With the conclusion of the 2023 legislative session, speculation about the future of gambling in Alabama is heating up, even though there is a long way to go until the 2024 legislative session.
The Alabama Department of Archives & History (ADAH) caught several lawmakers' attention after hosting a luncheon last week about Alabama's LGBTQ history.
Last week, the Alabama Legislature sent the so-called "criminal enterprises" bill to Gov. Kay Ivey, where it awaits her signature. According to State Rep. Shane Stringer (R-Citronelle), the law will significantly help combat the threat of gang crime.
Last week, the Alabama Supreme Court dealt a devastating blow to the Ivey administration and the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) regarding its handling of a bridge project over the Intracoastal Waterway in South Baldwin County.
Early Friday morning, the State Senate passed this year's General Fund budget by a 28-3 vote. Among those voting "no" were State Sens. Clyde Chambliss (R-Prattville), April Weaver (R-Brierfield) and Chris Elliott (R-Josephine).
The window for the passage of proposed legislation prohibiting minors from attending drag shows has passed for the Alabama Legislature in 2023.
According to Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth, the Alabama Education Association was working to kill an effort to reduce the state's share of the burden of the grocery tax on consumers.
Last week, off-the-cuff remarks given by State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris at a University of Alabama at Birmingham event breathed new life into legislation offered by State Sen. Sam Givhan (R-Huntsville) to reform the Alabama Department of Public Health.
While Alabama continues its streak of low unemployment tallies, it also struggles with workforce participation.
During an interview with Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5's "The Jeff Poor Show" later on Wednesday, Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth, a pro-school choice advocate, likened the process to the so-called "Free the Hops" effort, which, in part, led to the growth in the number of craft beer breweries in Alabama. The effort took many years but eventually succeeded.
Last month, State Rep. Jamie Kiel (R-Russellville) introduced a bill to offer income tax credits for those who donated to pregnancy resource centers.
In June 2021, U.S. Rep. Jerry Carl (R-AL) was among the first elected officials to suggest that then-National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci may have profited financially from his COVID-19 guidance.
It's not a secret that Alabama's criminal justice system is fraught with problems, including the prison system, which leaves much to be desired.
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.
Widening Alabama Highway 53 from Huntsville to Ardmore, U.S. Highway 45 from Prichard to the Mississippi state line and Alabama Highway 167 from Troy through Enterprise to the Florida state line are just a few of the long-discussed projects scoffed at by Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) officials over the years.
If you listen to public remarks given by Gov. Kay Ivey and other Republican lawmakers with leadership posts, you would have heard that education will be a focus during this year's legislative session, slated to begin on Tuesday at noon.
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.
State Rep. Shane Stringer (R-Citronelle) is apparently reconsidering his 2021 "yes" vote on legislation that retroactively applied a 2015 mandatory release law to all inmates before 2015.
It has not been quite a month yet since Republicans have officially taken charge of the U.S. House of Representatives.
High egg prices continue to be a problem for consumers as inflationary pressures combined with a strain of avian influenza have limited production.
State-level elected officials have vowed to make improving Alabama's public education a priority in 2023. However, specifics have not been forthcoming as of yet. State Sen. David Sessions (R-Grand Bay) said he would like to see "discipline" return to the classroom.
Law enforcement officials are searching for answers on the heels of the fatal shooting in downtown Mobile on New Year's Eve that resulted in one dead and nine injured.
Last week's defeat of Georgia Republican nominee Herschel Walker to incumbent U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) was emblematic of how the GOP fared in the 2022 midterm election cycle.
Despite rumblings suggesting otherwise, incoming House General Fund Budget chairman State Rep. Rex Reynolds (R-Huntsville), who was named to the post last week, said he did not see a "broad expansion" of Medicaid in the near future.
For years, lawmakers in Montgomery have questioned the role of Alabama's Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) board in ways ranging from its participation in the wholesale and retail marketplaces to how it enforces existing laws and regulations pertaining to the sale of liquor.
Despite approving a $1.3 billion prison construction plan more than a year ago, the state of Alabama remains under the federal government's scrutiny for potential Eighth Amendment violations in its state prisons.
Although it is not clear who among legislative Republicans would take up the cause of Medicaid expansion, State Sen. Chris Elliott (R-Josephine) says it does not mean there won't be an attempt in the new quadrennium that begins next year.