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News / National / State

Jones sponsors bill to fix GI Bill education benefits inconsistency

A bill cosponsored by Alabama Sen. Doug Jones would seek to extend GI Bill education benefits to foster children and legal wards, clearing up an inconsistency in the law when it comes to a veteran’s non-biological children. Jones cosponsored the new legislation, called the GI Education Benefits Fairness Act, to support military families by extending … Continued

Chip Brownlee

March 19, 2019

House approves Ivey’s gas tax. It now moves on to the Senate

Friday, the Alabama House of Representatives passed three bills dealing with infrastructure including legislation to raise the state’s fuel taxes from 18 cents per gallon to 28 cents per gallon, HB2. The bills were sponsored by state Representative Bill Poole, R-Tuscaloosa. The Legislature overwhelmingly approved the tax increase measure, HB2, on a bipartisan basis 84 … Continued

Brandon Moseley

March 8, 2019

Wheeler proposes term limits bill to start in 2022 for Alabama legislatures

A bill to limit the terms of Alabama legislators has been pre-filed and, if passed, would start with 2022 elections. State Rep. David Wheeler, R-Vestavia Hills, announced on National Term Limits Day, Feb. 27, that he will be proposing a term limit bill to amend the Alabama Constitution. Wheeler pre-filed the bill that would affect … Continued

Mikayla Burns

February 28, 2019

Alabama missed out on full funding of Medicaid expansion. This bill would fix that.

Alabama Sen. Doug Jones is partnering with Virginia Sen. Mark Warner to introduce a bill that would make up for federal funding lost to states that chose not to expand Medicaid in the first years of the Affordable Care Act. The bill would allow states to take advantage of a similar match rate to those … Continued

Chip Brownlee

February 27, 2019

Lawmakers use exclusive enclave as launching pad for payday lending fight

Recently, two state lawmakers chose Jefferson County’s Mountain Brook neighborhood as a backdrop to introduce a payday lending reform bill. The legislation’s sponsor and co-sponsor are State Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, and State Rep. David Faulkner, R-Mountain Brook, respectively. According to a report of the event by al.com, “the lawmaker [Garrett] said he’d like to … Continued

Bill Britt

February 26, 2019

Lawmaker files bill to re-up Legislature’s Joint Transportation Committee

An Alabama lawmaker filed a bill Monday to reorganize the Legislature’s Joint Transportation Committee. The committee reviews the long-term plans and budget for the Alabama Department of Transportation. Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville, Monday filed a bill to authorize the reorganization of the committee. “There has been much discussion about the upcoming session and, specifically, funding … Continued

Chip Brownlee

February 26, 2019

House of Representatives passes measure to reverse federal employee salary freeze

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday giving federal workers a 2.6 percent pay increase, nullifying President Donald Trump’s administration’s December 2018 decision to freeze federal employee salary rates. This pay increase will put executive branch employees at an equal level with military members in terms of pay raises. The measure reverses … Continued

Gabby Dance

January 31, 2019

Jones re-ups bill to increase focus on financial literacy in school

U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, D-Alabama — alongside Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, D-New York, and Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire — have reintroduced The Youth Financial Learning Act of 2019. The bill would implement a grant program within the U.S. Department of Education aimed to help states create and sustain financial literacy programs in schools. It would also … Continued

Jessica Ballard

January 25, 2019

Opinion

Maddox is right: The state shouldn’t pay for Bentley’s attorneys

Should the state be footing the bill for attorneys to defend former Gov. Robert Bentley in a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by former Alabama Law Enforcement Agency head Spencer Collier? Gov. Kay Ivey says it should, that the state has an obligation to do so under the law. Her challenger for the seat she currently … Continued

Josh Moon

September 19, 2018

Opinion

Remembering Women’s Equality Day

Women’s Equality Day came and went on Sunday with little to no fanfare. Each year August 26 is set aside to commemorate the anniversary of women winning the vote. “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account … Continued

Bill Britt

August 27, 2018