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Want to know why Mike Hubbard still isn’t in prison?

Mike Hubbard probably isn’t going to jail anytime soon. The former Alabama House Speaker who was convicted on 12 counts of misusing his office for personal gain, and who recently had the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals uphold 11 of those convictions, remains free on an appeals bond. While most other convicted felons find themselves … Continued
September 20, 2018

AG Marshall moves to strip pre-existing conditions coverage from hundreds of thousands of Alabamians

Nearly one million non-elderly adults in Alabama have pre-existing conditions and can’t be denied health insurance coverage under current law. However, Alabama’s appointed Attorney General Steve Marshall is currently engaged in a court battle that would deny those individuals health care coverage. Marshall, the Republican nominee for attorney general, is part of a federal lawsuit … Continued
September 20, 2018

The Montgomery intervention’s $700,000 CFO is missing, but still getting paid

Where is Jason Taylor? Taylor, one of former state superintendent Michael Sentance’s most controversial hires, was brought into Montgomery by the Alabama State Department of Education to serve as chief financial officer for the Montgomery Public School system during the ongoing state intervention. Taylor, the CFO in the Huntsville system at the time, signed a … Continued
September 18, 2018

Hubbard, Bentley hoped to evade justice with Steve Marshall’s appointment as attorney general

When President Donald J. Trump chose Alabama’s U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions as U.S. Attorney General, that opened a door for then-Gov. Robert Bentley to solve two problems. As Bentley and his alleged girlfriend, Rebekah Caldwell Mason, saw it, Attorney General Luther Strange was a problem, so were Special Prosecutions Division Chief Matt Hart and Acting … Continued
September 17, 2018

Fundraiser or shakedown?

An email was sent to lobbyists and others with business before the state on Aug. 29, with an attached invitation to a fundraising event supporting first-time state Senate candidate Andrew Jones. The email asked that each recipient reply all, “letting Leadership know you got this.” It also requests that in their reply, all respond they indicate, … Continued
September 12, 2018

Marshall’s former law partner supporting Siegelman for attorney general

Corporate and special interests are fueling the campaign of Republican attorney general nominee Steve Marshall while mostly small individual donors are driving his Democrat challenger, Joseph Siegelman. Over half of Marshall’s contributions in August came from lobbyist-controlled PACs and businesses with interests before the state. FCPA reports for August show just the opposite for Siegelman, … Continued
September 11, 2018

The duty of the voter

Now that Labor Day is behind us, the political campaigns for November’s General Election are in full swing. Or should be. While polls indicate Democrats likely will take back the U.S. House of Representatives, nothing is certain. It depends on which side can get out their voters. In Alabama, these “midterm” elections are always a … Continued
September 6, 2018

Time for an ethics champion to step forward

A majority of Alabama voters are “very concerned” about government corruption and ethics, however, Republicans who once championed strong ethics laws have retrenched or given up the fight altogether. Our state needs a champion who will lead the battle to keep the state’s ethics laws strong: a singular individual with the courage to do what … Continued
September 5, 2018

BCA announces new executive committee members, ongoing transition plan

After a tumultuous summer for the Business Council of Alabama, one of the state’s most prominent business and lobbying groups, that included the ouster of the group’s longtime CEO, the BCA’s board of directors announced Wednesday a new plan to revitalize the group and a new executive committee that will lead the group through that transition. … Continued
August 15, 2018

Republicans playing by different rules when it comes to state ethics laws

The law is simple: Candidates running for public office in Alabama must file a statement of economic interests when they qualify, and then must file an annual SEI by the yearly deadline. That’s not hard, right? File an SEI when you qualify. File again at the next year’s deadline. Simple. But then, following ethics laws … Continued
August 14, 2018