For years, the public has struggled to navigate the stipulations and bureaucracies of Alabama’s Open Records Law, whether it be a concerned citizen with limited resources or media outlets with the ability to take on government officials who repeatedly shrug off records requests. Section 36-12-40 of the Alabama Code states, “Every citizen has a right […]

Last week, the Jefferson County Commission voted to take the unprecedented step of opening its courthouses on Saturday for in-person absentee voting, a decision of which was in part driven by concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. Claims of voting improprieties have since surfaced. However, those claims have been dismissed by Secretary of State John Merrill, […]

The coronavirus pandemic caught our entire society off guard in many different ways, particularly economically, given the abrupt nature of efforts by all levels of government to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. With government-imposed forced closures of many businesses came a spike in unemployment that resulted in those out of work seeking compensation. While the […]

On Monday, Yellowhammer News reported an effort by the Alabama New South Coalition, which offered churches $6 per person for utilizing Alabama’s absentee ballot process and voting before October 29 in this year’s presidential election. “Anybody that vote [sic] early before October 29th your church will get $6.00 per person,” an advertisement published in the […]

It is a high likelihood when the Alabama legislature reconvenes in 2021, there will be efforts to limit the executive authority granted to the governor during health emergencies, as has been experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. State Sen. Larry Stutts (R-Tuscumbia), a practicing obstetrician in his district that includes the southern half of the Shoals […]

In 2018, U.S. Sen. Doug Jones (D-Mountain Brook) played an outspoken role in attempting to oust the leadership of the Alabama Democratic Party, which was headed up by then-party chairwoman Nancy Worley. Earlier this year, the Democratic National Committee intervened. Through a series of legal challenges, Worley was removed, and State Rep. Chris England (D-Tuscaloosa) […]

With some time having passed since Hurricane Sally made landfall, those impacted have a clearer idea of the monetary cost of the damages suffered to their properties. Often overlooked are the impacts storms like Hurricane Sally have on Alabama’s agriculture, which took a massive hit from last month’s storm. State Sen. David Sessions (R-Grand Bay), […]

With 21 days to go, there are a lot of uncertainties that remain about the November 3 election, including the direction of down-ballot races across the country that will determine who controls the U.S. House of Representatives. As it stands, Democrats hold a 35-seat majority over the Republican Party, which means for the GOP to […]

Earlier this month, the Alabama Legislative Services Agency reported both the Education Trust Fund (ETF) and the State General Fund (SGF) budgets ended the fiscal year on September 30 with positive growth. While acknowledging an impact from the recession caused by COVID-19 to revenues, a memo obtained by Yellowhammer News from Legislative Services Agency fiscal […]

As it turns out, despite the outcry from various segments of society, voters in Alabama overwhelmingly support the mask mandate component of Gov. Kay Ivey’s so-called “Safer at Home” order, which has been in effect in some form since April. In addition to showing strong leads for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tommy Tuberville and President […]

As the threat from China has become more apparent, it has led to some in education policy to question why public schools and institutions of higher learning in Alabama are including Chinese state-sponsored Confucius Institutes as a part of the curriculum. According to a report Friday, letters signed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and […]

In July, State Rep. Tommy Hanes (R-Bryant) announced he intended to introduce a bill in the 2021 regular session that would ban Confucius Institutes from operating on publicly funded college campuses within the state. Hanes has since picked up a key ally, in addition to U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville), in this effort in State […]

Governor Kay Ivey’s recently announced prison proposal has been mildly controversial given it has been deemed a go-it-alone approach by the executive branch without any official blessing from the legislature as a body. With the legislature’s 2020 regular session cut short and the Ivey administration seemingly unwilling to call a special session anytime soon, any […]

Although the work is not complete in what could be a months-long process of recovery, the response is much improved from the last major storm to make landfall in Alabama, according to U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope). During an interview with Mobile radio’s FM Talk 106.5 on Monday, Byrne remarked on the efficiency of the […]

There is less than a month until Alabama voters head to the polls to vote for either former Auburn head football coach Tommy Tuberville, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, or incumbent U.S. Sen. Doug Jones (D-Mountain Brook) to represent the state for the next six years. Among many things, Second Amendment issues are a […]

Earlier this week, Gov. Kay Ivey extended her “Safer at Home” order in the name of mitigating the spread of COVID-19, which includes a mandate that individuals under some circumstances wear a mask. Not everyone agrees with Ivey’s use of authority under the tenets of an emergency order, even as the coronavirus is dominating headlines […]

The latest chapter in the back-and-forth saga between Gov. Kay Ivey and State Sen. Chris Elliott (R-Daphne) played out on Wednesday when Ivey expressed her frustration during a press conference with those critical of the state’s Hurricane Sally response. Without mentioning Elliott by name, she took exception to a “state senator” in her remarks about […]

Last week, Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Hoover) introduced the Coronavirus Relief Fund Flexibility Act, which would allow state governments to determine how to spend the remainder of CARES Act funds appropriated by the federal government earlier this year. Palmer’s bill would also extend a statutory deadline on spending CARES Act money, as just a little more […]

The mask order instituted by Gov. Kay Ivey under the COVID-19 health state of emergency is set to expire on October 2. However, indicators are suggesting that the order will be extended by Ivey in the coming days. Despite Alabama’s southern neighbor Florida under Gov. Ron DeSantis having issued an order to stop local governments […]

With a Supreme Court confirmation fight looming in the throes of a presidential election cycle, former Gov. Robert Bentley argues it did not have to be this difficult for Republicans to get President Donald Trump’s picks confirmed. Bentley spoke about the decision by his successor, Gov. Kay Ivey, to hold a special election for the […]

Hurricane Sally made landfall on September 16 near Gulf Shores, and it left hundreds of millions of dollars of damage and more than 500,000 without power in its wake. The most-significant damage within Alabama occurred in Baldwin County. However, media reports have indicated the response at the state government level had left much to be […]

Earlier this week, Gov. Kay Ivey announced she was establishing the Alabama Prison Repurposing Commission, which will “conduct a thorough evaluation of the Alabama Department of Corrections’ (ADOC) existing infrastructure.” “The Commission will make recommendations as to which ADOC facilities should be retained and renovated as major correctional facilities, which could be renovated and repurposed […]

On Wednesday, former State Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise), the Republican nominee for this November’s Second Congressional District election, spent time with President Donald Trump inside the Oval Office, along with a handful of other Republican congressional competitors, which included Mobile County Commissioner Jerry Carl. During that visit, Moore said he got the sense Trump was “optimistic” […]

It has been a week since Hurricane Sally made landfall in Gulf Shores, and in its wake, it has left a path of destruction in need of repair. Often after such a storm, a flood of contractors from out of state will make their ways to the affected areas, and sometimes take advantage of those […]