Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - Gambling left on the table

  The 2021 Alabama Legislative Session is in the books. I would rate it a success. When you pass budgets that are balanced, any session is a success. In fact, the only constitutional mandate given to the legislature is that they pass the two budgets.

  The amazing revelation that is almost difficult to comprehend is the fact that both the General Fund and the Educational Fund budgets were not only status quo but were flush with growth coming out of a year of the COVID-19 pandemic. State employees and teachers both received raises in the budgets.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - Budgets are priority for this legislative session

  The 2020 Alabama Legislative Session has resumed after a six-week hiatus due to the coronavirus shutdown of the state and the nation. The session must end by May 18. The only thing they will do is pass barebones budgets. 

  The most important - and actually the only constitutionally-mandated act that must be accomplished - is the passage of the state budgets. In our case, we have two state budgets. We have a general fund like 45 other states, and we have a second one, the Special Education Trust Fund budget. 

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - Alabama has some outstanding political leaders under 45

  Many of you have lamented to me that it appears all or most of our state political leaders are older folks. At first glance, that appears to be true. But we do, however, have some extremely talented younger stars on the horizon. In fact, they are already in the ring and making a difference.

  There are a few personalities who are worth watching. Allow me to share with you a select group of Alabama’s under-45 outstanding leaders. There are two superstars already on the scene and leading the state: Alabama state Representative Bill Poole of Tuscaloosa, and Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - Legislative session for most part successful, especially for Governor Ivey

  The 2019 Alabama Legislative Session was one of the most controversial yet productive sessions in memory.

  Governor Kay Ivey’s first session of the quadrennial was a roaring success. It’s hard to remember a governor getting everything they wanted since the George Wallace heydays.

  Wallace in his prime simply controlled the legislature. It was more like an appendage of the governor’s office. Kay Ivey has apparently taken a page from the old Wallace playbook. By the way, that is probably apropos as she cut her teeth in Alabama politics working for and learning from the Wallaces.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - Infrastructure package a huge achievement for Ivey and legislature

  The five-day Special Legislative Session of the Alabama Legislature that addressed the increase in the gas tax to fund an Infrastructure Rebuilding Program for the state was a remarkable success. I still marvel at the adroitness, efficiency, and expediency with which the governor accomplished this monumental initiative. She called for a Special Session on the night of her State of the State Address and within one week, it was signed, sealed, and delivered.

  I have seen some successful special sessions in my lifetime of watching Alabama politics. However, I have never seen anything like this. George Wallace used special sessions regularly during his 20-year reign as King of Alabama Politics. He got things accomplished this way. It is the way to go to crystallize the importance of an issue. 

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse - After Richard Shelby

  Our senior U.S. Senator, Richard Shelby, turns 85 this week. In March, he reached another milestone – he surpassed Sen. John Sparkman as the longest serving U.S. Senator in Alabama history. Shelby has been our senator for 32 plus years. 

  Alabama has a treasure in Richard Shelby. He is not only the longest-serving U.S. Senator in Alabama history; he is also the most successful U.S. Senator in Alabama history. During his illustrious tenure, Senator Shelby has chaired the Senate Banking Committee, Intelligence Committee, and Rules Committee. However, his current perch as Chairman of the Appropriations Committee is unparalleled.

Steve Flowers: Inside the State House - Other legislative issues

  There is no question that Gov. Kay Ivey’s infrastructure/gas tax program was the cornerstone issue of this legislative session. This monumental legislation will be a tremendous enhancement for Alabama’s economic development for decades to come. Governor Ivey and the legislative leadership deserve accolades for addressing this important issue. They were indeed thinking of the next generation rather than the next election. Governor Ivey deserves most of the credit. She reached across the aisle and garnered almost unanimous support from the Democratic legislators. Indeed, the legislation passed the House on an 84-20 vote and passed 28-6 in the Senate.

