Kiwanis Club and Kay Ivey honor State Trooper of the Year TerMarlon Blair
The Kiwanis Club of Montgomery met on Tuesday to honor Sr. Trooper TerMarlon Blair of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s Highway Patrol Division as the State Trooper of the Year 2022. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey was the keynote speaker at the awards luncheon, and Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) Secretary Hal Taylor was also in attendance. “It is an honor for us to serve with someone who is consistently a top performer in enforcement activity for Highway Patrol’s Montgomery Post and daily demonstrates the skills and abilities of a true leader,” Taylor said in a statement. “TerMarlon regularly meets the goals he establishes for himself, but he often exceeds them. It is truly a pleasure to witness an ALEA Trooper with such drive and strong work ethic be honored in such a way.” “I would like to congratulate Trooper Blair for his service to our state,” Ivey said. “Public service has always been a hallmark of Kay Ivey’s administration, and that isn’t going to change any time soon.” “Here in Alabama, we always ‘Back the Blue,’” Ivey said. Sr. Trooper Blair is a Montgomery native and a United States Marine Corps veteran who previously served with the Alabama Department of Corrections prior to becoming an ALEA Trooper five years ago. During his time at ALEA’s Training Center in Selma, he was named Class 2017-B president and received the Commander’s Award. Trooper Blair has applied for extra duties as Field Training Officer, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Inspector, Traffic Homicide Investigator, Physical Training Specialist, Honor Guard member, and Cultural Analysis Improvement Team member. He has already investigated 47 traffic crashes, conducted 10,500 enforcement actions, and made 12 DUI arrests in conjunction with 10 misdemeanor and felony arrests to this point in 2022. “I, like all residents of Montgomery, look forward to increased public safety,” Ivey said. “Going forward over the next four years, we are going to look to continue to bolster public safety.” Afterward, reporters asked Ivey about a report that a disproportionate share of legislation passed in recent years has made it easier for the state to imprison citizens or increase the length of sentences. “We are focused on public safety,” Ivey said. “Whatever it takes to keep our people safe.” Ivey is running for a second term as Governor. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Kay Ivey promises tax relief for citizens if given a second term
Governor Kay Ivey addressed the Kiwanis Club of Montgomery on Tuesday. In addition to the Governor’s normal talking points she added support for “providing tax relief in the pocket books of Alabamians.” The Governor did not go into detail and did not say whether she favored one-time tax rebates out of the state budget surplus or tax reform to lower the income tax rate or reduce the four percent tax on groceries. A number of key legislators have already suggested that tax rebates or tax would be seriously considered during the 2023 Alabama regular legislative session. The state is expected to carry over a surplus in excess of $2 billion into the 2023 fiscal year which begins on October 1. Sen. Arthur Orr has proposed rebating a portion of that excess money back to the taxpayers rather than using it to grow the government. Some ultra-conservatives have suggested going farther than just a tax rebate and have advocated for passing substantive tax cuts. The State of Alabama collects a five percent income tax on all income, active or passive, in the state except on pensions. Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi have all either have no state income tax or have moved to reduce their taxes while Alabama has stayed at 5%, though the legislature has increased the standard deduction that every citizen is allowed to take. Tax relief could take the form of further increasing the standard deduction helping all taxpayers equally, but on a percentage basis would greatly help the working poor and low wage earners. A reduction in personal or corporate income tax rates would similarly help all taxpayers; but would much more greatly benefit high income Alabamians. Tax reform has become a general election campaign issue. Libertarian nominee for Governor Dr. James “Jimmy” Blake is campaigning on reducing or eliminating the income tax. Democratic nominee for Governor Yolanda Rochelle Flowers has campaigned on eliminating the four percent tax on groceries. Flowers has also voiced support for a suspension in gas tax collections. After learning of Gov. Ivey’s support for tax relief for Alabama taxpayers Dr. Blake told Alabama Today, “I will take credit for that.” The general election is not until November 8. The 2023 regular legislative session will not even begin until March so it could be many months before Alabamians can expect any actual tax relief from the legislature if it passes the legislature. Ivey was the keynote speaker at the Kiwanis Club of Montgomery meeting to honor Sr. Trooper TerMarlon Blair of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s Highway Patrol Division as the club’s Trooper of the Year for 2022. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Justin Bogie: Excuses are easy — Meaningful policy change takes bold leadership
