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

| February 26, 2016 

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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.

54% of support comes from members

 

Workers at Alabama’s Mercedes plants vote against joining a union

The workers voted 56% against the union, according to tallies released by the National Labor Relations Board, which ran the election.

Taylor Hunnicutt is championing her home state with debut album ‘Alabama Sound’

Alabama offers a diverse symphony of swampy rock, swaggering blues, murky country, and bone-rattling soul. It’s a sound singer-songwriter Taylor Hunnicutt recently reimagined on her debut album, Alabama Sound, which is out now.

UAB building among Alabama’s first to feature ‘bird safe’ glass

Advocates hope the new glass will prevent window collisions, a leading causes of bird mortality.

Researchers look into community health impact of wood pellet production in rural Mississippi

Brown University and Tougaloo College students are testing for potential air and noise pollution near the Drax wood pellet plant in Gloster, Mississippi.

Alabama coal company sued for a home explosion is delinquent on dozens of penalties

Crimson Oak Grove Resources has been cited for 204 safety violations since the March 8 blast, many involving “significant and substantial” safety violations.

The United Auto Workers faces a key test in the South with upcoming vote at Alabama Mercedes plant

The United Auto Workers is aiming for a key victory at Mercedes-Benz in Alabama. More than 5,000 workers at the facility in Vance and nearby battery plant will vote this week on whether to join the UAW.

More Capitol Journal Coverage