With House Speaker Mac McCutcheon retiring from the Alabama Legislature after four terms in the House and seven years as Speaker, the role of Speaker in the House of Representatives is up for grabs. The two top names vying for the spot right now are House Majority Leader Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) and House General Fund committee chair Rep. Steve Clouse (R-Ozark). Read more here.
Boeing contributes more than $2.7 billion each year to Alabama’s economy, along with 9,400 jobs in its sprawling operations and support network. The global space and defense manufacturer, which is marking its 60th year in the state, conducts a wide range of business activities in the Huntsville region, from protecting the U.S. and its allies with innovative weapons systems to charting new chapters of human space exploration. With more than 3,000 employees in Alabama, Boeing’s operations span variety of research, design and manufacturing activities. Boeing worked with the University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration to complete an economic impact study. Among the highlights of the study:
To mark its 60th anniversary in the state, Boeing awarded two $60,000 grants to the Boys and Girls Club’s STEM programs and the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes program.
Former congressman Bradley Byrne has been named president and CEO of Mobile’s Chamber of Commerce. Byrne served as a state legislator from 2003 to 2007, representing the state’s 32nd Senate district. He was chancellor of the state’s community college system from 2007 to 2009. When Rep. Jo Bonner resigned from congress in 2013, Byrne won a special election to fill the seat, then won re-election in 2014, 2016 and 2018. In 2019, Byrne announced his intention to challenge Democrat Doug Jones, who had won a special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions when he became Attorney General. Byrne lost the primary and since, has worked for Adams and Reese, LLP as an attorney. A committee selected Byrne after an extensive, nationwide search. Byrne enjoyed the support of Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson and Jo Bonner, the former congressman selected earlier this year as president of the University of South Alabama.
Officials in Dothan have formally kicked off a project to build a 100,000-square-foot speculative building in the Sam Houston Industrial Park to better prepare the southeast Alabama city for industrial prospects. The building will be located on a 41-acre site called Lot 3 in the platted industrial park at 102 Austin Court. Construction on the new building is scheduled for fall 2022 completion. The spec building will be a finished shell building with only a few elements needed for completion, including flooring, electrical, sprinkler system and dock/drive-in doors based on the customized needs of the prospect. The building will be expandable to add another 100,000 square feet, with 25-foot-by-50-foot column spacing, and a 32-foot eave height.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey has won the Republican nomination for governor without a runoff, despite having eight opponents. Ivey had more than 55 percent of the vote; Lindy Blanchard was a distant second with slightly more than 19 percent of the vote, and Tim James was the only other candidate with double-digit support with slightly less than 16 percent of the vote. While Ivey was a clear-cut winner, there will be multiple runoffs.
Governor Kay Ivey declared June 15, 2022, World Elder Abuse Awareness Day in Alabama to raise awareness about mistreatment of the elderly. It is estimated at least one in 10 Americans over the age of 60 have experienced elder abuse, and Alabama is not immune to the problem. According to the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR), last year alone, DHR’s Adult Protective Services Division received 11,122 reports of elder abuse across the state. Alabama DHR commissioner Nancy Buckner urged Alabamians to watch for the warning signs and speak up at the first sign of harm, including: increased fear or anxiety; isolation from family and friends; withdrawal from normal activities; unusual changes in behavior or sleep; unexplained injuries; unsanitary living conditions and poor hygiene; and unusual changes in financial spending patterns. The Adult Abuse Hotline number is 1-800-458-7214.
The 2022 regular legislative session may be over, but there’s still a lot of activity happening in Alabama politics. Both the state’s lauded Pre-K program, which is now growing, and Alabama’s governor are getting top marks.
New companies are coming to the state, and existing companies are expanding and increasing investment. Our D.C. delegation continues to score wins for Alabama; recent grant funds secured by Senator Shelby top $12 million.
And as the countless yard signs, television ads and up and down poll movements remind us, it’s election season in the state. Read on for all the news you need to know on these topics and more.
| @thebloomgroup May 11, 2022 Our Founding Principal Hal Bloom was recognized today for 36 years representing @AL_League and it’s been our pleasure. Congratulations Hal!! |
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Governor Kay Ivey has once again been rated as one of the most popular state chief executives in the nation. A nationwide survey was conducted January 1 through March 31 and consisted of at least 601 registered voters in each state. According to the survey, 62 percent of Alabamians approve of Gov. Ivey’s job performance. Her approval rating ranks 8th among all governors and is the highest in the Southeastern United States. The data found by Morning Consult, one of the nation’s most respected research and intelligence firms, mirrors that collected by the firm in 2021. Ivey is currently seeking to serve a second term as Alabama’s 54th governor. While earlier polling showed the governor avoiding a runoff, garnering almost 60 percent support among likely voters in the May 24 primary election, polling in recent days shows Ivey still leading her opponent, but at a margin that leaves the door for a possible runoff.
Alabama’s First-Class Pre-K program was recognized for the 16th consecutive year for meeting 10 out of 10 quality benchmarks recommended by the National Institute for Early Education Research. The state is adding 96 new pre-k classrooms in 35 counties in the fall. The new classrooms, which will open the program up to 26,658 children and bring the state’s total to more than 1,481 classrooms, are made possible by the first round of funding released by the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education. Additional classrooms will be funded based on further evaluation of high-needs areas prior to the commencement of the 2022-2023 school year. The Alabama School Readiness Alliance’s Pre-K Task Force, formed in 2006, first proposed expanding voluntary pre-k access to all families in 2012, and since then, the state’s investment in Alabama’s First-Class Pre-K program increased 694 percent, from $19 million to $151 million. The program has also grown from enrolling six percent of the state’s four-year-olds in 2012 to 42 percent during the 2021-22 school year.
