WBHM Politics: 2018 Legislative Session Preview
We’re just a few days into the new year, but political junkies don’t have to wait long before having something to sink their teeth into. The Alabama Legislature will serve up a feast as lawmakers start the 2018 regular session Tuesday. It’s the first full session for Governor Kay Ivey. Lawmakers will have the usual budget wrangling. Of course there are many bills that hope to avoid being eaten up in legislative death. And perhaps the biggest underlying factor is It’s an election year.
We talk about what’s to come in this year’s session with two longtime journalists in Montgomery, Associated Press statehouse reporter Kim Chandler and Montgomery Advertiser state government reporter Brian Lyman.
Special thanks to Troy Public Radio for the use of their Montgomery studio to record this episode.
Listen here or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, or NPR One.
Mentally ill people are stuck in jail because they can’t get treatment. Here’s what’s to know
Hundreds of people across Alabama await a spot in the state’s increasingly limited facilities, despite a consent decree requiring the state to address delays in providing care for people who are charged with crimes but deemed too mentally ill to stand trial. But seven years since the federal agreement, the problem has only worsened.
Ivey appoints Will Parker to Alabama Supreme Court
Parker fills the court seat vacated by Bill Lewis who was tapped by President Donald Trump for a federal judgeship. The U.S. Senate last month confirmed Lewis as a U.S. district judge.
How Alabama Power kept bills up and opposition out to become one of the most powerful utilities in the country
In one of the poorest states in America, the local utility earns massive profits producing dirty energy with almost no pushback from state regulators.
No more Elmo? APT could cut ties with PBS
The board that oversees Alabama Public Television is considering disaffiliating from PBS, ending a 55-year relationship.
Nonprofit erases millions in medical debt across Gulf South, says it’s ‘Band-Aid’ for real issue
Undue Medical Debt has paid off more than $299 million in medical debts in Alabama. Now, the nonprofit warns that the issue could soon get worse.
Roy Wood Jr. on his father, his son and his new book
Actor, comedian and writer Roy Wood Jr. is out with a new book -- "The Man of Many Fathers: Life Lessons Disguised as a Memoir." He writes about his experience growing up in Birmingham, losing his dad as a teenager and all the lessons he learned from various father figures throughout his career.
