Tag: Alabama Legislature
Lottery, Gambling Compact Bills Introduced in State House
MONTGOMERY — A new version of a lottery bill has been filed in the Alabama House with enough co-sponsors to easily get it through that chamber, if it makes it to a vote.
A different lottery bill filed recently in the Senate also sets up a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians to allow table games at its casinos, including two new sites in Jefferson County and north Alabama. Both bills are constitutional amendments requiring voter approval. Read more.
Inmate Work Release Monitoring Bill Passes House
MONTGOMERY — The House on Tuesday passed legislation that would require state inmates who work outside of the Alabama Department of Corrections facilities to wear electronic monitoring devices. Read more.
School Calendar, Literacy Rollback Bills Stir Debate in State House
MONTGOMERY — An Alabama senator wants to undo a major provision of the 2019 Alabama Literacy Act with legislation eliminating the mandate that students not reading on grade level must repeat the third grade.
In the House, another bill to require longer summer breaks has some powerful co-sponsors. Both bills were filed last week and are now awaiting committee action, but they are already stirring debate in the State House. Read more.
Lawmakers Want Electronic Monitoring of Inmates off ADOC Property
Alabama lawmakers are working on legislation to require some state inmates who work outside of Alabama Department of Corrections facilities to wear electronic monitoring devices. Read more.
Mental Health Bills Advancing in State House
MONTGOMERY — Lawmakers this week began taking action on a package of bills and resolutions related to mental health in Alabama.
“The mental health problem in Alabama is an epidemic, not just a problem,” said Sen. Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman. “The Legislature before most of us got here had to cut the funding … because we were in the Great Recession in 2010.
“We’re feeling the repercussions of that now in today’s society from more and more people that are needing in-patient and out-patient (mental health care), there’s not enough on both sides,” he said.
Those cuts included the closures of three mental health hospitals in 2012 and 2015. Read more.
Lawmakers: Schools Unfairly Hurt by Report Cards’ Treatment of Non-English Speakers
On the most recent state-mandated school report card, Russellville City Schools had a graduation rate of almost 96% and its score for academic growth — improvements made by students — was an impressive 99.46. Ninety-one percent of students were considered college and career ready, better than the state average of 75%, and it had a low chronic absenteeism rate.
Still, the system is labeled a “B,” largely because of its performance in academic achievement, a category of the report card based on students’ performance on a standardized test.
Of Russellville City Schools’ nearly 2,500 students, more than 600 are English language learners who are not proficient in the language.
“That’s 23% of my students who can’t read the test,” Superintendent Heath Grimes said. “We’re giving 660 students a test they can’t read.” Read more.
Statewide 5G Infrastructure Bill Passes First Vote But Cities Still Concerned
MONTGOMERY — A bill that would set a statewide standard for deploying 5G cellular infrastructure, including how much money cities can charge providers for access to existing utility structures, has support from multiple lawmakers, but municipal leaders say the bill takes away too much local control.
Senate Bill 172 would mandate a request process for cities to follow when approached by wireless providers such as AT&T and Verizon and sets a cap on the fees municipalities can charge companies for the use of city-owned rights-of-ways.
It passed out of the Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development committee last week with no opposition.
Read more.
Prison Reform Package Backed by Ivey Promises Better Rehabilitation and Oversight
MONTGOMERY — Gov. Kay Ivey has endorsed a package of criminal justice reform bills as a way to respond to systemic problems within Alabama’s prisons system.
There are five bills and one joint resolution, as well as a recommendation to increase funding for prison education programs by $4.2 million and improve access to mental health care. Read more.
Legislature Approves Bill to Slow Future Occupational Taxes
MONTGOMERY — The Alabama State Senate on Thursday voted along party lines to give final approval to legislation slowing cities’ ability to pass local occupational taxes.
House Bill 147, sponsored by Rep. Chris Sells, R-Greenville, limits municipalities from enacting occupational taxes by requiring any such policy to pass the Legislature as local legislation. Democrats argued strongly against the bill, saying it unfairly hurts the capital
city of Montgomery, which passed an occupational tax last week.
The Senate debated the bill for more than three hours before passing it on a 27-7 vote. It now goes to Gov. Kay Ivey, whose office previously signaled support for it. Read more.
Ban on Smoking in Cars With Children Progresses, but Concerns Over Rights Remain
MONTGOMERY — The Alabama House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill to ban smoking tobacco and using vaping products in vehicles when children younger than 14 are present. But as the bill moves to the Senate, some lawmakers are concerned about policing people’s actions within their property.
The House last week approved House Bill 46, by Rep. Rolanda Hollis, D-Birmingham, in a 78-19 vote. It was amended to add the vaping prohibition and to say that smoking or vaping with children in the car is a secondary violation, not a primary reason a driver can be pulled over.
The violation comes with a fine not to exceed $100.
Hollis told Alabama Daily News she drafted the bill after riding in a vehicle with her husband while he smoked. Read more.
