Montgomery City Councilman Richard Bollinger has announced that he will seek the Republican nomination for the District 74 seat in the Alabama House of Representatives. That seat, which represents part of Montgomery, became open with the death of Rep. Dimitri Polizos last week. “Dimitri was a wonderful man and a dear friend. I greatly respected him as a person, a business…
The Alabama House of Representatives has approved a 10-cent-per-gallon increase in the state gas tax. House members approved the bill on an 83-20 vote after five hours of debate. The bill now moves to the Alabama Senate. Gov. Kay Ivey proposed the 10-cent-a-gallon gas tax increase to fund road and bridge construction. The increase would be phased in over three…
The Legislative room was packed for the committee meeting, called to consider three bills involving a state gasoline tax increase. Two of the bills were approved with little discussion, but the third…the one that would increase by state gas tax by a dime a gallon over several years…was discussed at length. State Representative Bill Poole shepherded the bills through…
Cullman County to put ‘In God We Trust’ on schools CULLMAN, Ala. (AP) – The Cullman County school system has voted to put “In God We Trust” on school buildings. The Cullman Times reports that the Cullman County School Board on Thursday unanimously approved a resolution to display the motto at all county schools. The action comes after the Alabama…
AP-AL–Minimum Wage 11th Circuit revives Birmingham minimum wage lawsuit MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – A federal appeals court says a lawsuit can go forward challenging an Alabama law that blocked the city of Birmingham’s attempt to set a minimum wage. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday reversed a judge’s order dismissing the lawsuit. The majority-black city of Birmingham…
State Rep. Alvin Holmes (D-Montgomery) was defeated in Tuesday’s Democratic Party runoff. Longtime State Rep. Alvin Holmes (D-Montgomery) has lost the seat he has held since winning it in 1974. His defeat in District 78 is one of the most significant of the Alabama runoffs. Click here for complete election results Holmes lost to challenger Kirk Hatcher in the Democratic…
Alabama voters will face the choice of whether to display the Ten Commandments on state property like schools and public buildings in the November mid-term election. The Alabama House of Representatives passed a constitutional amendment proposed by Republican state Sen. Gerald Dial 66-19 on Thursday. No state money could be used to display the set of rules or laws, given…
Alabama’s legislative session is quickly coming to the end and so is time to act on school safety and gun control bills. From arming teachers to banning the sale of assault-style rifles, lawmakers have introduced several bills since the Parkland, Florida school massacre. A bill to raise the age to purchase semi-automatic weapons from 18 to 21 did not make…
Alabama lawmakers have approved a 2.5% pay raise for teachers and school employees that will cost more than $100 million. The Alabama Senate voted 29-0 Thursday for the pay raise in the education budget for the next fiscal year. The total $6.7 billion budget included a $1.2 million boost to Alabama State University to offset the damage of a finance…
The House Judiciary Committee passed a bill that would require police to collect data on traffic stops to prevent racial profiling. The bill by state Sen. Rodger Smitherman, a Democrat from Birmingham, would require officers to record the race of a person pulled over in a traffic stop. Police would submit data annually to the state attorney general’s office. Smitherman,…
