The Alabama Legislature returned to work on Tuesday, the 10th meeting day of the 2012 session and once again, had a full plate of bills to consider. Tuesday: The House passed a bill to provide tax credits to businesses that invest in or locate in low-income areas. The measure provides
This week Governor Robert Bentley announced plans to overhaul the state’s pension system for state employees and teachers. The plan calls for setting a retirement age of 62 for most employees and 56 for law enforcement officers. Current employees can retire after 25 years no matter their age. The governor
On Thursday, the 11th circuit Court of Appeals issued an order temporarily blocking a section of the state’s immigration law that says courts can’t enforce contracts involving illegal immigrants and another section that makes it a felony for an illegal immigrant to do business with the state. The court issued
The Alabama Legislature returned to work on Tuesday the 8th meeting day of the 2012 regular session and had a productive week. The House passed bills to increase the incentives offered to companies to film movies and television shows in Alabama and to insure that nationally certified teachers receive a
Alabama regulators and public adjuster groups are lobbying state lawmakers to pass a bill that would, for the first time, allow the state to license and monitor the actions of public adjusters. Insurer groups, however, are objecting to the proposal that they say will increase costs. Unlike most states, Alabama
One of the state’s largest foreign-owned manufacturing companies, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, has sent a letter to all Hyundai vehicle dealerships in the United States warning them there might be protests at dealerships concerning Alabama’s new immigration law. A letter from the company’s vice president of national sales said the
Fifteen years ago, State Senator Vivian Figures of Mobile was elected to the Alabama Legislature to fill the seat previously held by her late husband. Since her election, she has pursued a goal to pass a bill to ban smoking in most public places in Alabama. On several occasions, she
The law that put the Sate of Alabama in the middle of the national debate on immigration was before the federal appeals court in Atlanta on Thursday, pitting the state against the U.S. Justice Department and a coalition of civil rights groups. The three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court
This past Tuesday marked the 6th meeting day of the 2012 session. Read this recap of the week’s activity in the Legislature. Tuesday: In the lone committee action on this day, the Senate Constitution and Elections Committee gave a favorable report to a bill requiring lobbyists to report any item
Most newly elected governors form task forces to look at streamlining state government. The reports are beautifully bound and distributed to the members of the task force and then begin to collect dust. In the recent budget submitted to the Legislature, Governor Bentley framed his budget proposal in the context
