Members of the Senate Education Budget Committee passed legislation that would cut the state's sales tax on groceries by 2% on Wednesday.
Troy University specified what its “Center for Civics Education and Leadership” is on Wednesday morning after lawmakers included a $1 million appropriation for the center their Education Trust Fund budget, which was approved by the Alabama Legislature last week.
Late Friday night, the Alabama Legislature approved an $11.6 billion education budget which no longer includes an unexpected $1 million for Troy University’s Johnson Center for Political Economy but rather awards $1 million to a “Center for Civics Education and Leadership,” which potentially does not to exist.
With only three legislative days remaining, one of the bills remaining on the docket is sponsored by State Sen. Dan Roberts (R-Mountain Brook) that would prohibit state contracts with businesses that boycott certain sectors of the economy based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies.
The Alabama Senate approved a $1 million appropriation for Troy University’s Johnson Center for Political Economy last week in its Education Trust Fund budget, but Johnson Center executive director Allen Mendenhall said he only found out about this when a reporter showed him the bill.
The PRICE Act sponsored by State Sen. Larry Stutts (R-Tuscumbia) is on the agenda for the Finance and Taxation Education Committee on Wednesday.
Governor Kay Ivey's education budget proposal offered earlier this year included money for some high-profile non-education projects. But they will not be in the budget coming out of the Alabama Legislature, according to State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur).
The Senate unanimously approved legislation establishing a new K-12 Capital Grant Program administered by the Lieutenant Governor's Office that would "provide grants to eligible school systems to assist with capital projects, deferred maintenance, or technology needs" on Thursday.
The Senate passed an amended supplemental education budget on Thursday that included a $100 tax rebate for Alabama taxpayers.
State Sen. Andrew Jones (R-Centre) filed legislation Thursday that would cut the state’s sales tax on groceries in half over time.
Thursday, State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) offered a scathing critique of the Jobs Act during a speech on the floor of the Alabama State Senate. During an appearance on Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5's "The Jeff Poor Show," Orr's colleague State Sen. Chris Elliott (R-Josephine) was critical of Orr's tack.
State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) said he can “smell a rat” on why new tourism incentives were attached to legislation re-authorizing the Alabama Jobs Act.
The so-called Jobs Act, part of a package of bills deemed "The Game Plan" by Gov. Kay Ivey, sailed through the legislature on Thursday and was signed into law by Ivey almost immediately. But it was not without vocal opposition from some in the upper chamber.
Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law a package of economic incentives bills on Thursday.
The Alabama Senate voted in favor of two bills on Thursday that, if passed, will expand special privileges and tax abatements for specific corporations in the state but also impose transparency requirements on certain economic incentives.
A bill that would require the Alabama Ethics Commission to provide exonerating evidence to individuals accused of violating the state’s laws passed the State Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously on Wednesday.
Legislation placing deadlines on public records request responses in Alabama by State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) passed the County and Municipal Government committee unanimously on Wednesday.
State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) will file legislation soon to strengthen Alabama’s public records law.
Everybody else does it, so we have to. Basically, that is what Republican lawmakers have told constituents about the state's use of economic incentives, which they will readily acknowledge in theory, is a gross violation of free market economics.
Some Alabama lawmakers are still reeling from the sticker shock after it was announced the budget for the new prison facility in Elmore County had been increased to nearly $1 billion.
State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) filed legislation on Tuesday that would require the Alabama Ethics Commission to provide someone allegedly guilty of an ethics or campaign finance violation with exculpatory evidence in their possession before resolving the case or forwarding it to a prosecutor.
Amended legislation appropriating $1.06 billion in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding passed both the House and Senate on Thursday.
Alabama is one of the only states to charge a sales tax on “essential” foods like milk and eggs, but as food prices soar due to inflation, one state senator has drafted a bill to lift the tax burden.
If passed this legislative session, a new bill in the Alabama House of Representatives would allow beneficiaries of the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) and the Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) to earn a salary of as much as $52,000 a year while still receiving retirement benefits.
The Alliance of Alabama Healthcare Consumers “does not have a position on Medicaid expansion,” according to Robin Stone, the group’s new executive director.
In a few days, the Alabama Legislature will begin the first session of the new quadrennium. In addition to both chambers having to deal with the constitutionally mandated duty of passing budgets, a $2.6 billion surplus leftover from the prior legislative session will also have to be handled.
The Alabama Legislature will likely not be a part of any government bailout for financially beleaguered Birmingham-Southern College, according to State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur).