The Alabama Legislature is considering HB 97 by Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, and SB 153 by Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, to establish a smart and secure statewide system to measure student achievement over time. Incredibly, Alabama currently does not have a statewide platform for collecting longitudinal data that are gathered from year to year to […]

“People’s [health] premiums are getting higher. Their deductibles are soaring. And their choices are dwindling.” These were the words of U.S. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan at a recent press conference referencing the effects of Obamacare, and his plan to repeal and replace it. However, he could have been referring to efforts by some […]

Citizens from across Alabama again this month will gather in Montgomery for School Choice Week scheduled Jan. 22-28 to show support for improving the quality of education and expanding access to highly effective schools. The Business Council of Alabama will participate in Alabama’s National School Choice Week rally at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Conference […]

By William J. Canary Article I of Alabama’s 1901 Constitution guarantees certain unique rights to our citizens. In addition to mirroring constitutional guarantees in the U.S. Bill of Rights, Alabama’s governing document bestows the right to have civil disputes heard in a court of law, the right to avoid imprisonment because of outstanding debts, and […]

By: William J. Canary, President and CEO of the Business Council of Alabama We are encouraged by the progress made toward creating public charter schools, schools which promise to be a vital part of the well-educated workforce that will work in and run Alabama businesses well into the middle of this century. Last year, thousands […]

Modern-day manufacturing is not your grandfather’s manufacturing, and today is a day set aside specifically to challenge the generations-old stereotypes. Manufacturing Day, the first Friday in October, is a growing national grassroots movement dedicated to overcoming the shared challenges facing modern manufacturers. Manufacturing depends on a skilled workforce, but many companies have jobs they simply […]

The Alabama Legislature took an important step toward reining in a rogue federal department this week when it approved a joint resolution opposing certain anti-business activities of the Environmental Protection Agency in Alabama. When President Richard Nixon established the EPA in 1970, it served a valuable purpose as decades of lax environmental oversight had resulted […]

Political and business leaders are urging U.S. Senator Richard Shelby to back reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank of the United States after a Senate committee hearing next month that could determine the fate of the vital overseas trading tool and continue helping manufactures like Michael McSweeney. Senator Shelby, R-Ala., is chairman of the Senate Banking […]