Alabama Politics
Legislative Update
House District 52 Special Election has surprise candidate
Democrat Kelvin Datcher won the special election run-off on July 16th for Alabama House District 52. The special election is to replace former state Rep. John Rogers, who resigned from the House of Representatives after pleading guilty to felony charges.
Datcher currently serves as deputy director of community development for the City of Birmingham. Previously, he served as the Alabama State Director for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sander’s 2016 Presidential campaign.
Republican Erskine Brown, Jr. jumped into the race to challenge Democrat Kelvin Datcher. Brown and Datcher will both be on ballot in a special election on October 1, 2024.
Alabama joins lawsuit with 15 states
Attorney General Steve Marshall joined a coalition of 16 states in filing a lawsuit to stop the Biden-Harris administration from allowing illegal aliens from receiving benefits through the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The plan is set to take effect November 1, 2024, and would make more than 200,000 eligible, including 3,460 in Alabama.
This regulation through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services violates the plain text of the ACA. “In the ACA, Congress limited eligibility to participate in a qualified health plan through a subsidized health exchange to citizens or nationals of the United States and individuals ‘lawfully present’ in the United States.’
In addition, the proposed rule also violates a federal law that prohibits giving public benefits to aliens.
Two Property Tax increases defeated
Residents of Trussville and Fultondale, municipalities in Jefferson County, defeated property tax increases on Tuesday, August 27th. The Trussville proposed tax increase of 12.9 mills was earmarked for school construction and Fultondale doubling the current mills was earmarked for city services.
Go Wide I-65 Coalition
A new nonprofit was announced earlier this month to launch a campaign to widen Interstate 65 to three lanes in each direction from Huntsville to Mobile.
The coalition is led by former Alabama state lawmaker George Clark, Go Wide I-65 Coalition, will start the information campaign with the purchase of hundreds of billboards marketing the campaign across the state. The plan when implemented will be done over a multi-year period, one section at a time.
Under the plan, sections would be given priority that rank the highest in the following four categories: population impact, traffic congestion, vehicle accident frequency, and economic potential.
With an average cost of $6 million per mile for rural interstate sections, and $10 million for urban sections, the entire project is projected to cost billions.
Eighty percent is expected to be funded with federal dollars, and funds from the Rebuild Alabama Act will pay the remaining part of the project.
Alabama-Ireland Trade Commission
The Alabama Legislature passed Senate Joint Resolution 24 establishing the Alabama-Ireland Trade Commission. The Commission is created to foster closer ties of friendship between the State of Alabama and the Republic of Ireland.
The Commission has 15 members, and the purpose of the Commission is to advance trade and investment between Alabama and Ireland.
Alabama’s July Unemployment rate 2.8%
Alabama’s July unemployment rate of 2.8% was down from June’s rate of 2.9%. The labor force participation rate remained at 57.5%.
Forty-three percent of working age Alabamians are not participating in the labor force.
Counties with the lowest unemployment rates: Shelby and Morgan-2.5%, Marshall and Cullman-2.6% and St. Clair, Madison, Limestone and Elmore at 2.7%.
Counties with the highest unemployment rate: Wilcox-8.8%, Perry-7.0% and Dallas at 6.2%.
Pharmacy Business Managers – PBM
A study group has been created to review the activities/programs that have been affecting the small pharmacies across the state. The group held its first meeting on Thursday, August 29th. Pharmacist and pharmacy owners from across Alabama attempted to attend the meeting but were not allowed to participate.
