The Bloom Group would like to congratulate our friend Governor Bentley’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Administration Blake Hardwich as she begins to co-lead Governor Bentley’s new leadership management team along with Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Jon Bargainer.
Seth Hammett resigned as chief of staff to Governor Robert Bentley effective October 8, 2015. Hammett will be replaced by a new leadership management team co-led by Deputy Chief of Staff for Administration Blake Hardwich and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Jon Barganier. Barganier will serve as the primary
2nd Special Session Update The Alabama Legislature returned to start work in the second special session of 2015 on September 8. Over the next several days, legislators looked for ways to raise revenue to cover shortfalls and finally pass a FY2016 General Fund budget. Here’s how they raised approximately $107
Special Session Update The Alabama Legislature returned to start work in the first special session of 2015 on August 3. The issue STILL at hand is the $200 million shortfall in the FY2016 general fund budget and how to best close this gap. The governor and the legislature remain at
The Legislature just adjourned a special session without passing a General Fund budget and with no known plan to address the budget shortfall. This is eerily similar to 1975, when then Governor Wallace called three special sessions to get General Fund and Education budgets without success. In mid-September of that
Governor Robert Bentley announced he was terminating an agreement between the Alabama Medicaid Agency and Planned Parenthood. Records from the Alabama Medicaid Agency show it has paid Planned Parenthood’s two clinics in Alabama $4,351 over the last two years. Bentley said that as a doctor, the issue of human life, from
The Special Session has begun, and legislators are working to solve the state’s budget woes, but that’s not the only thing happening in Alabama. Special Session Called. With very little notice and in an unexpected move, Governor Robert Bentley called the Alabama Legislature into a special session starting this past Monday. A special session
In six months, the citizens and visitors of Tuscaloosa will no longer be allowed to use any tobacco products on property owned by the city. Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox recently issued an executive order banning the use of tobacco, including smokeless tobacco and e-cigarettes, at all City of Tuscaloosa facilities
Alabamians have paid more state income tax and sales tax this fiscal year than last, which points to a growing economy. Through June, net income tax receipts for the Education Trust Fund rose 7 percent over last year. Individuals have paid $3.05 billion in income taxes, an increase of 5
Last week, the Alabama Legislature passed bills to further empower local governments to address matters unique to each, to empower our military service personnel, and to protect our citizens from unwanted and unneeded products entering the marketplace. Tuesday (27th Day of Regular Session): The House passed Senate-passed bills to allow local school systems more
