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Chip Brownlee

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Democratic candidate for governor Walt Maddox announces statewide lottery plan

By Chip Brownlee Alabama Political Reporter The calls for a vote on a statewide education lottery are growing as another candidate for governor is promising to push for a vote if elected to the state’s highest office. Gubernatorial candidate and Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox said Monday he would push for a referendum on a lottery … Continued
February 20, 2018

Sen. Doug Jones to embark on first statewide tour this week

By Chip Brownlee Alabama Political Reporter Sen. Doug Jones, Alabama’s first Democratic senator in a quarter-century, is set to embark on his first statewide tour this week, planning to hit locations in Mobile, Montgomery, Mobile, Birmingham and Selma. Jones will visit military bases and installations, rural hospitals and clinics, infrastructure and military and military contractors. … Continued
February 19, 2018

Senate bill would require more Ethics Commission oversight of lawmaker consulting contracts

By Chip Brownlee Alabama Political Reporter An Alabama State Senate committee approved a bill Thursday that would require more Ethics Commission oversight of lawmakers’ consulting contracts if those contracts are outside the normal scope of the member’s profession or business. The bill as it passed out of committee would require a company or person seeking … Continued
February 16, 2018

Bill to scrap special elections for US Senate makes it out of committee

By Chip Brownlee Alabama Political Reporter A bill that would do away with distinct special elections for U.S. Senate vacancies gained the approval of an Alabama State Senate committee Thursday. The bill sponsored by Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark would direct the governor to set the election to fill a vacated U.S. Senate seat to coincide … Continued
February 16, 2018

Senate to consider bill allowing voters to register up to election day

By Chip Brownlee Alabama Political Reporter A Senate bill passed out of committee Thursday would let voters register up to and including election day. Voters must register two weeks in advance of an election under current state law. Selma Democrat Sen. Hank Sanders’ bill would change Alabama law to allow voters to register within that … Continued
February 16, 2018

Brooks takes another jab at “smoke and mirrors” budget deal

By Chip Brownlee Alabama Political Reporter U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Alabama, is making it well known that he is not happy with the recent bipartisan budget deal — a wide-ranging agreement that upped federal spending levels to the disdain of fiscal conservatives in the House. Congress passed the two-year spending bill last week, ending months … Continued
February 15, 2018

Jasper businessman Matthew Woods sworn in as state community colleges trustee

By Staff Alabama Political Reporter The Alabama Community College System Board of Trustees gained a new member on Wednesday. Gov. Kay Ivey recently appointed Matthew Woods, a Bevill State Community College graduate and Jasper area businessman, to serve as a representative for District 4 in West Alabama. Woods was sworn in on Wednesday after being confirmed … Continued
February 15, 2018

Federal court rules, on grounds of race, that Gardendale can’t secede from county schools

By Chip Brownlee Alabama Political Reporter A federal appeals court led by Judge William Pryor, a former Alabama attorney general, ruled Tuesday that the largely white Birmingham suburb of Gardendale cannot secede from the Jefferson County school system to form its own municipal schools. The U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, a three-member court headed … Continued
February 14, 2018