Tag: Alabama Legislature
COVID-19 Makes Kindergarten Requirement Bill ‘Priority’
MONTGOMERY — A bill to require Alabama public school students to attend kindergarten or take an assessment to go directly to first grade received its first vote of approval, passing the House Education Policy Committee Wednesday.
Bill sponsor Rep. Pebblin Warren, D-Tuskegee, said her goal is to offer a complete education to students.
“Pre-K is not available for every child in the state of Alabama, so if there is a child who misses pre-K and kindergarten, that child is not ready for the first grade,” Warren said. “So my whole thing is in support of the student being completely ready to go into the first grade when they get there.” Read more.
Also in the Legislature Thursday
House Approves Improved Benefits for Newer Teachers
Legislative Briefs: Alcohol Delivery, License Plate Data Among Bills Gaining Approval
Earlier This Week
Tax Reform, Economic Development Bills Sent to Ivey
Broadband Expansion Bill Passes First Vote in Legislature
School Funding Change on the Move in the Legislature
PTSD Coverage for First Responders, Wiretapping Bill Passes House
Read more on the legislative session.
House Approves Improved Benefits for Newer Teachers
The Alabama House on Thursday approved a bill to modify retirement benefits for newer teachers in the state. Advocates say more attractive benefits, including the ability to roll over sick leave and collect retirement after 30 years, will help with the state’s teacher shortage.
The bill is a scaled-back version of legislation that has previously passed the House and died in the Senate.
Rep. Alan Baker, R-Brewton, told Alabama Daily News that House Bill 93 will reduce disparity between the older Tier I and newer Tier II retirement tracks and help keep young teachers in the state.
Read more.
AI in Crime Fighting, Wine Shipments, Memorial Preservation, Other Topics Discussed in the Legislature Wednesday
MONTGOMERY — Here’s what happened in the State House on Thursday.
Artificial Intelligence
Senate Bill 113 was approved in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sen. Arthur Orr’s bill would put limits on how law enforcement agencies can use artificial intelligence and facial recognition to make arrests. Other factors or evidence must be used, as well.
Tax Reform, Economic Development Bills Sent to Ivey
The Alabama Senate on Wednesday gave final passage to bills preventing the taxing of federal relief funds and revamping the state’s economic development incentives, sending the first two of three priority bills to Gov. Kay Ivey for her signature. Read more.
More from the Legislature this week
Broadband Expansion Bill Passes First Vote in Legislature
School Funding Change on the Move in the Legislature
PTSD Coverage for First Responders, Wiretapping Bill Passes House
Read more on the legislative session.
Broadband Expansion Bill Passes First Vote in Legislature
Legislation to organize and fund greater broadband internet expansion across the state passed its first committee vote on Wednesday with no opposition.
Senate Bill 215 is sponsored by Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston, who is also sponsoring a large gambling bill that if passed would be able to partially fund broadband efforts.
“It was very clear that there was a strong emphasis that if we were able to get a gaming package, we need to address broadband,” Marsh told Senate Tourism Committee members. He chairs that committee.
Read more.
School Funding Change on the Move in the Legislature
Read more on the legislative session.
PTSD Coverage for First Responders, Wiretapping Bill Passes House
Several Bills Were passed in the House on Tuesday. Read more.
Wide-Ranging Gambling Bill Introduced in Legislature
MONTGOMERY — A wide-ranging gambling bill in the Alabama Senate could allow state voters to institute a lottery, expand casino gambling and legalize sports betting.
The proposal, introduced Tuesday by Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston, comes after an extensive report from Gov. Kay Ivey’s study group on gambling showed such proposals could bring in hundreds of millions in revenue and that voters favored expanded gambling.
“I feel good about where the bill is right now,” Marsh told reporters in the State House Tuesday. “This takes a lot of the (study group’s) input into the bill. I think the people of the state are ready to address this issue and want to.”
Read more.
School Funding Change on the Move in the Legislature
Read more on the legislative session.
School Funding Change on the Move in the Legislature
Between the fall of 2019 and fall 2020, 59 public school systems’ enrollment grew by nearly 6,500 students.
But under the state’s current funding structure, systems have to fund most of that growth, including hiring the needed teachers, out of their local tax revenue, and state funding is slow to catch up, if it ever does, educators say. For some of the systems with the largest growth, that’s hundreds of students and millions of dollars.
Senate Bill 9 would amend the state’s Foundation Program to calculate growth so systems don’t have to wait a year for per-student funding, which this year is about $6,271. It would estimate non-virtual enrollment based on the previous years’ growth. Read more.
5G Infrastructure Bill Clears Senate
MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Senate on Thursday approved legislation to create a statewide standard for deploying 5G cellular infrastructure and setting limits on how much money local governments can charge providers for access to utility structures.
“This legislation provides a consistent framework for the deployment of small cells, giving providers some certainty as they invest in local communities to expand this very necessary infrastructure,” bill sponsor Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, said. Read more.
More from the Legislature:
Medical Marijuana, Alcohol Delivery, COVID Liability Bills Pass First Tests
Legislative Session Starts With Caution, Big Bills
Bill Would Filter Emergency Health Orders Through Layman Board in Jefferson County
Read more on the legislative session, which began Tuesday.
Pay Raises, Targeted Funding Increases in Ivey’s Budgets
Gov. Kay Ivey submitted her budget proposals to the Legislature Wednesday, asking for modest pay raises for teachers, school support staff and state workers, along with targeted funding increases for several programs, including the state’s troubled prison system.
Ivey’s proposed Education Trust Fund for fiscal year 2022 totals $7.65 billion, an increase of more than $440 million from the current fiscal year. Her General Fund budget totals $2.45 billion, which is a decrease of $31 million from the current year’s budget.
Both budgets are based on state tax revenue projections, which state finance officials are cautiously optimistic about at the moment. Both budgets also have mechanisms that direct excess revenue to “rainy day” accounts to prevent future budget cuts known as proration.
Read more.
