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We weren’t ready for mental, physical toll of COVID-19, experts say — and it’s not over yet

When Dr. Ken Duckworth learned that a reporter interviewing him was from Alabama, the first thing he thought of was college football.  “The absence of college football is not a mental health problem, but it takes away one of my favorite things in life,” said Duckworth, chief medical officer at the National Alliance on Mental … Continued
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May 19, 2020

Governor to sign record education budget

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey issued a statement Thursday announcing that she intends to sign the state education trust fund budget. Ivey also announced that she was signing the state general fund budget and amending SB161, the FY 2020 General Fund supplemental appropriations bill that would appropriate federal CARES Act funds. “This afternoon, I sent a … Continued
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May 18, 2020

Alabama Legislature passes state general fund budget

The Alabama House of Representatives on Thursday passed the 2021 state General Fund budget, which funds non-education state agencies. The 2021 SGF is $2,391,206,601, which is $168,860,692 more than the $2,222,345,909 in the 2020 budget. The 2021 general fund budget goes into effect Oct. 1. Alabama has an arcane budgeting system in which over 90 … Continued
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May 8, 2020

Alabama Senate passes state general fund budget

Tuesday the Alabama Senate passed the 2021 state general fund budget (SGF). Despite the economic fallout from the forced economic downturn, the Senate passed a $2,391,206,601 SGF budget, a $168,860,692 increase over the 2020 budget of $2,222,345,909. The Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee is chaired by Senator Greg Albritton (R-Atmore). As Chair, Albritton … Continued
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May 6, 2020

Legislature returns to a much different Statehouse

The Alabama Legislature will return from their spring break vacation Tuesday, but nothing is the same as it was two weeks ago. Monday, the press was informed that the corps will be removed from the press rooms behind the chambers. Those rooms are being given to the legislators so that they can sit the necessary … Continued
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March 31, 2020

Governor’s gaming study group meets for the first time

The governor’s study group on gambling met in the Alabama Statehouse for the first time Thursday. Former Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange chairs the group. The Governor’s Deputy Counsel Erica McKay said that the group has been tasked with gathering accurate data so that the governor and other citizens can make an informed decision on how … Continued
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March 6, 2020

State leaders unveil a major mental health legislative initiative

Wednesday, House Majority Leader Nathaniel Ledbetter, R – Rainsville, Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth (R), Speaker of the House Mac McCutcheon, R – Monrovia, Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R – Anniston, Alabama Department of Mental Health Commissioner Lynn Beshear, State Education Superintendent Eric Mackey, House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, as well as the … Continued
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February 27, 2020
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Every school should have a mental health counselor

In her State of the State Address, Gov. Ivey said that mental health would be a priority for both education and our prison system. Then she set a goal of having a mental health counselor in every school system. While I applaud the governor for recognizing the challenges our schools are facing when it comes … Continued
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February 21, 2020

Ivey urges legislators to address prison system problems

During her annual State of the State address to a packed joint session of the Alabama legislature in the Old House Chambers of the historic state Capital building, Gov. Kay Ivey urged lawmakers to deal with the problems that have long plagued the state’s prison system. “After becoming your governor in April 2017, I realized … Continued
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February 5, 2020

The Alabama 2020 Legislative Session begins today

The Alabama Legislature returns to Montgomery today for the 2020 legislative session. Both Houses of the Legislature will meet this afternoon for organizational sessions at the Statehouse. Tonight, Governor Kay Ivey (R) will deliver the annual State of the State Address to a Joint Session of the Alabama Legislature at 6:30 p.m. in the Old … Continued
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February 4, 2020