Last week, House Speaker Mac McCutcheon (R-Monrovia) said he was taking the unprecedented step of placing legislation to legalize medical marijuana in both the House Health Committee and the House Judicial Committee. Earlier that week, the State Senate expeditiously passed the medical marijuana bill by a 21-10 margin. State Rep. Mike Ball (R-Madison), the House […]

Legislation sponsored by State Rep. Laura Hall (D-Huntsville) that would allow for no-excuse absentee voting has attracted a lot of attention as of late because it initially received support from Secretary of State John Merrill. Although Merrill has backed off his support of the bill’s premise, it remains a concern for Republicans, according to Alabama […]

Last week, Secretary of State John Merrill raised a lot of eyebrows when he gave an endorsement to legislation proposed by State Rep. Laura Hall (D-Huntsville), which would allow no-excuse absentee voting. However, Merrill is distancing himself from the no-excuse absentee voting provision of Hall’s legislation. During an appearance on Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5’s […]

Last week, State Sen. Del Marsh (R-Anniston) delayed his so-called comprehensive gaming proposal to fine-tune the legislation that would set in motion a constitutional amendment for expanding gambling in Alabama. Although Marsh insisted he had the votes for his bill’s passage, there are still a handful of Republican members in the State Senate that were […]

Last week, the State House Constitution, Campaigns, and Elections Committee held a hearing on a proposal from State Rep. Laura Hall (D-Huntsville) to allow no-excuse absentee voting in Alabama. Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill, the state’s top election official, endorsed the bill, and it is expected to get a vote in committee next week. […]

Last week, the nation watched as Texas suffered electricity outages during an unprecedented winter storm that wreaked havoc on the Lone Star State. Could that happen here in Alabama? Public Service Commission President Twinkle Cavanaugh said although no utility is completely invulnerable, measures have been taken to protect customers. During an appearance on Mobile radio […]

If Alabamians in November 2022 have the opportunity to vote and approve the gambling constitutional amendment proposal currently under consideration in the legislature, it could change the state in profound ways, according to State Sen. Clyde Chambliss (R-Prattville). Monday on Alabama Public Television’s “Capitol Journal,” Chambliss called the bill the “most transformative” legislation we could […]

This week will be a pivotal week for State Sen. Del Marsh’s (R-Anniston) comprehensive gaming legislation, which, if it can reach a three-fifths majority in both chambers of the legislature, will allow Alabamians to vote on a gambling package that would allow for a lottery and the proliferation of casino gaming in various places around […]

During an interview that aired on last week’s broadcast of Alabama Public Television’s “Capitol Journal,” Gov. Kay Ivey seemingly dismissed members of the Alabama Legislature considering efforts to add a check to executive authority during an emergency as Alabama approaches a year of being under a health state of emergency for COVID-19. Ivey seemed to […]

As of last week, there are measures under consideration in both the House and Senate that would add checks to executive branch authority under declared emergencies by granting the Alabama Legislature the power to have input if it desired. One proposal in the House, sponsored by State Rep. Becky Nordgren (R-Gadsden), would allow the legislature […]

From May 2020 through February 2021, the Alabama Legislature was out of session. While that was not unlike any other year under normal circumstances, the state government was very active in its response to the COVID-19 situation. Given that the legislative branch was not in Montgomery, much of what took place at the state level […]

The 2020 election cycle in Georgia, which saw the state go for Joe Biden in the presidential election and flip two U.S. Senate seats from red to blue, has some looking across the border to the west, wondering if the same thing is possible in Alabama. With U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Tuscaloosa) announcing he will […]

Even though State Sen. Del Marsh’s (R-Anniston) comprehensive gaming legislation has received some early praise from around the state of Alabama, margins could still be tight when a final vote is taken because of the three-fifths supermajority required in each chamber of the Alabama Legislature to make it to the ballot for a constitutional amendment. […]

Thursday, Club for Growth Foundation unveiled two scorecards critical of the Alabama Legislature in two categories — economic policy and attendance. Both scorecards gave lawmakers relatively low scores, an average economic score of 21% in the Senate and 15% in the House based on votes on legislation chosen by the Club for Growth, and lackluster […]

State Sen. Tim Melson (R-Florence) is taking another shot at medical cannabis this legislative session. Previously, his efforts had come up short, passing in the Senate but not the House. His SB46 received a favorable report from the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month and is expected to get another shot at a floor vote […]

On Thursday, Club for Growth released its annual metrics grading the Alabama Legislature on economic policy and attendance with its Economic and Missed Vote Scorecards. Scores were generally low on average for economic policy but topping the charts on the economic scorecard were State Sen. Shay Shelnutt (R-Trussville) in the upper chamber and State Rep. […]

Conservative talker and radio pioneer Rush Limbaugh died Wednesday after losing his battle with Stage IV lung cancer at age 70, according to a statement from his wife Kathryn read on Limbaugh’s Wednesday broadcast. Over the past three decades, Limbaugh’s program became the most listened-to radio show in the country. It aired on over 600 […]

Last week, through an act of the legislature, Alabama significantly changed its tax code with two objectives — not to tax federal benefits stemming from the CARES Act intended to provide relief from the COVID-19 economic downturn and make Alabama more competitive with its neighbors in the spirit economic development. Leading the way on the […]

Earlier this month, Gov. Kay Ivey signed leases for two of the three facilities for new prison construction as part of an effort to address a lawsuit from the Department of Justice that accused the state of Alabama of violating the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution’s “cruel and unusual punishment” provision. That, along with other actions […]

There have been instances of transgender athletes competing in athletics of their chosen sex around the country, which in some circumstances may afford them an advantage given their biological sex. State Rep. Scott Stadthagen (R-Hartselle) seeks to prevent that from happening in Alabama’s public school athletics at the K-12 level. During an appearance on Tuesday’s […]

State Sen. Del Marsh (R-Anniston) has an ally in his colleague State Sen. Tom Whatley (R-Auburn) in working toward comprehensive gambling legislation that could bring more casino gaming as well as a lottery to Alabama. During an appearance on Mobile radio’s FM Talk 106.5, Whatley, recently named the chairman of the Alabama Senate Judiciary Committee, […]

The aftermath of election losses can be messy as measures are taken to prevent a repeat in the future, and according to a report in Tuesday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is already considering remedies. WSJ’s Siobhan Hughes reports McConnell has “signaled his willingness to get involved […]

As more of the COVID-19 vaccinations become available, there is a fear the vaccine could be compulsory as government works toward eradicating the virus’ threat. State Rep. Ritchie Whorton (R-Owens Cross Roads) seeks to limit local and state government authority mandated vaccinations through his legislation HB278, co-sponsored by State Rep. Tommy Hanes (R-Bryant). During an […]

For the first time in this young millennium, Alabama is approaching a breakthrough on gaming that has had its share of ups and downs dating back to the rise and fall of Phenix City, a haven in the mid-1900s for vice, including gambling. Alabama last came close to a lottery in the late 1990s under […]