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Senate committee rejects bill that would have banned smoking in cars with children

Wednesday, the Alabama Senate Health Committee rejected a House bill that would have banned smoking and vaping in motor vehicles if there is a child under 14 years of age present. House Bill 46 was sponsored by State Representatives Rolanda Hollis, D-Birmingham. HB46 as introduced by Hollis would have banned smoking with children in automobiles. … Continued
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March 13, 2020
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Opinion

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Instead of fixing a school for military kids, how about just fixing the schools for all kids?

The education of police officers’ kids isn’t worth any extra effort.  Same for the kids of nurses and firefighters. Ditto for the kids of preachers and social workers.  No, in the eyes of the Republican-led Alabama Legislature, the children of this state get what they get and lawmakers aren’t going to go out of their … Continued
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February 26, 2020

Prisons are one of the top issues to watch in 2020

A new decade has begun and the Legislature returns to Montgomery in just 29 days. As the Alabama Legislature begins a new session there are many issues that will confront the state politically in the upcoming year. Nothing is more serious than the issues facing the state and its much maligned prison system. Governor Kay … Continued
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January 6, 2020

Top ten Alabama political stories of the decade: Part 2

Part 2 of 2 Alabama’s love affair with Donald Trump. In June 2015, New York billionaire and reality TV star Donald J. Trump, announced that he was running for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. Trump was just one of seventeen major candidates in the Republican field. Alabama has not supported a … Continued
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December 31, 2019

ACHE recommends $121,147,171M higher education budget

At today’s quarterly Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE) meeting, commissioners approved a $121,147,171M budget recommendation for higher education for FY 2020-21.  The amount represents a 6.8% increase over the FY 2019-20 appropriation. “This recommendation will bring Alabama’s public colleges and universities closer to their pre-recession (2008) level of support from the Education Trust Fund,” … Continued
December 9, 2019

Orr selected as chair of new government study commission

The newly established Commission on the Evaluation of State Services met for the first time on Monday for their organizational session. State Senator Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) was selected as the Chair of the new commission. Liz Filmore was selected as Vice-Chair. Filmore is the Governor’s Deputy Chief of Staff. The Commission is composed of six … Continued
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October 1, 2019

Commission on Higher Education focuses on making college more affordable

At the quarterly meeting for the Alabama Commission on Higher Education on Friday, Commission members focused on easing the path to college for more students by making higher education more affordable. “Student success is crucial in continuing Alabama’s economic momentum,” said Commission Executive Director Jim Purcell. Next year’s education budget, the largest in state history, … Continued
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June 10, 2019

Ivey, Marsh praise Legislature for passing bill to end elected state school board

Friday, the Alabama House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 397, which replaces the elected state school board with an appointed commission. The Senate had already passed the bill. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) praised the Legislature’s decision. “Today, because of strong, bipartisan efforts, the future for Alabama’s education system is extremely promising,” Ivey said. “Every … Continued
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June 3, 2019

Legislature approves state General Fund Budget

Both houses of the Alabama legislature approved the conference committee report on the state General Fund Budget Thursday. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey praised the legislature for their work on the budget. “While remaining steadfast in our fiscally conservative approach, we have put forward a General Fund, which provides important funding that moves our state in … Continued
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May 31, 2019

Legislature to address education reform this week

For decades, Alabama state government has largely deferred decision making on educational matters to the elected state school board. The governor and legislature prepared budgets and the state school board and their appointed superintendent largely did things their way without a lot of interference. This week the legislature is considering a broad spectrum of bills … Continued
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May 27, 2019