Support for Gas Tax Increase Uncertain Among State Lawmakers
In many ways, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey’s State of the State address Tuesday was typical. She outlined an array of legislative priorities, and she touted the state’s accomplishments in the employment and technology sectors. But shortly after finishing her speech, she issued a call for a special session for lawmakers to consider her proposal to increase the state’s gas tax. That special session starts Wednesday morning.
Ivey’s plan would increase the tax 10 cents over three years and would support road and bridge projects. Alabama’s gas tax has not increased since 1992. WBHM’s Andrew Yeager spoke with Montgomery Advertiser state government reporter Brian Lyman about the special session and Ivey’s speech.
Interview Highlights
Reaction to the special session from lawmakers:
“For the most part leadership is more than happy to do this because I think in the Senate the gas tax seems to have broad support. The real question is in the Alabama House where there seems to be a lack of consensus in both the Republican and Democratic caucuses for pushing this tax. There’s probably a solid core of Republican representatives who are just fully opposed to this tax … There’s a number of representatives who just want to see how things are going.”
Why Ivey would call a special session:
“The value for supporters of a gas tax will be that usually in a regular session there’s a procedural hurdle that requires a three-fifths vote of each chamber to bring a bill to the floor for a vote. In a special session you can bring any bill to the floor, you’d only need a simple majority. That’s the thinking behind calling a special session. It’ll make it easier to get this thing passed. It’s very rare to do a special session within a session. I can’t think of any over the past 10 years.”
Other highlights from Ivey’s speech:
“She called for raises for both teachers and state employees [four percent for teachers and 2-percent for state employees] …Other thing was the governor’s calling for $31 million to hire new personnel for the state’s prisons, which are wracked with violence and are having a difficult time holding onto correctional officers both due to the violence and the low pay. The corrections system is under what is in effect a court order to hire more than 2,000 more staffers in the next three years. Corrections wants to hire 500 this year. We have a really strong economy and it’s going to be very hard to bring in even close to 500 correctional officers without considerably sweetening the pay and benefits.”
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
The close race had the country on edge since a first round two weeks earlier and through the night into Monday, revealing deep divisions in the country along the eastern flank of NATO and the EU.
Shooting leaves 1 dead, 11 hurt on a North Carolina street during a house party
Authorities said at least 80 shots were fired in the shooting that began at about 12:45 a.m. People reported running, ducking for cover and scrambling to their cars for safety.
Thousands evacuated in Canada as wildfires threaten air quality in parts of the U.S.
Air quality reached "unhealthy" levels in North Dakota and small swaths of Montana, Minnesota and South Dakota, according to the EPA.
Some of the U.S. could see the northern lights due to a geomagnetic storm
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center says a severe geomagnetic storm is possible Sunday night.
Hurricane season has started. Here’s what to know
The 2025 hurricane season officially began on Sunday. Forecasters are predicting an active season.
Ukraine destroys more than 40 military aircraft in a drone attack deep inside Russia
The attack was disclosed on the same day as Zelenskyy said Ukraine will send a delegation to Istanbul for a new round of direct peace talks with Russia on Monday.
