The Governor’s proposed tax increase is supposed to raise just over $4 million, but many claim it will bring in much more. Here are a few of the proposed increases and changes and the amount they will raise: Cigarette and Tobacco Tax: $205 million. It would raise taxes on pack
Business is booming in Alabama, and the new Senate Majority Leader is reaching across the aisle. Exports Are Up: State exports were up 1.2 percent in 2014, led by shipments of Alabama-made automobiles to almost 100 countries, according to U.S. Commerce Department data. Rising overseas sales of industrial machinery, plastics and more
These desks won’t be empty for much longer! The 2015 Regular Session of the Alabama Legislature starts on March 3 this year (instead of in February) as this is the first year of the Governor’s new four-year term. Watch your inbox for weekly issues of Group
U.S. Representative Terri Sewell, a Democrat from Selma, and Representative Martha Roby, a Republican from Montgomery, recently teamed up for a bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the foot soldiers who took part in the March 1965 voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery. Sewell introduced the bill,
Winton Blount III, the son of the late Montgomery philanthropist Winton “Red” Blount and a 1998 candidate for governor recently died of natural causes. The former businessman and chairman of the Alabama Republican Party was 71. He will be remembered as a great visionary and strategist. Blount was a former
The 2015 Organizational Session of the Alabama Legislature started last week. Leadership roles were filled and budget discussions began. Leadership: The Legislature met on January 13 and 14 to formally elect its leadership for the next four years. There were no surprises as the House predictably re-elected Mike Hubbard of Auburn
Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange recently issued a memorandum to state prosecutors and law enforcement officials reminding them that electronic bingo machines are illegal, and state law, as settled by the Alabama Supreme Court, is “absolutely clear” on the issue. Strange said the Alabama Supreme Court upheld that bingo cannot be
Governor Robert Bentley recently gathered his cabinet to discuss their first-term accomplishments. Bentley said the state announced 63,00o jobs during the last four years, including Airbus, Remington Arms Company and Golden Dragon Precise Copper Tube Group. He said that that size of state government has been reduced by not replacing
Several bits of Alabama education news came out recently. High School Graduation Rate Rises: The State Department of Education recently announced the high school graduation rate has risen to 86 percent. In 2011, the rate was 72 percent; in 2012 it rose to 75 percent, and in January 2013, it was
It’s the time of year to give and get gifts, and we here at The Bloom Group would like to thank all of our clients for the gift of trusting us to help you reach your goals. Our gift to you is our continued promise to serve you with the
