Alabama General Fund Budget Heads To Governor
The Alabama House of Representatives gave final approval Thursday to a nearly $2.4 billion General Fund budget for the next fiscal year. The spending plan passed the Senate earlier this week and goes to Gov. Kay Ivey for her review.
The General Fund is less than Ivey requested at the beginning of the session, before the coronavirus pandemic hit, but still about $168 million more than the previous year.
Republican State Rep. Andrew Sorrell of Muscle Shoals was the only House member to vote against the bill. He told the Montgomery Advertiser he could not support increasing spending as the economy slows.
Most stage agencies received the same funding as the previous year, although a few were given more. Medicaid, Department of Public Health, Department of Mental Health and Department of Corrections all received a boost. The Alabama prison system is under a federal court order to deal with overcrowded, understaffed and violent conditions. Lawmakers dropped a proposed 2% raise for state employees.
Almost all Democrats in the House have stayed home since the legislature resumed work on Monday. They say the statehouse doesn’t allow for social distancing practices needed to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Democrats also say the legislature should wait until later this summer to pass the budgets in a special session when the pandemic’s toll on the state’s finances is clearer.
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.
Auburn fires coach Hugh Freeze following 12th loss in his last 15 SEC games
The 56-year-old Freeze failed to fix Auburn’s offensive issues in three years on the Plains, scoring 24 or fewer points in 17 of his 22 league games. He also ended up on the wrong end of too many close matchups, including twice this season thanks partly to questionable calls.
In a ‘disheartening’ era, the nation’s former top mining regulator speaks out
Joe Pizarchik, who led the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement from 2009 to 2017, says Alabama’s move in the wake of a fatal 2024 home explosion increases risks to residents living atop “gassy” coal mines.
‘It’s like feeling the arms of your creator just wrapped around you’: a visit to a special healing Shabbat
Members of Temple Emanu-El in Birmingham gathered recently for their traditional Friday Shabbat service. But this particular service was different, as could be seen by all the people dressed in their finest pink.
Space Command is coming to Huntsville. What might that mean for first-time homebuyers
While Huntsville has been a more affordable market than other growing cities, what’s it been like for those looking for their first home?
Colorado says relocation of Space Command to Alabama is ‘punishment’ for mail-in voting
The litigation announced by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser asks a federal judge to block the move as unconstitutional.