  However, other major issues will be on the table. The Alabama Department of Corrections is seeking a $42 million increase in its budget in order to hire much needed additional correctional officers. A federal judge has ordered the state to increase the number of guards and mental health professionals.

Taylor’s Top Four: Alabama Legislative review for week 11

  The countdown is on! What’s happening as the session winds down? Read below to find out!

1. Gun bills might be finished for this session

  With time quickly winding down in the legislative session, the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee had a meeting scheduled on Tuesday to consider several things: a bill that raises the age to by an AR-15 from 18 to 21; a bill that would allow judges to take firearms away from individuals who might use them for self-harm or harm to others; and a bill that would ban the sale of AR-15s and other similar guns. The meeting was canceled due to lack of participation—only 4 of the 11 representatives on the committee showed up for the meeting. Additionally, the house, on Tuesday, left without debating Rep. Will Ainsworth’s (R-Guntersville) bill to arm teachers. With the session expected to end this week and with no action on the bills last week, it appears that time has run out for these bills this session. Speaker Mac McCutcheon (R-Monrovia) has said that Ainsworth’s bill will come up again next session, while Ainsworth has called on Governor Ivey to call a special session to consider school safety proposals.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Short legislative session playing out, but campaigns are taking shape

  The 2018 Alabama Legislative Session will be short and sweet. It is an election year. Historically, during the last year of a quadrennium, the legislature convenes early and passes the budgets, then members go home and campaign for reelection to another term. 

  Our forefathers, who wrote our 1901 Constitution, must have been thinking the same thing because they designed for the fourth year of the quadrennium legislative session to start and end early. It is set by law to begin in early January, whereas it begins in February in most years. This year’s session began January 9 and can run through April 23. The consensus is that they will adjourn sine die earlier than the April deadline. Most observers believe that they will pass the budgets and be out of Montgomery by the end of March and home campaigning by April Fools’ Day.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Tuscaloosa's political influence

  A while back, during Dr. Robert Bentley’s tenure as governor, I wrote a column entitled, “They May as Well Move the Capitol to Tuscaloosa.” Never before in Alabama history has a city had a sitting governor and the state’s senior U.S. Senator hail from that particular place. Even with the departure of Bentley as governor, the Druid City has an inordinate amount of presence in the state’s political sphere of influence.

  Senator Richard Shelby is in his 32nd year as our U.S. Senator. With that kind of seniority comes immense power in Washington. Shelby is Chairman of the Senate Rules Committee and is easily one of the three most powerful U.S. Senators. 

Craig Ford: It’s not about right-wing and left-wing - It’s about right and wrong

  It would be easy to think nothing good has happened lately in the world of Alabama politics and that Montgomery is so mired in corruption and bickering that nothing ever gets done.

  After all, the legislative session that just ended began with one governor and ended with a different one. Tensions over legislative redistricting and a controversial email slowed its final days to a crawl, and important issues that were left unfinished will most likely lead to a costly special session.

  In what may be an historic first, we now have a governor, U.S. senator, chief justice of the state Supreme Court, and a state Attorney General – none of whom were elected to those positions.

Craig Ford: Expanding pre-K is a step in the right direction

  With all the bad we see in our political news, it's good to know there is some good news out there, too!

  These days, it’s easy to think nothing good ever comes out of our government – especially here in Alabama! But for all the bad you hear about, there are a lot of great things going on in our state and in our public schools. A perfect example is Alabama’s pre-K program, which has just been named the best pre-K program in the country for the tenth year in a row by the National Institute for Early Education Research.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Tuscaloosa and Wilcox Counties experience a surge in political clout

  Throughout Alabama political history, certain cities, counties and enclaves have had a proclivity for having an inordinate number of their citizenry serve in Alabama politics. The most dominant example is the unbelievable number of governors produced by Barbour County. It is referred to as the Home of Governors.

  However, currently we have a remarkable occurrence that will probably never happen again in Alabama politics. Tuscaloosa County’s prominence and representation on the Alabama political stage in the year 2015 is unparalleled.