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Constitutional amendment would limit voting rights to citizens

Alabama Senate Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, proposed a constitutional amendment that passed the state Legislature and will appear on the November 2020 general election ballot. If approved by voters, the amendment will limit municipal, county, state and federal voting in Alabama only to legal citizens of the U.S. Marsh’s bill went through the Senate … Continued
May 31, 2019

Making correctional education work for Alabama

The job market in Alabama is growing, and the unemployment rate has reached low levels not seen in many years. Businesses across the state are working harder than ever to find and hire qualified workers. According to Governor Ivey’s Success Plus initiative, our state will need an extra 500,000 credentialed, highly-skilled or degreed individuals by … Continued
May 31, 2019

Thoroughbred conservatives — a dying breed

100 percent pure bred economic, moral, social and constitutional conservatives are almost extinct in the public arena. If you have read some of my work in the past, you may recall, I first got involved in public policy going door to door for Ronald Reagan in 1980. All I knew, he was pro-life, the rest … Continued
May 31, 2019

The lottery is dead. Long live the lottery

The paper-only lottery bill appears to have mercifully died in the House. It should have failed in the Senate because it was never more than a diversion to ensure that no lottery bill would endanger the Poarch Band of Creek Indians’ monopoly over gaming in the state. The so-called “clean” paper-only lottery sponsored by Sen. … Continued
May 23, 2019

A better Alabama is up to you

A decent lottery that, if approved by voters, we could use to establish a college scholarship program, additional tech training in high schools, expanded pre-K and free two-year college tuition. Commercial casinos that, if approved by voters, would contribute around $100 million annually in tax revenue to the state, along with the creation of at … Continued
May 23, 2019

Alabama Medicaid releases number of abortion payments approved by agency

As a firestorm of controversy has engulfed the state over the passage of the nation’s most restrictive anti-abortion bill, APR asked Alabama Medicaid for statistics on the number of abortions approved by the agency over the last two years. Alabama Medicaid records show that Medicaid approved payment on three abortion procedures in 2018, and two … Continued
May 22, 2019

For the sake of the state, please sine die soon

Every year, there is hope that the Alabama Legislature will come to Montgomery with the goal of making our state a better, more prosperous place to work and live, and every year, they fail to deliver mostly. With just days left in the 2019 session, it is difficult to see any real long-term, positive accomplishments … Continued
May 20, 2019

Every citizen in Alabama deserves high-speed broadband

Alabama’s economy is booming with record low unemployment, wages on the rise and new industries continuing to choose our state to expand their businesses. However, we are lagging in providing critical broadband infrastructure to all our citizens. For too long, the expansion of fast, reliable internet service has been concentrated in larger cities while rural … Continued
May 6, 2019

AG: State minimum wage law didn’t have racist intent

The state argued in a new brief filed in federal court that the state’s minimum wage law — which prevents cities from raising their minimum wages — is not racially motivated but is instead an ordinary piece of economic legislation aimed at maintaining a uniform wage floor across the state. Attorney General Steve Marshall filed … Continued
May 1, 2019