The Alabama House of Representative approved a $2.4 billion budget with a 2-percent pay raise for state employees and some increases to state agencies. The General Fund budget pays for most noneducation services in the state. The budget is 3.3-percet higher than the current year and includes major increases for the Bureau of Pardons
The National Governors Association (NGA) has awarded Alabama a $100,000 Workforce Innovation Network and Workforce Innovation Fund grant to develop innovative policies for reskilling Alabamians who have been displaced by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Governor Ivey, the goal is to provide displaced workers with all the resources needed to
The Alabama Capitol and the Governor’s Mansion are now open to the public. “As more Alabamians voluntarily get vaccinated and our COVID-19 numbers continue in an encouraging direction, it is proper that our state capitol and governor’s mansion are once again open to the public,” Governor Ivey said.
The Alabama Senate failed to get the required 21 votes to approve a measure to expand gambling and establish a lottery in the state. The vote was 19-13. Governor Ivey issued a statement after the vote saying that vote count confirms more work needs to be done and the issue
Senator Jim McClendon (R-Springville) introduced a bill last week to propose a lottery only, what he calls a “clean” lottery bill. He believes (because people in his district have said as much) that the lottery-only approach is what people are most interested in when it comes to expanding gambling in
The bill that will allow dogs on restaurant patios is one step closer to being passed by the legislature; last week, it was approved by the Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee after being passed by the House earlier in the session. The bill allows restaurants to welcome leashed
You might know that Alabama’s official state insect is the regal Monarch butterfly, but the state has an official mascot too, and it’s also a butterfly, an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Read more here.
Military families make decisions on whether they continue to serve based on opportunities for education, job opportunities and healthcare; adequately addressing these issues is seen by the Pentagon as a readiness issue. Last week, the Alabama Legislature made the state “friendlier” to military members and their families when it passed
A bill designed to check Governor Ivey’s emergency powers was headed for the Senate, but has been put on pause for now. Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth and some Republican lawmakers have disagreed with several of the governor’s decisions during the the pandemic, including business restrictions and mask mandates, and feel,
Last week — the fourth of the 2021 regular session — saw debates around gay and transgender issues as well as the FY22 General Fund Budget approved by committee (meaning the House is like to take it up this week) and the passage of multiple board, agency and commission continuation bills. Here’s a rundown of
