In 2021, Alabama’s exports surged 21 percent in value compared to the previous year, surpassing pre-pandemic levels and indicating the underlying resilience of the state’s economy. Alabama businesses exported to 189 countries last year, reflecting the vial connection that the state’s high-quality, in-demand products have to the global economy. The
The Alabama Community College System Innovation Center launched the first of several industry-specific programs to help students find immediate employment.The Innovation Center is a $10 million investment made to rapidly train workers for the state’s highest-demand industries. The training includes short-term classes that students can start from anywhere in the state and finish
Senator Del Marsh’s (R-Anniston) bill that would allow parents to put public money towards private education for their children has strong supporters and detractors, but it may not get very much farther, at least this session. Last week, it hit a hurdle, when it was sent to a study commission, often a
The Alabama House passed a bill by Rep. Randall Shedd that will help deliver high-speed internet to places where it’s not available by allowing local grants to be used to expand high-speed internet. It proposes an amendment to the state constitution, which prohibits counties and cities from providing grants or other things of
Despite the “long odds” related to it passing, State Senator Albritton says he will introduce some type of gambling legislation during the regular session. Gambling in the state continues to faces the same obstacles: a higher threshold for a constitutional amendment in the legislature, opposition from Republicans who are against gambling for moral or religious
After a vigorous and lengthy debate, a divided Alabama House committee advanced a bill to repeal the state’s requirement for permit to carry a concealed pistol. Advocates for the repeal say the requirement to undergo a background check and pay the county sheriff to carry a concealed handgun infringes on
In a meeting on Saturday, the Alabama Republican Party’s Candidate Committee voted to take Tripp Powell off the primary ballot in the Senate District 21 race. The Committee held the vote in response to a challenge filed against Powell’s candidacy. The complaint stems from Powell’s $500 campaign donation in 2018 to Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox’s gubernatorial campaign. Maddox is a
The House Education Policy Committee has advanced legislation that would ban transgender students from using school bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity. The committee approved a bill that would require K-12 students statewide to use facilities that match the gender on their original birth certificate. The bill’s sponsor, Rep.
A measure authorizing the inclusion of a Space National Guard within the Alabama National Guard passed in the Alabama Senate last week. The bill, sponsored by Senator Tom Butler of Madison, does not create an Alabama Space Guard, but allows for its creation if Congress and the U.S. Department of Defense
With the 2022 regular session in full swing, a lot of work got done at the State House last week. The Senate approved bills to bring about a major expansion of broadband throughout the state. And bills related to the loosening of some current state alcohol laws made it through both the House and Senate. And
