after the Southern Poverty Law Center in June settled a lawsuit with Clanton, Ala, which had used JCS. The SPLC told officials there, and in about 100 other municipalities, that JCS contracts are illegal and that the company’s fine-collection tactics can amount to extortion. The quick reaction by local governments around the state makes less likely stories like that of Sakeena White, a single mother of three.
In room 716 of the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, 12-year-old Hannah Pallas is motionless, but for an occasional turn of her head and the blink of her eyes, following a series of life-threatening seizures. On the same day, 5-year-old Sydney Michaels is down the hall in room 749, waiting to be discharged after 15 grand mal seizures within 36 hours.
By BARNETT WRIGHT, BIRMINGHAMWATCH: More than 50 patients, including adults and children, are now enrolled in UAB studies to test the safety of a marijuana derivative that has shown promise as a treatment for severe epileptic seizures, according to university officials.
By BRIANNE GURCIULLO, KAREN MAWDSLEY AND KATIE CAMPBELL, NEWS21: Advocacy groups have poured millions of dollars into legalizing both recreational and medical marijuana in states across the country.
