Skip to content

lawmakers

Let them eat frozen dinners

Do not let up. Listen to me, progressives and liberals and all the rest of you just plain ol’ ticked off Americans. Do not stop the protesting. Do not stop the heckling. Do not stop making life absolutely, utterly miserable for the conservative lawmakers who have worked so diligently the last several years to make … Continued
June 27, 2018

The BCA mess isn’t difficult to unravel

It’s been a rough week for the Business Council of Alabama. The top lobbyist group in the state has been decimated by big-name defections. It started with Alabama Power and PowerSouth. Then Regions Bank. Then Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama. And now Protective Life Insurance. And there are strong rumors that Drummond Coal and … Continued
June 22, 2018

Ethics Review Committee is a long con

After last week’s initial meeting of the Ethics Review Committee, it’s now apparent that the body, as far as its leaders are concerned, is not assembled to strengthen and clarify the state’s ethics laws but weaken it through a wholesale rewrite. In other words, the Ethics Review Committee is a prop in a confidence scheme. … Continued
May 24, 2018

APR’s League of Influentials offer predictions in the upcoming Republican primary

During the first two weeks of May, the Alabama Political Reporter asked its League of Influentials to weigh in on upcoming Republican statewide elections. The Influentials are a roster of lawmakers from both parties, political analysts, members of the media, lobbyists and consultants that span the political spectrum. The survey finds Gov. Ivey with a … Continued
May 21, 2018

The black hand behind Perry Hand

Shortly after the Alabama Political Reporter made it known that the Business Council of Alabama’s Executive Board had voted on April 10 to terminate Billy Canary from his position as CEO, nearly a dozen Republican lawmakers were burning-up their mobile phones, trying to find out who Perry Hand is and who could convince him to … Continued
April 19, 2018

State Rep, prominent Alabama lobbyist arrested on federal bribery charges

Another prominent Alabama Republican lawmaker has been arrested on public corruption charges. According to a release from U.S. Attorney Louis Franklin, Birmingham Rep. Jack Williams was arrested on federal bribery and wire fraud charges for his part in a scheme to push through legislation in the Alabama Legislature that benefitted a California diabetes care company, … Continued
April 2, 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

Attention voters: You should listen to Alabama Republicans

Thank you, Alabama Republicans. For folks like me, a progressive living in this regressive state, the uphill climb towards electing a good number of forward-thinking, intelligence-valuing lawmakers in this state often seems roughly equivalent to scaling Everest with asthma. Then there are days like the final ones of the 2018 legislative session, when you guys … Continued
March 30, 2018

Senate, House leadership divided over calendar realities of passing gun safety bills

The two top leaders of Alabama’s Legislature seemed somewhat divided Thursday about the realities of getting gun and school safety legislation out of their chambers before the fast-approaching end of the legislative session. House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, was more optimistic about the chances of school and gun safety legislation getting out of the House, … Continued
March 9, 2018