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News / Legislature / State

McCutcheon says public opinion is driving gambling debate

Thursday, Speaker of the House Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, told reporters that public opinion is driving the debate on gambling. Speaker McCutcheon praised Alabama Governor Kay Ivey’s (R) working group on gambling and said that a lot of good people had been appointed to that group. At Gov. Ivey’s State of the State address, she told … Continued
February 24, 2020

Prison Issue to be addressed in Special Session in February rather than October

The second year of the reign of Governor Kay Ivey may give her a second major accomplishment in the first two years of her term as governor.   In her first year, she spearheaded the measure to increase the state’s gasoline tax in order to allow Alabama to proceed with a much-needed massive infrastructure program … Continued
October 9, 2019

McClendon does not think there will be a special session on prisons

Monday, State Senator Jim McClendon, R-Springville, said that presently he thinks that there will not be a special session this fall on prisons. Sen. McClendon said that during the session it was the general understanding that the legislature would come back in a special session in the fall to address the prison situation; but now … Continued
July 9, 2019

Legislature approves state General Fund Budget

Both houses of the Alabama legislature approved the conference committee report on the state General Fund Budget Thursday. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey praised the legislature for their work on the budget. “While remaining steadfast in our fiscally conservative approach, we have put forward a General Fund, which provides important funding that moves our state in … Continued
May 31, 2019

Forget a paper lottery, the Poarch Creeks have a much bigger proposal for gambling in Alabama

The Poarch Band of Creek Indians has an idea for gambling in Alabama. A big idea. One much bigger than a simple paper lottery. One bigger than a handful of gambling machines at a few casinos. “We want something that’s a bit more thought out,” said Arthur Mothershed, who is in charge of the tribe’s … Continued
May 22, 2019

Lottery, budgets dominate as session winds toward a close

The Memorial Day holiday is approaching, and state legislators are saying privately that they are ready for this session to be over, but much work remains to be done. Only 21 of a possible 30 legislative days have been used, so this session could technically last through mid-June, but this session was sidetracked by a … Continued
May 20, 2019

A special session on prisons is likely on the way

Brace yourselves, another special session is coming. At a press conference Thursday morning, Alabama legislators provided updates on the ongoing prison debacle and encouraged Gov. Kay Ivey to call a special session this fall to allow them to fully address the many issues. Ivey issued a press release later in the day saying she would … Continued
May 17, 2019

Sen. Cam Ward appointed to Joint Transportation Committee

Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, has been appointed to serve on the Alabama Legislature’s Joint Transportation Committee, the group of lawmakers that oversees the Alabama Department of Transportation. Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth announced the appointment Monday. Ward will represent the state’s 6th Congressional District, which includes Jefferson and Shelby counties and spans from Oneonta down to … Continued
May 7, 2019

Court says Alabama isn’t doing enough to protect prisoners from suicide

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama has ruled that Alabama’s Department of Corrections must immediately begin a set of measures to address suicide prevention in the state’s prisons. The court ruled that ADOC frequently fails to comply with previous court orders and their own policies related to suicide prevention and solitary … Continued
May 6, 2019

State budgets: Priority number one

After their successful special five-day Special Session, the Legislature has been in their Regular Session for a few weeks now. The session will end in June so it is about one-fourth over. Almost one-third of the members are new — freshmen if you will. Even though they are, for the most part, a bright and … Continued
April 3, 2019