By a vote of 3-2, the Fort Payne City Council voted to pass a resolution supporting statewide legislation impacting appointments to the board of directors of the Fort Payne Improvement Authority. Council President Walter Watson also announced that the city council will resume in-person meetings on April 6 at 12:30 p.m. at City Hall.
During the live-streamed meeting, Watson said the previous council looked at having the law revised so members could be appointed to the FPIA board, similar to how they have served on other utility boards. The resolution approved this week requests the local legislative delegation introduce a local act to amend sections of the Code of Alabama pertaining to improvement authorities.
Plainview s Brinley Summerford attends tree planting ceremony at state Capitol
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Gambling bill tops list of tough issues when Alabama Legislature returns to work
Updated Feb 14, 2021;
Posted Feb 14, 2021
Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston, talks about his proposed constitutional amendment to allow a lottery and casinos in Alabama.
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Alabama lawmakers finished what they considered urgent business the first two weeks of the legislative session, passing three bills related to the COVID-19 pandemic with overwhelming bipartisan support, but face more controversial topics in the weeks ahead.
They will first take a week off to evaluate how well efforts to meet safely during the COVID-19 pandemic are working.
If they don’t find problems and return as expected on Feb. 23, they will dive into a plan for a lottery and casinos, a major gambling expansion that would raise a half-billion dollars or more a year for state programs.
Despite media reports linking proposed gambling legislation to an agreement to allow the Poarch Band of Creek Indians to build a new casino in either DeKalb or Jackson counties, Dist. 8 State Sen. Steve Livingston assured constituents he will study the bill and follow any amendments to it carefully.
Livingston, who represents DeKalb, Jackson and Madison counties, sits on the Alabama Senate Tourism Committee, which gave a favorable report Wednesday to Senate Bill 214. This proposed amendment to the Alabama Constitution is sponsored by State Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston. It would overturn Alabamaâs ban on gambling and games of chance. Senate Bill 215 is the enabling legislation that would go into effect if SB214 is passed and then ratified by Alabama voters on the Nov. 2022 ballot. A 1999 referendum on a constitutional amendment to create a state state lottery and to earmark the resulting revenue for use in education failed 54% to 46%.
DeKalb Regional Medical Center seeks to secure funding to expand its senior care unit by up to 10 new beds, hospital Administrator Patrick Trammell recently shared in a conference call with state leaders.
Trammell thanked Dist. 8 State Sen. Steve Livingston, R-Scottsboro, and Alabama House Majority Leader Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, for writing letters of support.
He said the hospitalâs psychiatry service is focused on geriatric patients, licensed for 19 beds and steadily operating on 18 beds.
âDemand over the years has been intense,â Trammell said. âThere have been many days when we have run up to our capacity.â
âWeâve started a process of requesting the state add 10 additional beds to our certificate of need as regulated in this planning region,â Trammell said. âWe did get unanimous approval from the statewide health coordinating council after that request and have received a letter from Gov. Kay Ivey to approve those 10 beds.
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