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Alabama Political Reporter

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Under STAARS Agencies Not Paid

By Bill Britt Alabama Political Reporter MONTGOMERY—Once again, the Alabama Board of Adjustment (BOA) was forced to adjudicate payments from one State agency to another, due to the continued failure of the STAARS accounting system. At the beginning of the last Legislative Session in 2015, Newton testified before a joint committee on budgeting, assuring lawmakers … Continued
July 25, 2016

Lawsuit Filed Over STAARS

By Bill Britt Alabama Political Reporter MONTGOMERY—A lawsuit was filed late Thursday night in Montgomery Circuit Court, over the $47 million dollar black hole known as STAARS. At the heart of the complaint is the no-bid contract entered into by Governor Robert Bentley and the State Department of Finance. The suit brought by State Auditor … Continued
July 22, 2016

Respect For Republicans But Not For Democrats

By Bill Britt Alabama Political Reporter MONTGOMERY—A meeting of the House Sunset Committee rescheduled so that its members could attend the Republican Convention in Cleveland this week. However, an email obtained by the Alabama Political Reporter shows that the Committee’s Republican Chairman, Howard Sanderford (R-Huntsville), is not willing to show the same courtesy to Democratic … Continued
July 21, 2016

With Republicans, We Have a Really Bad Combination

By Joey Kennedy Alabama Political Reporter Yeah, I delayed a day on writing this column, mainly because I wanted to see what direction the Republican National Convention was going to take. We pretty much saw it Tuesday night and Wednesday. It’s a hate fest, and the presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is the … Continued
July 21, 2016

“Just the Facts Ma’am” More On eSTART

By Bill Britt Alabama Political Reporter MONTGOMERY—After reporting on the troubled eSTART time and attendance system, the Alabama Political Reporter received an email from a Director at the Department of Finance saying, “eSTART is the best thing to happen to state government in years. Ziegler is clueless and needs to fire his staff if they … Continued
July 20, 2016

Members of Bi-Partisan Rural Caucus Offer Forum on Speaker Selection

By Bill Britt Alabama Political Reporter MONTGOMERY—An email from State Representative Johnny Mack Morrow (D-Red Bay), in which he extends an offer from members of the Alabama Rural Caucus, to host an event, “to discuss openly and freely, the selection of a new Speaker of the House,” was sent out yesterday. SEE EMAIL Disgraced former … Continued
July 20, 2016

Is eSTART the New STAARS?

By Bill Britt Alabama Political Reporter MONTGOMERY—Even though the shoddily implemented STAARS accounting software is still causing major headaches for agencies and vendors, the Department of Finances is doubling down on a troubled new time and attendance system named eSTART. All agencies, major and minor, are reporting unanimously: eSTART doesn’t lives up to the hype. … Continued
July 19, 2016

Faithful to the Mission

By Bill Britt Alabama Political Reporter Over the past 24 hours, I have received criticism and “atta boys” for my article “Greene County’s Burden.” Perhaps, I deserve both or neither, but at least people are talking. Before we published the first page on Alabama Political Reporter, we determined our mission would be to inform, educate … Continued
July 19, 2016

Greene County’s Burden

By Bill Britt Alabama Political Reporter MONTGOMERY—What began as a war on bingo by former Gov. Bob Riley, was rooted in power, politics and greed, with both sides claiming legal and even moral authority over what constitutes legal or illegal bingo in the Alabama. The latest episode in this much-sordid affair is the State Supreme … Continued
July 18, 2016

BCA’s Canary Cares About Next Superintendent of Education

By Bill Britt Alabama Political Reporter Business Council of Alabama CEO, Billy Canary, and former State Superintendent of Education and current leader of BCA’s education arm, Joe Morton, recently co-authored an Op-Ed in which they pose questions they want answered by the State Superintendent candidates. Canary and Morton write, “no way are we trying to … Continued
July 18, 2016