State Courts Underfunded Despite Rising Court Fees
In Cleburne County Alabama, a speeding ticket could cost you about $20. But after the fees kick in, you could end up owing almost $300. Alabama Media Group political commentator Kyle Whitmire reports that, while the state is staunchly against new taxes, rising court fees are being used more and more to fund general government operations.
But not enough goes back into supporting and adequately funding the court system.
“In Alabama, we’ve been doing a good job of using court revenue for things that don’t have much if anything to do with courts, but we’ve been doing a pretty terrible job actually funding those same courts,” says Whitmire.
That’s according to a study by the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA), commissioned by the Alabama State Bar.
Now Whitmire says the state’s budget crisis is only making the situation worse.
“We have a budget that’s proposed where the courts would actually be putting more money into the general fund than they would be getting out,” says Whitmire.
National parks fee-free calendar drops MLK Day, Juneteenth and adds Trump’s birthday
The Trump administration, which has railed against what it describes as "woke" policies, removed MLK Day and Juneteenth from next year's list of fare-exempt days for visitors at dozens of national parks.
Waymo will recall software after its self-driving cars passed stopped school buses
Waymo is issuing a software recall for its self-driving cars after reports the company's autonomous vehicles failed to stop for school buses.
7 deaths and hundreds of injuries are linked to faulty Abbott glucose monitors
About 3 million glucose monitoring sensors were potentially affected by a production error that caused incorrect low glucose readings.
Sudanese paramilitary drone attack kills 50, including 33 children, doctor group says
Thursday's attack is the latest in the fighting between the paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, also known as the RSF, and the Sudanese military, who have been at war for over two years.
Russia unleashes drone and missile attack on Ukraine as diplomatic talks continue
Russia unleashed a major missile and drone barrage on Ukraine overnight into Saturday, after U.S. and Ukrainian officials said they'll meet on Saturday for talks aimed at ending the war.
West Virginians question National Guard deployments after attack on 2 of their own
Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom was fatally shot in Washington, D.C., while Air Force Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe was seriously wounded. Trump says the deployments are necessary to fight crime, but others disagree.
