Governor Kay Ivey and Alabama legislative leadership are spiking the football after achieving a bipartisan super-majority victory on a gas tax on Tuesday.
It really is quite an accomplishment to behold, as they got a $300+ tax increase on gasoline in a ruby red state that is one of the most conservative in the nation.
More astonishingly, it appears they aren’t done with the deal-making yet. In fact, House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville) spoke of movement on Alabama Democrats’ priorities moving forward, which included a commitment from the Republicans to look at Medicaid expansion, a lottery and the elimination of the state portion of the grocery tax.
Former State Sen. Dick Brewbaker (R-Montgomery) appeared on “The Dale Jackson Show” on WVNN and said Thursday that a few of his former colleagues have told him that the deal has already been cut and that Medicaid expansion would be moving forward in the legislature.
“[T]he members of the black caucus that I’ve spoken to, and I spoke to several yesterday, are under the impression that they’ve got a deal,” Brewbaker revealed.
But the funding mechanism is still up in the air.
He added, “I didn’t have a single person tell me that the deal was a lottery to pay for Medicaid expansion, but I did have people tell me the deal was ‘we are going to find a way to expand Medicaid.’”
Later, Brewbaker added that the rank-and-file Republicans are probably not aware of this deal, but they will soon find themselves dealing with these issues in the regular session.
Listen:
Dale Jackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 7-11 am weekdays on WVNN
