Here is a look at where some key issues stand:
GENERAL FUND
One of the most pressing issues is to give final approval for the general fund budget for next fiscal year. The bill is in conference committee to work out differences between the House of Representatives and Alabama Senate. The $2.4 billion spending plan is up a modest 3.6% over this year. The budget includes a 2% pay raise for state employees.
CURBSIDE VOTING BAN
The bill by Republican Rep. Wes Allen of Troy would explicitly forbid election workers from setting up curbside areas for people to vote as well as forbid the setting up of voting machines outside a polling place. Curbside voting is a voting method that civil rights organizations had sought during the COVID-19 pandemic and have argued that it would make it easier for people to vote, particularly the elderly, disabled and parents with young children. The House approved the bill and it is awaiting a vote in the Senate.
UAB honors Alabama state Sen. Jabo Waggoner for lifetime of service
By Kevin Scarbinsky
Alabama state Sen. Jabo Waggoner recently received the UAB President s Medal. (UAB)
It doesn’t take much to get Bill Clark talking about Protective Stadium. On a recent Monday morning in Birmingham, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) football coach and some prominent friends shared their excitement over the new home of the Blazers, which is rapidly transforming from construction site to multipurpose mecca ready for kickoff later this year.
Clark likes to say “there are a million heroes” who helped make this long-awaited stadium come to life. The movers and shakers in that recent discussion have been among the most instrumental, but even among those distinguished individuals, Clark said one gentleman stood out: Alabama state Sen. Jabo Waggoner.
Gambling and gun rights bills to be decided on last day Follow Us
Question of the Day
By KIM CHANDLER - Associated Press - Saturday, May 8, 2021
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Alabama lawmakers return to Montgomery on May 17 for the final day of the 2021 session.
Legislators could decide a number of controversial issues on the last day including a gambling bill, a proposal to ban gender-affirming treatment for minors and a bill to forbid local police officers from enforcing any new federal gun restrictions.
A number of bills have already fallen by the wayside this session. Those include a bill to allow no-excuse absentee voting and another to change the state law protecting Confederate and other longstanding monuments.