Bentley Signs Bill Blocking Minimum Wage Hikes, Senate Approves Lean General Fund Budget

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2014/04/800px-Alabama_State_House_Apr2009.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:800;s:6:"height";i:600;s:4:"file";s:45:"2014/04/800px-Alabama_State_House_Apr2009.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:12:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:45:"800px-Alabama_State_House_Apr2009-336x252.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:252;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:5:"large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:45:"800px-Alabama_State_House_Apr2009-771x578.jpg";s:5:"width";i:771;s:6:"height";i:578;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:45:"800px-Alabama_State_House_Apr2009-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:12:"medium_large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:45:"800px-Alabama_State_House_Apr2009-768x576.jpg";s:5:"width";i:768;s:6:"height";i:576;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:43:"800px-Alabama_State_House_Apr2009-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:45:"800px-Alabama_State_House_Apr2009-800x450.jpg";s:5:"width";i:800;s:6:"height";i:450;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:45:"800px-Alabama_State_House_Apr2009-600x600.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:600;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:45:"800px-Alabama_State_House_Apr2009-415x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:415;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:45:"800px-Alabama_State_House_Apr2009-353x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:353;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:28:"ab-block-post-grid-landscape";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:45:"800px-Alabama_State_House_Apr2009-600x400.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:400;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:25:"ab-block-post-grid-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:45:"800px-Alabama_State_House_Apr2009-600x600.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:600;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:45:"800px-Alabama_State_House_Apr2009-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_imagify_optimization_level] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
        )

    [_imagify_data] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:2:{s:5:"stats";a:3:{s:13:"original_size";i:159789;s:14:"optimized_size";i:114894;s:7:"percent";d:28.100000000000001;}s:5:"sizes";a:10:{s:4:"full";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:73:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2014/04/800px-Alabama_State_House_Apr2009.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:137781;s:14:"optimized_size";i:93172;s:7:"percent";d:32.380000000000003;}s:9:"thumbnail";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:81:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2014/04/800px-Alabama_State_House_Apr2009-140x140.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:9815;s:14:"optimized_size";i:9786;s:7:"percent";d:0.29999999999999999;}s:6:"medium";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:5:"large";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:79:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2014/04/800px-Alabama_State_House_Apr2009-80x80.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:3994;s:14:"optimized_size";i:3835;s:7:"percent";d:3.98;}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:81:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2014/04/800px-Alabama_State_House_Apr2009-125x125.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:8199;s:14:"optimized_size";i:8101;s:7:"percent";d:1.2;}}}
        )

    [_imagify_status] => Array
        (
            [0] => success
        )

)
1674007833 
1456482546

The fourth week of the Alabama legislative session ended with a bang. Governor Robert Bentley has signed a bill blocking local governments from setting their own minimum wage. The governor signed the bill yesterday afternoon just after the Alabama Senate approved the bill 23 to 10, largely along party lines. Republican legislators supported the bill to push back against the Birmingham City Council, which voted to raise their city’s minimum wage to $10.10 an hour.

Bill sponsor, Republican Representative David Faulkner of Mountain Brook, says the state needs a uniform wage floor. Senator Linda Coleman-Madison, a Democrat from Birmingham, says she is concerned about people trying to feed their families on current hourly wages.

For more on this story and the rest of the week’s action, we talk with Don Dailey. He’s host of Capitol Journal on Alabama Public Television. Dailey told WBHM’s Rachel Osier Lindley about the lead-up to the bill’s passage, and the lean general fund budget approved by the Alabama Senate. If it wins final approval, it would means cuts in Medicaid services and ending a long-planned reform to managed care.

 

New York Giants hire John Harbaugh as coach after identifying him as their top choice

Harbaugh joins the Giants 11 days after he was fired by the Baltimore Ravens. The Super Bowl champion is now tasked with turning around a beleaguered franchise.

US launches new retaliatory strike in Syria, killing leader tied to deadly Islamic State ambush

A third round of retaliatory strikes by the U.S. in Syria has resulted in the death of an Al-Qaeda-affiliated leader, said U.S. Central Command.

NASA rolls out Artemis II craft ahead of crewed lunar orbit

Mission Artemis plans to send Americans to the moon for the first time since the Nixon administration.

Trump says 8 EU countries to be charged 10% tariff for opposing US control of Greenland

In a post on social media, Trump said a 10% tariff will take effect on Feb. 1, and will climb to 25% on June 1 if a deal is not in place for the United States to purchase Greenland.

‘Not for sale’: massive protest in Copenhagen against Trump’s desire to acquire Greenland

Thousands of people rallied in Copenhagen to push back on President Trump's rhetoric that the U.S. should acquire Greenland.

Uganda’s longtime leader declared winner in disputed vote

Museveni claims victory in Uganda's contested election as opposition leader Bobi Wine goes into hiding amid chaos, violence and accusations of fraud.

More Capitol Journal Coverage