Craig Ford

State Leaders Say Life Matters. Now It’s Time To Prove It

By Minority Leader Rep. Craig Ford Last week, Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey wrote an article entitled “Life Matters” in response to the recent Planned Parenthood videos. Like Lt. Gov. Ivey, I am 100 percent pro-life, and was shocked by the videos that came out. Life does matter, and should be treated with dignity and … Continued

Craig Ford

August 27, 2015

Opinion

A New School Year Is Starting, But It Should Be Starting Later

By Minority Leader Rep. Craig Ford Remember when school didn’t start until after Labor Day? Over the last few weeks, students across Alabama have started a new school year–right in the middle of August. Some have even been back for two or three weeks. Instead of spending the last few weeks of August working … Continued

Craig Ford

August 20, 2015

Opinion

A Path Forward

By Minority Leader Rep. Craig Ford It isn’t often that legislators in Montgomery are universally in agreement on anything. But this week it happened, twice. First, legislators in the State House of Representatives agreed by a vote of 92-2 to kill the budget that had passed earlier in the year. Additionally, everyone agreed that … Continued

Craig Ford

August 13, 2015

Opinion

Republican Legislators Need To Stop Blaming Democrats and Start Leading

By Minority Leader Rep. Craig Ford The wheels have come off the bus in Montgomery. That’s the only way to describe what’s happening in our state legislature. Now more than ever is the time for legislators to reach across the aisle and work together to solve this budget crisis. But instead, Republican legislators are … Continued

Craig Ford

August 7, 2015

Opinion

Robbing Our Children Is Not The Answer

By Minority Leader Rep. Craig Ford The crisis in the General Fund budget has dominated lawmakers’ focus this year, and for good reason. But one proposed solution that continues to come up, and it would be devastating for Alabama. State Sen. Paul Bussman (R-Cullman) has introduced a bill to combine the General Fund and … Continued

Craig Ford

July 31, 2015

Opinion

The “Element of Surprise” is Just Another Game

By Minority Leader Rep. Craig Ford Two weeks ago, Gov. Bentley surprised everyone when he called the special legislative session. Legislators had expected the governor to wait until mid-August to call the session, but the governor said he wanted to use “the element of surprise” and take pressure off legislators over the gambling issue. … Continued

Craig Ford

July 22, 2015

Opinion

The Smart Way To Spend The BP Money

By Minority Leader Rep. Craig Ford Alabama won a huge victory last week when the BP Oil settlement was announced. As a part of that settlement, the state will receive $2.3 billion dollars over the next 18 years, with a billion of those dollars being given to our state’s General Fund budget. That means … Continued

Craig Ford

July 17, 2015

Conservation Alabama Commends Alabama Power

By Brandon Moseley Alabama Political Reporter On Tuesday, July 14, Conservation Alabama put out a statement to commend Alabama Power’s efforts to generate 500 megawatts of energy from renewable resources, including solar. The Southern Company affiliate has applied for approval from the Alabama Public Service Commission (PSC) to provide options for customers who want to … Continued

Brandon Moseley

July 17, 2015

Opinion

You Can’t Fix Something You Don’t Believe In

By Minority Leader Rep. Craig Ford For months, we have been told that the state needs at least another $200 million to avoid catastrophe. We have been told that we are broke because the way we budget for our state government is broken. Unfortunately, what we have been told is true: our government is … Continued

Craig Ford

July 8, 2015

Opinion

It’s Time For A Real Solution To The Gambling Question

By Minority Leader Rep. Craig Ford Decisions made by the government and high profile court rulings consumed the news last week. Most of the breaking news has centered on the U.S. Supreme Court decisions. But there is one court ruling that hasn’t gotten as much attention, and it’s just as important to the people … Continued

Craig Ford

June 30, 2015