7 Things: Legislature working to avoid a huge tax bill for taxpayers, ALGOP U.S. Senate race close but Brooks leads and more …

7. New variant being found in more states

The recently discovered coronavirus variant that’s considered a subvariant of Omicron has now been found in about half of the United States. The variant, BA.2, has only been diagnosed in 127 cases, according to recent reports from last week.
In some countries, such as Denmark, BA.2 did become the dominant variant, but it is not more severe than Omicron. Data on the effectiveness of the vaccine with BA.2 is also like Omicron. In Denmark, there were about 50,000 cases of the new variant found, but it has been harder to detect with coronavirus tests

6. Vaccine for kids under 5 almost ready

It appears that politicians and public health officials want Pfizer to quickly apply for emergency authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine for kids under 5, and it appears Pfizer is prepared to do so.
Once approved, it becomes possible for schools and municipalities to mandate the vaccine for those under 5. The New York Times reports, “Parents of younger children have been eager to see Pfizer and federal regulators move to make the shots available.” But the low vaccination rates of kids 5-12 call that into question.

5. Wes Allen wants to pull membership from George Soros organization

In his bid for Alabama Secretary of State, State Representative Wes Allen (R-Troy) has said that if elected, he would remove Alabama’s membership to the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), which is connected to George Soros.
Allen said, “Alabama taxpayers do not want their information provided to a Soros-funded, leftist group like ERIC. I do not believe that most Alabamians know that their information is being provided to this outfit and I don’t think they would approve of the annual $25,000 taxpayer-funded membership fee either.” The majority of states that are connected to ERIC are Democrat-majority, and there is information on every individual that gets reported to ERIC.

4. Biden doesn’t know why migrants are coming to the border

There was a record number of migrants apprehended at the southern border in 2021. President Joe Biden said that the issue is being addressed and his administration is working to “figure out why they’re leaving in the first place” from their home countries and flocking to the United States. When Biden first took office, he signed executive orders that undid many of former President Donald Trump’s immigration policies that had deterred illegal border crossings.
Biden went on to say that Vice President Kamala Harris has been working with other countries to address the issue, adding, “It’s not like people sit around and say in Guadalajara, ‘I got a great idea, let’s sell everything we have, give it to a coyote, take us across the border, leave us in the desert in a country doesn’t want us. We don’t speak the language. Won’t that be fun?’ you know, there are gangs we’re working on, there’s a whole lot of illegal movement, but there’s also a way to begin to deal within reason they’re leaving in the first place.”

3. Effort to bring more school choice to Alabama

In an effort to give students more options in their education in Alabama, State Senator Del Marsh (R-Anniston) is filing a bill today that would create vouchers for parents to use to send their children to schools outside of the public school system or other public schools.
Marsh stated, “There’s an overwhelming desire across this country and Alabama as well by parents wanting to make more decisions for their children’s education…COVID brought to light a lot of problems in education. In the times we live in, there are so many choices. And parents should have control over those choices.” In the 2019-2020 school year, there was $10,125 per student spent in the state. Some of these funds could be provided in vouchers to parents that would allow them to enroll their child in private or homeschool programs.

2. New polls confirm Brooks holds the lead

New polling data reported by the Club for Growth PAC shows that U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) is in the lead in the U.S. Senate race with 35%. The poll was conducted through WPA Intelligence from January 25-27.
Mike Durant is in second place with 30%, while former Business Council of Alabama president Katie Britt is at 25%. However, 58% of people were unaware that Brooks has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, and 10% of people are still undecided

1. Legislature working to block a tax increase from stimulus funds

In Alabama, there could be an $87.7 million income tax increase due to tax credit payments given to people throughout the pandemic. Last year, a similar bill was passed and signed by Governor Kay Ivey to prevent taxation on stimulus payments that individuals received.
A bill that would block the tax has been announced by State Senator Dan Roberts (R-Mountain Brook) and will be reintroduced today. Roberts advised, “If we do not pass this bill, then we are choosing to impose an extra $87.7 million in taxes on hardworking Alabamians who qualified for tax relief because they showed up for work during the pandemic while some others walked off the job to collect higher unemployment benefits.”