Tag: Alabama Legislature
Committee to Analyze State’s Response to COVID-19
MONTGOMERY — A new joint legislative committee responsible for analyzing how the state responded to the COVID-19 pandemic — and help it prepare for future emergencies — met for the first time on Thursday.
“This is a fact-finding, not a fault-finding committee,” Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, said. He’s a co-chair of the Alabama Pandemic Response and Preparedness Committee, which includes many of the state’s top leaders and will put together a report on lessons learned in the last 15 months.
“The goal of this commission is to move forward,” Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed, R-Jasper, said. “We don’t need to throw rocks about what we maybe should have done, or could have done, or what we did.”
Read more.
Poole, Ledbetter Announce Runs for House Speaker
MONTGOMERY — Rep. Bill Poole, R-Tuscaloosa, and Majority Leader Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, on Tuesday said they both plan to seek the Alabama House’s top leadership spot after current Speaker Mac McCutcheon leaves office next year. Read more
Also read: House Speaker Mac McCutcheon Will Not Seek Reelection
House Speaker Mac McCutcheon Will Not Seek Reelection
MONTGOMERY — House Speaker Mac McCutcheon will not run again for his House District 25 seat and, therefore, also will be retiring as speaker after the 2022 elections, Alabama Daily News has learned.
In an email to his House colleagues obtained by ADN, McCutcheon said he and his wife, Deb, made a family decision to “enjoy our golden years” away from the State House. Read more.
Bill Banning Medical Treatment of Trans Youth Back in 2022 Session
A bill to block the medical treatment of transgender youth in Alabama, one of the most controversial bills of the Legislature’s 2021 session, will be back in 2022. Read more.
As other states drew fire for passing restrictive election laws, Alabama skirted outside the limelight. But changes were made here, too.
Fourteen states passed 22 election laws this year, some of which caused a stir as voting advocates complained that they restricted the rights of voters, while others argued the new laws were needed to add security to the vote.
Alabama has eight new election-related laws this year out of 27 voting-related bills introduced in the Legislature. While some stirred opposition in the state, it was nothing like the national outrage over changes in some other states.
That’s at least partly because Alabama already had adopted one of the most controversial bills passed in other states – a requirement that voters show ID at the polls was passed here in 2014 – and because Georgia attracted so much attention for its ban on delivering water to voters standing in line at the polls.
Alabama did pass a few other laws. One to ban curbside voting, which was not being offered in any of the counties, anyway. Others require a partial post-election audit in three counties, move up the deadline for applying to vote by absentee ballot, and specifically make it a crime to vote in Alabama and another state, for instance. Read more.
Alabama House Democrats Host 5th Annual Pro-Growth Policy Conference
MONTGOMERY— The Alabama House Democratic Caucus is hosting its 5th annual Alabama Pro-Growth Policy Conference this week with special keynote speaker U.S. House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn, D-NC. Read more.
Chemical Castration Law Hasn’t Been Used Since 2019 Enactment
MONTGOMERY — An Alabama statute requiring chemical castration for certain convicted child sex offenders has not been used after being passed two years ago. The law was national news when it was passed in 2019, but its lack of impact is mostly due to the relatively minor scope of cases in which it could apply. Read more.
‘Retain Alabama’ Effort Looks to Keep Bachelor’s Degree Recipients in State
Knowing that nearly half of Alabama’s public university bachelor’s degree earners are working in other states five years after they graduate, state leaders are funding more efforts to keep that talent pool at home.
In the 2022 state education budget, lawmakers allocated $800,000 for a new “Retain Alabama” initiative to introduce college students to opportunities for them in the Yellowhammer state.
“Our state has been a low-growth state and we have to do all we can to retain that knowledge capital that we’re losing every year when they leave,” said Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, chairman of the Senate education budget committee. Read more.
Ivey, Lawmakers Talk Next Steps on Prison Plan
Gov. Kay Ivey and some legislative leaders met Wednesday to discuss possible next steps after the governor’s proposal to lease three new men’s prisons stalled earlier this month.
“No decisions were made today; this was simply an opportunity for an update on where we are and what needs to happen, going forward with respect to improving our prison infrastructure,” Ivey said in a written statement.
The meeting included Ivey, Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn, Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed, R-Jasper, Speaker of the House Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, and the Legislature’s two General Fund budget chairmen. Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, and Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Range.
Officials did not disclose the details of what was discussed, but called the meeting productive and the first of several. Lawmakers earlier this year balked at a nearly $3 billion price tag on Ivey’s 30-year prison lease plan and said they’d largely been excluded from discussions.
Read more.
State of the State House: Officials Consider What to do With Building in Disrepair
When replacement parts are needed for the Alabama State House’s electrical system, some have to be “scavenged” because the system is so old that new parts are no longer available.
Meanwhile, the HVAC system has outlived its intended lifespan and is contributing to mold issues in the nearly 60-year-old, eight-floor building, according to a recent facility condition assessment by a Georgia-based engineering firm.
The report has renewed discussions about the health and safety conditions of the building and the need for a new building, or at least significant renovations. The report and springtime presentation to the Legislative Council outlined some concerning conditions in the building and about $51 million in renewal costs needed in the next 10 years.
The bottom line is that lawmakers need to act on the condition of the State House and the costs will be significant, Rep. Victor Gaston, R-Mobile, told Alabama Daily News on Tuesday. Gaston is chair of the Legislative Council, which owns the State House.
Read more.
