MONTGOMERY, Ala. — As lawmakers mull over different options to fill the $250+ million hole in Alabama’s General Fund budget, the top Republican in the Senate is floating the idea of covering the shortfall by issuing a bond against the future earnings from a lottery and expanded casino gambling. Faced with the choices of raising […]

A budget is about more than dollars and cents. It’s about setting priorities and cutting waste while supporting the programs that matter the most. And that’s why the latest budget proposals we’ve seen coming out of Montgomery are so very troubling. In this day and age, government does many things, but its primary job hasn’t […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Senate on Thursday unanimously passed legislation that will allow terminal patients to have access to new medications that are still going through the Food and Drug Administration’s stringent approval process. Inspired by a 9-year-old boy named Gabe Griffin from Shelby County, the right-to-try legislation will allow new medications already in […]

WASHINGTON — Congressman Gary Palmer (R-AL6) is pleading with the Supreme Court to follow its own precedent when deciding whether or not states should be required to recognize and perform same-sex marriages. “I believe that marriage is correctly defined as being between one man and one woman,” Palmer wrote in a press release this week. […]

WASHINGTON — During oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday, Justice Antonin Scalia raised a concern shared by many Christians that establishing gay marriage as a constitutional right would require pastors to violate their deeply held beliefs and perform marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples. “I’m concerned about the wisdom of this court imposing through […]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Congresswoman Martha Roby joined Yellowhammer Radio Wednesday, and saying she was fired up is a little bit of an understatement. “I’m getting ready to not be nice up here [in Washington] today,” Rep. Roby told host Cliff Sims before launching into the problem she has with the way the Veterans Affairs administration […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala — Wednesday on Yellowhammer Radio with Cliff Sims, Congresswoman Martha Roby announced for the first time that fellow member of the U.S. House and rising Republican star Trey Gowdy (R-SC4) will be visiting Alabama in May. “I’m looking forward to Trey being in Alabama’s 2nd district” Rep. Roby announced at the end of […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — After several hours of debate Tuesday evening, the Alabama House of Representatives approved a resolution calling for a Convention of States to amend the U.S. Constitution. Article V of the U.S. Constitution says that a convention of the states can be convened if two-thirds of the state legislatures (34) approve an application […]

“Remember Domino’s Pizza? They admitted, ‘Hey, our pizza crust sucks.’ The Republican Party brand sucks and so people don’t want to be a Republican…” That was Sen. Rand Paul’s brutally honest assessment of how voters perceive the Republican Party nationally. People don’t often think of political parties as brands, but similar to how consumers snap […]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax9V-IfFk3k (Video above: Sessions questions DHS chief Jeh Johnson) WASHINGTON — Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) questioned Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson in a tense hearing Tuesday before the Judiciary Committee. “Let me ask you this,” Sessions began, “just a fundamental question. How many aliens with final orders of removal are currently in the […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Citizens Action Program, or ALCAP, an evangelical Christian lobbying group is already drumming up their base to campaign against a proposal to legalize the lottery and expand gambling on Indian lands in the state. “I cannot emphasize enough the importance of EVERY church member and EVERY person who is opposed […]

We have known for months that a deal was in the works to expand gambling operations in Alabama either through a lottery, a tribal compact, or privately run casinos. This move under Republican leadership is disheartening, but not surprising. Any chance at a money grab, be it through tax increases or gambling, is far easier […]

CULLMAN, Ala — Monday in Cullman, Governor Robert Bentley continued his tour around the state campaigning for his proposed $541 million tax increase, making the claim to the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce that Alabama is currently ranked 50th in taxes and that his tax hike would only bump the state to 49th. “People say […]

CULLMAN, Ala. — Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley on Monday spoke to the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce, telling the assembled crowd that he will not “settle for anything less than $541 million” in tax increases from the legislature. “The way we fund our government is dysfunctional,” Bentley told the crowd, according the Cullman Times. “We’ve […]

WASHINGTON — Alabama Senator Richard Shelby (R) last week sent a letter to Department of Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker sharing his concern over the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) “mismanagement of the red snapper fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico.” “Year after year, commercial and recreational anglers have fewer fishing opportunities due to NOAA’s […]

GOPAC, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that prides itself on training up the conservative “farm team” around the country, today announced its 2015 Class of Emerging Leaders. Included on the prestigious list is Alabama State Rep. Danny Garrett (R-Trussville). Rep. Garrett was one of only 23 members of the nationwide class nominated for the honor by […]

When I took over as chancellor of Alabama’s two year college system in 2007, I set out to fundamentally change the way our community college system operated. It didn’t take long before I started running into resistance. Time and time again, I heard the phrase “well that’s just the way it has always been done.” […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Republicans are prepared to introduce two gambling bills this week in the Alabama legislature, including one that will allow voters to approve a statewide lottery, and another authorizing Gov. Robert Bentley to enter into a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians allowing table games in the casinos located on Indian […]

WASHINGTON — Sen. Jeff Sessions will oppose a bill introduced by a Republican congressman last week to make illegal immigrants eligible for citizenship after completing military service. The ENLIST Act, as the bill is known, was introduced by Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.), who represents a district with a large hispanic population and has long been […]

Alabama State Senator Bill Hightower introduced the Simplified Flat Tax (SFT) earlier this week, which would lower the state’s income tax to 2.75 percent, but eliminate most of the deductions many Alabamians currently use. After hearing feedback from several people in different financial situations across the state, Yellowhammer developed the following models to approximate what […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A bill requiring local school systems to develop a virtual school plan by the 2016-2017 school year passed out of the Alabama Legislature Thursday afternoon, and is headed to the Governor’s desk for final approval. Sponsored by Senator Dick Brewbaker (R-Pike Road), SB72 will allow Alabama high schoolers to receive a public […]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved Loretta Lynch, President Obama’s nominee to succeed Attorney General Eric Holder as head of the Justice Department, in a 56-43 vote. Ten GOP members sided with every Democrat to approve Ms. Lynch, both Alabama Senators Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby voted no. Here are the ten GOP […]

In the torrent of overreaching directives coming from Washington to the states, Alabamians may not be aware of the ongoing effort by the Environmental Protection Agency to sidestep Congress and stage a takeover of American energy. Not only are these regulations likely unconstitutional, but they would have a particularly negative impact on Alabama’s economy and […]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved the Sessions-Whitehouse Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, authorizing U.S. Marshals to assist other law enforcement agencies in investigating missing children cases if requested as part of a larger anti human trafficking bill. After four months of Democratic filibustering of larger bill over a provision that would […]