7 Things: Prisons become the legislature’s problem again, BCA’s Britt resigns as she is expected to join Senate race, attorney hired to represent man kicked by police while resisting and more …

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June 2, 2021

7. We are not governed by petitions for really good reasons

More than 2.3 million people have signed a petition that calls for $2,000 monthly stimulus checks for every adult. The woman who started the bill, restaurant owner Stephanie Bonin, has claimed that “true unemployment rate for low-wage workers is estimated at over 20%” and people aren’t caught up on bills from last year, which is why these payments are still needed.
Multiple stimulus checks have already been sent out to many American adults, and families are about to start getting another monthly check in July since those with children will receive up to $300 per month per child of eligible age. These payments will continue for one year and were made possible through an expansion for the Child Tax Credit.

6. Let’s hope Harris is as good at voting rights legislation as she is at dealing with the border

President Joe Biden has announced that Vice President Kamala Harris will be leading the effort to protect voting rights, and while commemorating the Tulsa Race Massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Biden said voting rights legislation will “address what remains on the stained soul of America.”
Harris said that she’s going to work together with “voting rights organizations, community organizations, and the private sector to help strengthen and uplift efforts on voting rights nationwide.” Harris has also been tapped to deal with the crisis at the southern border, but there’s been no action seen from the vice president on this issue.

5. Democrat civil war rages on

When Donald Trump was President of the United States and went off-script at official events and rattled off a list of grievances and half-truths while attacking members of his own party or his adversaries, the American media acted offended and outraged. President Joe Biden is being handled slightly differently.
During a ceremony remembering the Tusla Race Massacre of 1921, Biden attacked Republicans for voter integrity efforts and senators of his own party for not being sufficiently loyal. Biden said that U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) are “two members of the Senate who vote more with my Republican friends,” but not only is this right out of the Trump playbook, but it is also completely untrue. The record shows that Sinema and Manchin have voted with Democrats 100% of the time.

4. Birmingham city employee bonuses approved

Mayor Randall Woodfin’s proposed bonuses for city employees, which will be up to $5,000, have been approved by the Birmingham City Council. The bonuses will be funded through the American Rescue Act.
Full-time employees would get $5,000 and part-time employees would receive $2,500; for about 3,500 employees, this will cost a little over $16.8 million dollars.

3. Attorney hired for man arrested after panhandling at Huntsville gas station

After the video of Kemontae Hobbs resisting arrest and having his legs stomped on by a Huntsville police officer went viral, Hobbs’ family has hired attorney Martin Weinberg to handle the case.
Hobbs’ mother, Kimberly Hayes, said the cops were called after Hobbs asked someone for a dollar at the gas station, and she plans to file a lawsuit against the Huntsville Police Department because she wants “to make sure this doesn’t happen in the future to other people.”

2. Katie Boyd Britt likely running for U.S. Senate

Tuesday, Katie Boyd Britt resigned from her position as president and CEO of the Business Council of Alabama (BCA). With this announcement, it’s expected that she will soon announce her candidacy for U.S. Senate.
In announcing her resignation, PowerSouth president and CEO Gary Smith noted how Katie’s “leadership and energy on behalf of hardworking American families and job creators” will be missed but mentioned how she’s improved the state and BCA.

1. Kay Ivey’s prison gambit fails — it’s legislature’s problem now

Governor Kay Ivey had an ambitious plan to build prisons in Alabama using her executive authority and bypassing the legislature. The legislature feigned offense but did very little to stop the idea; funding fell through, and the state is back at square one.
With Ivey striking out, the likelihood of a special session increased as the specter of the federal government’s intervention looms over the state, which it has for the past decade-plus.