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Dick Brewbaker

Education / State

Del Marsh and his standard repeal farce

One of the definitions of “farce” is “an empty or patently ridiculous act, proceeding or situation.” I can think of no better example than the effort by Sen. Del Marsh to repeal the Alabama College & Career Ready standards. First, Marsh was a staunch supporter of these standards. In an article by the Business Council … Continued
April 1, 2019

The secret to avoiding lobbying laws in Alabama

Attention, lobbyists: Stop registering as lobbyists. Look, I know you guys don’t need more money — and Lord knows you don’t need any additional breaks from the people who are supposed to be policing you — but I’m here with a little piece of advice that could provide you with more of both, money and … Continued
February 14, 2019

Get Hart

Years of political pressure from shady defense attorneys and crooked lawmakers culminated last week in the firing of Special Prosecution Division Chief Matt Hart. Gov. Robert Bentley’s appointed attorney general, Steve Marshall, delivered the blow just 13 days after being elected attorney general, but the move against Hart was orchestrated by some of the state’s … Continued
November 26, 2018

Report finds Alabamians give up daily necessities to pay off burdensome court fines, fees

Many Alabamians with court debt are sacrificing basic daily needs like food and medical care to pay down burdensome court costs, fines and fees, a new report has found. The report — released Wednesday by the Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, UAB’s Treatment Alternatives for Safer Communities and Legal Services Alabama — found … Continued
October 11, 2018

Ivey claims she’s strengthened ethics laws. She’s done the opposite.

There’s a trick that’s often used in Alabama politics — one that Kay Ivey seems to know well. This trick comes in many different forms, and is disguised under many different names, but it is always essentially the same. It’s pretending to do something while in reality doing nothing. While that basically sums up Ivey’s … Continued
July 26, 2018

BCA’s Canary pumps money into Senate race pushing candidate to go negative

One of the most closely watched state Senate races is the Republican primary to fill the seat being vacated by independent-thinking Republican maverick Sen. Dick Brewbaker. The showdown for Senate District 25 is between Vice Chair Montgomery County Commissioner Ronda Walker and Montgomery attorney Will Barfoot. Walker was appointed to the county commission by disgraced … Continued
May 28, 2018

Inside the Statehouse: Races to watch

Our antiquated 1901 Constitution was designed to give inordinate power to the Legislature. During the Wallace years, the King of Alabama politics, George Wallace, usurped this power and controlled the Legislature from the Executive Branch of Government. Over the last couple of decades the Legislature has wrestled this power back and pretty much excluded the Governor from … Continued
April 18, 2018

House sends economic developer bill to governor’s desk

Just before ending this year’s legislative session, the Alabama House of Representatives voted to send a controversial economic development bill — one that would exempt a large group of “economic development professionals” from having to register as lobbyists — to Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk. By a vote of 52 to 22 with a large contingency … Continued
March 30, 2018

SB280 fails in the House when session ends

Thursday, both Houses of the Alabama Legislature concluded their work and ended the 2018 legislative session. A number of bills were killed from lack of action by the second house. Among these was Senate Bill 280, which was a controversial piece of legislation that would have ended elections for county school superintendents. Senate Bill 280 … Continued
March 30, 2018