As summer turns to fall, the drumbeat for the Alabama Legislature to enact meaningful tax reform legislation has picked up its pace. But there is still no action — only discussion of temporary relief and the same old excuses as to why long-term reforms will be challenging to pursue. While major policy reforms are rarely easy, it should not be this hard. The state is likely to begin 2023 with a more than $2 billion revenue surplus, building on last year’s then-record $1.5 billion surplus. When Alabama’s government has more revenues than at any point in history, providing long-term relief to citizens should be a no-brainer. But despite having a Republican super-majority legislature and Republicans elected to all state-wide offices, Alabama continues to fall further behind other states when it comes to tax reform. Citizens are paying the price. Part of the problem is a lack of strong leadership. In August, Governor Kay Ivey’s spokeswoman, Gina Maiola said, “Right now, Alabamians and Americans alike are feeling the pinch, though, and Gov. Ivey wants to be able to help Alabamians in whatever ways we can.” I am glad that Gov. Ivey recognizes that Alabamians are feeling the pinch of inflation, but where is the action? She alone has the power to call legislators to Montgomery for a special session. Ivey could do that within days, but it seems apparent that there is unlikely to be any real movement on tax reform until at least next March, when the 2023 regular session begins. Meanwhile, 32 other states have enacted tax relief legislation this year. Missouri is currently in the midst of a special session, called by Gov. Mike Parson, aimed at passing $700 million in permanent tax cuts. That is what we need in Alabama. Instead, we are getting more excuses. Just last week, General Fund budget committee chairman State Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Atmore) said, “While y’all are focusing on how flush it appears that we are, I’m looking at what the problems are and how we’re going to resolve them.” First, the state does not appear flush with cash. It is flush with cash. In the past two years, it has collected more taxes from Alabamians than ever before. Instead of using that cash to take less money from citizens in the coming years, Albritton suggested that the best way “to help people in the long run in perpetuity is to take that money and put it into a trust account much like the Alabama Trust Fund (ATF),” and then use that fund for education. Alabama already has numerous trust funds and budget savings accounts that are intended to ease the impacts of an economic downturn. The state could draw more than $850 million from the ATF alone in 2023, if necessary. The state has not touched the account, which has a total balance of more than $3.35 billion, since 2012. Even during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the reserve funds remained untapped. It was a rainy day for many Alabamians, but not for the government. The state does not need another savings account. The idea of establishing one shows how out of touch lawmakers are with Alabamians. When a recession hits, the government should not be protected at the expense of citizens. It should at the least be sharing in the pain. Another argument made against tax reform is that Alabama’s current stretch of strong economic growth will not last, and the record high surpluses are because of conservative budgeting. Legislative fiscal officer Kirk Fulford recently said, “You were conservative in both of those budgets, and because of that, and because of the enhanced federal money that came into the states, you are going to wind up with ending balances in both budgets that are far and above greater than any you’ve had in quite a while.” I am sorry, but would most Alabamians describe increasing spending at a faster pace than California or New York as remotely conservative? I do not think so. In April, Gov. Ivey praised the Legislature for sending her the “sixth consecutive balanced budget” she has signed as governor. It is easy to balance a budget when you are taxing citizens more than ever. A balanced budget in and of itself is not a sign of conservatism or fiscal responsibility. In Alabama’s recent history it represents the historic expansion of government. More taxes from you have kept the budget balanced. There is also the argument that inflationary pressures may prevent the state from being able to afford to provide long-term tax relief. In August, Representative Steve Clouse (R-Ozark) said, “We want to see if maybe the budget we passed and goes into October is adequate enough on the inflationary pressures hitting right now.” Again, shouldn’t the pain being felt by Alabamians outweigh any hardships felt by the state government? Moreover, the inflation argument makes little sense. Inflation was 8.3 percent when the two state budgets were enacted in April. At the end of August, it was still 8.3 percent. If the Legislature really did pass conservative budgets just five months ago, inflation should already be accounted for. The bottom line remains that Alabama’s state government has more of your taxpayer dollars flowing into it than ever. Instead of looking for excuses to not provide relief to citizens, it is time for bold leadership and action. Justin Bogie is the Senior Director of Fiscal Policy for the Alabama Policy Institute.
Craig Ford wins Gadsden Mayoral race
Gadsden voters went to the polls on Tuesday and voted to elect former State Rep. Craig Ford (D-Gadsden) to be their new Mayor. Ford is a native of Gadsden and a small businessman who has served four terms in the Alabama House of Representatives. Ford became the Minority Leader of the Alabama House of Representatives in the aftermath of the Democrats’ loss of control of the Legislature in the 2010 election. Ford was a strong supporter of a lottery while he was in the Legislature and was a vocal critic of then Alabama Democratic Party Chair Nancy Worley and Vice Chair for Minority Affairs Joe Reed. This feud ultimately cost him his role as Minority Leader. Ford owns a small insurance company and is the publisher of the Gadsden Messenger newspaper. Ford’s opponent was former Gadsden Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Heather Brothers New. Ford won with 61.7% of the vote (3,306 votes) to New’s 38.3% (2,053). The victory is a major political comeback for Ford, who lost a race as an independent for State Senate to Republican Andrew Jones in 2018. Ford has campaigned extensively on promises to recruit new industry to Gadsden. Also on Tuesday’s ballot were several city council races. In City Council District 3, