The Education Options Act – House Bill 541 by Rep. Phil Williams Background Information: Right now only about 60% of Alabama students graduate from high school. The problem is concentrated, as only 13% of schools produce 60% of the dropouts. Dropouts aren’t just an education problem, they’re an economic threat. Here are some things to keep […]

Last week, I spent more time traveling through our district to participate in meetings and take questions about a number of important issues that affect our area. Regularly traveling around the district continues to provide me with a wonderful opportunity to listen to those that I represent so I can take their concerns directly to Washington. We […]

Today the Senate passed the “Heroes for Hire” act, HB152, a bill that provides additional tax credits to employers who hire returning veterans. The bill will provide a $1,000 additional tax credit to employers for hiring recently deployed, and now discharged, unemployed veterans. The bill will also provide a $2,000 income tax credit to recently […]

Alabama’s finance department just closed its seventh debt deal of the last 12 months with total savings just under $100 million and it’s time that they get a some recognition for the job they’re doing during these dire economic times. Over the weekend, The Wall Street Journal published an article praising Alabama’s handling of Tobacco […]

AUBURN – Governor Robert Bentley on Tuesday announced SiO2 Medical Products is investing $90 million in a new facility in Auburn, adding up to 300 new jobs in Lee County. Construction of the SiO2 Medical Products plant is currently underway at Auburn Technology Park West. SiO2 Medical Products will supply the medical industry with innovative […]

MONTGOMERY – Bills aimed at increasing accountability within the Alabama Department of Transportation will top the agenda of the House of Representatives when it convenes Tuesday for the 14th day of the 2012 Regular Session. House Bills 355 and 402 sponsored by State Rep. Mac McCutcheon (R-Capshaw), would alter the organizational structure of ALDOT by giving […]

A 2009 article by William Voegeli entitled “The Roots of Liberal Condescension” quoted “UD”, a blogger for Inside Higher Ed: “We need to encourage everyone to be in college for as many years as they possibly can, in the hope that somewhere along the line they might get some exposure to the world outside their […]

“Hate Mail of the Week” is a weekly feature on Yellowhammer Politics in which some of the hate mail submitted through our contact page is published exactly as it was received. The only edits made are to remove expletives — this is a family show, after all. If you feel like you hate this site, […]

Several weeks back, I posted the National Journal’s conservative rankings for members of the Alabama congressional delegation. Most of the Yellowhammer readers who commented or emailed about that post were not impressed with the rankings. Last week, the Heritage Foundation published Congressional rankings of their own and issued each congressman and senator a score. The […]

By Gerry Shih SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Facebook’s original friends are moving into politics. Small investments in NationBuilder, a political campaign software startup, by a tight-knit group of Facebook alumni suggest how they might spread their wealth around Silicon Valley in coming months, especially after the world’s largest Internet social network goes public. NationBuilder said […]

The Rep. Craig Ford “Too Hot for YouTube” videos are a week old today and I thought I’d revisit them now that the election aftermath has died down. As I made my way through the halls of the State House this past week, countless legislators, lobbyists and staffers pulled me to the side to discuss […]

For most sports fans this weekend was simultaneously ecstasy and agony. Ecstasy because almost every waking hour was filled with top-notch college basketball. Agony because almost inevitably our NCAA brackets end up as a crumpled up piece of paper that we’d just as soon forget. It’s a tragic ritual. Every year we spend countless hours […]

MONTGOMERY – Governor Robert Bentley on Friday declared 10.6 percent proration on the state’s General Fund Budget for the remainder of fiscal year 2012, which ends September 30. Alabama’s General Fund has been impacted by several major factors that make proration necessary. The largest factors include tens of millions of dollars in state funding required […]

This week’s top tweets segment includes a special video clip of Rep. Alvin Holmes at the mic on the floor of the House. The video was uploaded by Rep. Ed Henry. We may have to put together an “Alvin Holmes’ Greatest Hits” post at some point. Enjoy the video, top tweets are below. After Rep […]

MONTGOMERY – Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Truman Hobbs has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Former Alabama Education Association President Anita Gibson against Governor Robert Bentley, his Commissioner of Revenue and others. Gibson’s lawsuit claimed three Acts that were passed by the Legislature and signed into law last year by Governor Bentley were invalid. Plaintiffs […]

Congressman Roby is making the rounds in the 2nd District this week but found a few minutes to squeeze us into her schedule for a quick interview. Rep. Roby is the House sponsor of the “Honest Budget Act” which aims to put an end to the budget gimmicks and procedural trickery that Washington often uses […]

MONTGOMERY – The Alabama Federation of Republican Women will hold a news conference Thursday to publicly call on the Alabama Democratic Party to cancel their upcoming fundraiser with offensive TV personality Bill Maher. Elois Zeanah, President of the AFRW will speak as well as Valerie Askew, State Director of the Concerned Women for America. Other […]

MONTGOMERY – Governor Robert Bentley and legislative leaders on Wednesday outlined a proposal that will give educators more local control over public education while also giving parents and students new educational opportunities. The Education Options Act of 2012, to be filed in the Alabama Legislature this week, calls for new flexibility within local school systems, allowing […]

OFFICE OF GOVERNOR ROBERT BENTLEY MEDIA ADVISORY FOR EVENT ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 2012 Governor Bentley and Legislative Leaders to Detail Education Initiative MONTGOMERY – Governor Robert Bentley, House Speaker Mike Hubbard, and Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh will hold a news conference on Wednesday, March 14 to detail the Education Options Act of 2012. The Education […]

A near capacity crowd piled into the Alabama Theatre in Birmingham on Monday night to hear Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich give their final pitches to the Alabama electorate. We’re getting started with an introductory speech by Bill Armistead, @ALGOP chairman. #alforum Starting with prayer, pledge, nat’l anthem — The Second Front (@SecondFront) March 12, […]

“Hate Mail of the Week” is a weekly feature on Yellowhammer Politics in which some of the hate mail submitted through our contact page is published exactly as it was received. The only edits made are to remove expletives — this is a family show, after all. If you feel like you hate this site, […]

Last week, we broke the story of the Alabama Democratic Party attempting to scrub their Bill Maher ties from their website. The story was picked up by the national media and the ALDEMS have since done everything they can to, shall we say, “creatively explain” their involvement with the radical left-wing talk show host. But […]

From the ALDEMS/Bill Maher fiasco to Kathy Peterson to the Bingo trial…this week turned out to be a pretty good week in the Twittersphere. Some of the highlights are below. Dems plan event at “evening w/Bill Maher”. Buy tix, sell for higher than face value. I call it fundraiser, Dems claim it isn’t?#alpolitics — Matt […]

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Rep. Martha Roby delivered expert testimony today to members of the House Committee on the Budget regarding her legislation, the Honest Budget Act. Introduced earlier this year, the Honest Budget Act addresses the nine most commonly used gimmicks employed by Congress to conceal federal spending. The Committee on the Budget, a key […]