Skip to content

Legislature

News / Governor / Legislature / State

Alabama Republicans praise Ivey’s State of the State speech

Tuesday, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) laid out an ambitious agenda in her annual State of the State Address that includes: building three new prisons, a three percent teacher pay raise, a two percent state employee pay raise, mental health crisis centers, broadband expansion, hiring more state troopers, workforce development, a governor’s study group on … Continued
February 5, 2020

Former state senator challenges Poarch Creek legal status

Former state Sen. Gerald Dial raised questions at a Tuesday press conference over the legal status of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, distributing letters from high ranking officials in the Department of the Interior who question the tribe’s history and its legal rights to operate casinos.  In one letter, written by then-Interior Department solicitor … Continued
February 5, 2020

House swears in two new members on first day of legislative session

Tuesday, the Alabama legislature started the 2020 legislative session. The first order of business was to swear in two new members who had won special elections since the 2019 legislative session ended. Republican Charlotte Meadows was elected by Montgomery voters to fill the vacancy created by the sudden death of Dimitri Polizos (R-Montgomery). Republican Van … Continued
February 5, 2020

The Alabama 2020 Legislative Session begins today

The Alabama Legislature returns to Montgomery today for the 2020 legislative session. Both Houses of the Legislature will meet this afternoon for organizational sessions at the Statehouse. Tonight, Governor Kay Ivey (R) will deliver the annual State of the State Address to a Joint Session of the Alabama Legislature at 6:30 p.m. in the Old … Continued
February 4, 2020

Orr wants more Sanders/Warren-style regulations

Once again, Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, will join forces with left-leaning organizations to impose more regulations on payday lending in the upcoming legislative session. While the Trump Administration over the last three years has taken giant steps toward rolling back Obama-era regulations, Orr is taking a page from Democrat senators and presidential hopefuls, Bernie Sanders … Continued
February 3, 2020

Ivey’s prison study group recommends spending, anti-recidivism efforts, goes light on sentencing reform

On Thursday the long-awaited policy recommendations of Gov Kay Ivey’s bi-partisan Study Group on Criminal Justice Policy were released, which include suggestions on spending, sentencing reform and recidivism reduction.  The group, formed in July and required to release its recommendations before the Legislative session begins Tuesday, didn’t always agree on every topic up for consideration, … Continued
January 31, 2020

Report: Cost to operate county jails, sheriff’s departments increased by $93 million since 2014

The Association of County Commissions of Alabama (ACCA) released an updated research publication yesterday showing that the cost to operate county jails and sheriff’s departments statewide increased by $93 million from 2014 to 2019. The research publication, named “Alabama’s Unresolved Inmate Crisis,” was updated from its initial release back in December to include data from … Continued
January 31, 2020

RAMP expresses concerns with medical marijuana bill

Medical marijuana is one of the most controversial bills facing the Alabama legislature in the upcoming legislative session that begins next week. The Alabama Medical Cannabis Study Commission has produced a draft bill that addresses many of the concerns from law enforcement, employers, the business community, educators, farmers, and medical professionals. State Senator Tim Melson … Continued
January 29, 2020

Bureau of Pardons and Paroles increases hearings

After months of a reduction in parole hearings for Alabama’s incarcerated, the state Bureau of Pardons and Paroles is ramping up the numbers of those hearings.  In a response to ARP’s questions Monday about how those hearings are set, Bureau spokesman Terry Abbott said that the agency has a target goal of 540 hearings during … Continued
January 28, 2020