Legislation that would allow local governments to reduce or eliminate their local sales tax on food apparently has stalled in a House committee. House County and Municipal Government Committee Chairman Reed Ingram, R-Matthews, encouraged the sponsor, Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa,…
Either chamber of the Alabama Legislature is poised to debate bills that disallow local bans, regulations or taxes on plastic grocery bags and other single-use containers. Companion bills cleared their assigned committees this week. In other action in the fourth week of…
After sending the Alabama Senate legislation regulating the vaping industry this week, the Alabama House will take up the state’s General Fund budget next week. This week, the Senate conducted public hearings on competing lottery bills (see story below). Meanwhile,…
Legislation that ties the granting of a city or county business license to usage of the federal E-Verify system is headed to the full Senate. On a 9-1 vote Tuesday, the Senate Governmental Affairs approved SB71 by Sen. Arthur Orr,…
The Alabama Legislature resumed its regular session March 19 after spending five days on an infrastructure special session. So far, the House dealt with sunset bills, while the Senate repealed the standard used to measure education progress in Alabama schools….
Several bills have been introduced in the 2019 regular session to ban and set penalties for telephone solicitors who intentionally use misleading caller identification information. A coalition, including the Alabama Retail Association, worked to amend the first of those bills…
The Alabama Woman, Infants and Children (WIC) supplemental foods program is transitioning from a paper-based to an electronic-based delivery system known as eWIC. Food benefits automatically will be added onto a card, much like a debit card. The first phase…
A state of emergency now applies throughout Alabama. On Feb. 27, Gov. Kay Ivey expanded a 19-county declaration to the entire state and extended the duration of the emergency for a full 60 days past her original Feb. 23 declaration. The state of emergency…
The Alabama Legislature’s 2019 regular session begins March 5, one week from today. Slightly more than a quarter of the 140 individuals who will govern us over the next four years will be brand new to their jobs. More than…
Valentine’s Day spending looks very different than it did a decade ago. Ten years ago, more than 60 percent of adults planned to celebrate Valentine’s Day; today, that’s dropped to just over half. At the same time, spending for the…