Bills on Prisons, the Budget, and Driver’s License Offices Move Ahead
It was a busy week in Montgomery. The Senate passed a bill on driver’s license offices, and a prisons bill. The House debated church daycare licensing. And House representatives passed a general fund budget that level funded most agencies except one: Medicaid. It got a small increase, though there’s still concern among lawmakers, and some of it stems from the federal American Health Care Act.
In fact, the House plan sets aside $97 million to protect against uncertainty in Congress around the new federal health care bill. Medicaid would get $700 million, plus $105 million in BP oil settlement money.
Lawmakers also moved a very different prisons construction bill along, as well as a bill that would require driver’s license offices to open at least one day a week.
WBHM’s Gigi Douban spoke with Don Dailey, host of Alabama Public Television’s Capitol Journal.
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.
Gambling, ethics bills fall short as legislative session ends
Alabama lawmakers closed the books on this year’s regular legislative session Thursday. While Republican leaders passed many of their priority bills, perhaps the most talked about issue – gambling – died.
A look at what passed and failed in the 2024 legislative session
Alabama lawmakers have ended a 2024 legislative session that saw the Republican majority win approval for a number of their top priorities.
