passed Archives • Alabama Political Reporter

Allen pre-files bill requiring the playing of the national anthem

State Senator Gerald Allen, R-Tuscaloosa, has pre-filed a bill requiring that all Alabama public K-12 schools must play the Star-Spangled Banner at least once a week and at the start of all athletic contests. Senate Bill 13 would require local boards of education to adopt policies requiring each K-12 public school to broadcast or sanction … Continued

January 15, 2020

Aderholt reflects on the past decade in Congress

Congressman Robert Aderholt, R-Haleyville, has served the people of Alabama’s Fourth Congressional District through four presidencies. Aderholt recently released a list of his top 10 moments of the past decade in an email to constituents. “Serving as your Congressman from the 4th District of Alabama is the honor of my life,” Aderholt said. “Here are … Continued

January 1, 2020

Jones’ bill to crack down on robocalls passes Congress, set to become law

Today the Senate passed broad, bipartisan legislation co-sponsored by Senator Doug Jones, D-Ala., to decrease and deter robocalls. The Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act was passed by the House of Representatives earlier this month. The bill now heads to the President to be signed into law. “Most people in this day … Continued

December 20, 2019

Ending an 18-year battle, Senate passes Widow’s Tax repeal

Senators Doug Jones, D-Ala., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, announced that their legislation to repeal the Military Widow’s Tax has passed the United States Senate as a part of the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill now goes to the President to be signed into law. Legislation has been repeatedly introduced in the Senate … Continued

December 18, 2019

House passes Sewell’s bill to restore voting rights protections

On Friday, the House of Representatives passed Rep. Terri Sewell’s bill to restore voting protection and eliminate potential local and state voter suppression laws. The bill, HR4 or the Voting Rights Advancement Act, had previously failed four times to pass the Republican-led house. The bill passed 228 to 187 with only one Republican voting with … Continued

December 9, 2019

Violent crime in Alabama: Enough is enough

Kamille McKinney. Aniah Blanchard. Sloan Harmon. Over the last six weeks, the people of Alabama have been confronted with a frightening reality that very few of our politicians have been willing to acknowledge: our state has a violent crime problem. Don’t believe me? Violent crime in Alabama is up 20 percent over the last ten … Continued

November 20, 2019

Legislature ignoring charter school law

Our Montgomery lawmakers often labor long and hard at drafting a bill — and then ignoring what they wrote later on. There is no better example of this than the charter school law sponsored by Sen. Del Marsh and passed in 2015. This law sets up a 10-member charter school commission to govern charter schools. … Continued

July 8, 2019

Bill to prevent tax-related identity theft heads to president’s desk

The Senate unanimously passed bipartisan legislation last week to thwart identity theft tax refund fraud and prevent American taxpayers and seniors from falling victim. Tax-related identity theft occurs when someone uses a stolen Social Security number to file a tax return claiming a fraudulent refund. The bill was authored by U.S. Sens. Doug Jones and … Continued

June 17, 2019

Ivey signs civil asset forfeiture law

On Monday afternoon, Gov. Ivey signed into law the Alabama Forfeiture Information Reporting Act, which will shine a light on law enforcement’s often secretive use of civil forfeiture. Senate Bill 191, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, passed both the House and Senate unanimously during this year’s legislative session. Civil forfeiture is a practice that … Continued

June 13, 2019