June 5, 2023 Group Watch: Day-by-Day, Play-by-Play
On Wednesday (28th day of of regular session): On Thursday (29th day of of regular session):
On Wednesday (28th day of of regular session): On Thursday (29th day of of regular session):
Last week, Governor Kay Ivey signed the state’s largest-ever Education Trust Fund and General Fund budgets, as well as two supplemental spending bills. The budgets are set to govern for the fiscal year starting October 1. The education budget will channel $ 8.8 billion from the Education Trust Fund, marking
State lawmakers reached a final agreement on how to cut the grocery tax. As prices have risen across the country, Alabama’s 4-percent sales tax on food has remained the same, leaving families with the compounded expense – until now. Thanks to the state’s historic $3 billion budget surplus, legislators passed
The Retail Theft Crime Prevention Act passed by the Alabama legislature last week and headed to Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk will add teeth to existing retail theft laws and help Alabama prosecute retail crimes and punish the criminals. The bill outlines two new offenses: retail theft and organized retail theft.
An anti-vaping bill with bi-partisan support also has stiff opposition, which led to it being carried over by the Senate on Thursday. The bill seeks to keep kids and teens from vaping by making vaping illegal for anyone under 21 and creating a state registry of those who sell vaping products to
A bill to ensure parents retain the right to raise their children unanimously passed the Senate after passing the House by an overwhelming majority. Representative Kenneth Pashal (R-Pelham), the bill’s House sponsor, called parental rights “natural rights that can’t be taken by government.” It now awaits Governor Ivey’s signature. Read more here.
Governor Ivey has signed The Alabama Property Protection Act into law. It prohibits the governments of China, Iran, North Korea and Russia from purchasing certain property in the state, including property used for agriculture or forestry or property that is within 10 miles of military installations and other critical infrastructure,
Governor Kay Ivey signed legislation that will ban transgender women from playing on female sports teams in college, making Alabama the latest state to place restrictions on transgender athletes. She says the law is about “fairness,” and the legislation expands the state’s existing 2021 ban on transgender athletes on K-12
Last week, Governor Ivey touted her support of Alabama’s hard-working teachers pointing to the 2-percent pay raise included in the budget she signed and noting that when added to pay raises she’s supported in previous years, the increase in pay for teachers during her time as governor totals 15 percent. Read her
University of Alabama’s Coach Nick Saban is tackling the issue of collegiate athletes being paid for usage of their “name, image and likeness” in endorsements. He’ll be leading a group of other SEC coaches, athletic directors and others on a trip to Washington D.C. where they’ll ask Congress for assistance in