The House Ways and Means Committee added $26 million to the $1.8 billion General Fund Budget already passed by the Senate; the additional dollars would be added to Corrections, Medicaid and state worker insurance, and with this extra money, the budget was approved by the committee. But the budget still doesn’t have enough in
Governor Robert Bentley signed an executive order last week creating an office of minority affairs. According to Governor Bentley, office staff will offer guidance on issues impacting minorities and women with the goal of improving the quality of life for both groups. He went on to say education, health, political engagement, criminal
We’re close to halfway through the regular session, and this past week saw education issues take center stage (see articles below). Here are some of the other bills currently up and their progress: On Tuesday, March 1 (11th day of the session): The Senate approved bills of local application only
Last Tuesday, State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tommy Bice announced he will retire at the end of March. His announcement caps a career of more than 39 years in public education, including the last four years leading the public school system. Bice says the system is moving forward at an accelerated pace due to
The Education Budget is awaiting approval from the full House, and should come up for consideration in that chamber sometime this week. The $6.3 billion dollar budget includes raises for education employees, with teachers and support staff (and anyone making less than $75k) in line to receive a 4 percent hike in pay. Community college employees
This week brought a new lottery bill and saw the Senate pass a budget all while many local application bills and bills to continue various boards sailed through committees and each chamber. On Tuesday, February 23 (8th day of the session): The House Health Committee held public hearings on four
There have been plenty of lottery bills proposed, all as a solution to fix the state’s ongoing budget shortfall issues. This week, another one surfaced, this one sponsored by Senator Tripp Pittman (R-Montrose). It would allow Alabama to be a part of multi-state lotteries but not create its own. According to Pittman, this
Alabama is poised to license public insurance adjusters, and the legislature can’t do this soon enough. Extreme weather has been plaguing many parts of the country, and home and business owners are often left feeling helpless and alone in the aftermath of these severe storms and in dealing with the
Thursday night, after much debate, the Senate passed a $1.8 billion General Fund Budget on a 23 to 10 vote. If enacted, it provides level funding for most state agencies, but it prohibits Medicaid from moving to managed care. With plenty of time in the session left, some believe this opens
News & Views from the State House The legislature reconvened last Tuesday, February 16, and learned that plans to build a hotel and conference center on the coast have been blocked by a federal judge (learn more below). They also quickly moved through several sunset bills and bills of local
