Author

Chip Brownlee

Chip Brownlee is a former political reporter, online content manager and webmaster at the Alabama Political Reporter. He is now a reporter at The Trace, a non-profit newsroom covering guns in America.

News / National / State

Federal appeals court to hear case Tuesday case involving Alabama abortion law

The U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments Tuesday in a case involving an Alabama abortion law passed in 2014. U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Walker in July 2017 ruled unconstitutional a law that changes the way the state handles the court process that allows minors to bypass parental consent for an abortion. … Continued

Chip Brownlee

April 10, 2018

Alabama will soon begin collecting more taxes on online sales from retailers like Amazon

Alabama will soon collect use taxes, similar to sales taxes, on more sales made through online vendors like Amazon and eBay. Gov. Kay Ivey signed HB470, which requires the new taxes to be collected and remitted to the state, into law last week. HB470 was sponsored by Rep. Rod Scott, R-Fairfield. Third-party sellers will be … Continued

Chip Brownlee

April 10, 2018

Ivey signs controversial economic development, ethics bill

The Governor’s Office late Friday announced Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law HB317, a piece of controversial legislation that will essentially exempt a class of individuals dubbed “economic development professionals” from having to register as lobbyists under the state’s ethics laws. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Ken Johnson, R-Moulton, in the House and carried by … Continued

Chip Brownlee

April 6, 2018

A grand jury closed Bentley’s case, but Supreme Court is letting lawsuit against him move forward

Former Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley might have been freed from further prosecution by a special grand jury that closed his case Wednesday, but on the same day, the Alabama Supreme Court refused to intervene in a lawsuit filed against him by former ALEA Secretary Spencer Collier. The Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously denied a writ … Continued

Chip Brownlee

April 5, 2018

Rep. Jack Williams: “I have done nothing wrong”

Alabama State Rep. Jack Williams, R-Vestavia Hills, who was arrested Monday on federal bribery charges, said Tuesday that he’s innocent and will finish his term and continue his campaign for Jefferson County Commission. “I have done nothing wrong, and once the facts are presented, I expect to be found innocent by a jury of all … Continued

Chip Brownlee

April 4, 2018

Tommy Battle criticizes Gov. Kay Ivey for declining invitation to debate

Republican gubernatorial candidate and Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle criticized Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday for having so far refused invitations to debate other candidates in the primary. Several outlets, including AL.com and several television stations across the state, have invited all of the Republican candidates to debate before the June 5, 2018, primary. Ivey is … Continued

Chip Brownlee

April 4, 2018

House sends economic developer bill to governor’s desk

Just before ending this year’s legislative session, the Alabama House of Representatives voted to send a controversial economic development bill — one that would exempt a large group of “economic development professionals” from having to register as lobbyists — to Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk. By a vote of 52 to 22 with a large contingency … Continued

Chip Brownlee

March 30, 2018

Sponsor says better House leadership could have saved racial profiling bill

A piece of legislation that would have implemented a method to track racial profiling data in police stops didn’t make it out of this year’s legislative session after House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, pronounced the bill dead on a radio show Thursday morning. Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, who sponsored the legislation, said better leadership in … Continued

Chip Brownlee

March 30, 2018

Legislature adjourns sine die, ending 2018 legislative session

The leadership's prediction that lawmakers would be home before Easter Sunday was accurate

Chip Brownlee

March 30, 2018

Senate delays vote on economic developer bill after negotiations

A controversial bill that would exempt a class of “economic development professionals” from having to register with the state as lobbyists appears to have made it through a round of intense negotiations and sits in a position to pass. Those negotiations, which took the better part of the weekend and most of Tuesday, produced a … Continued

Chip Brownlee

March 28, 2018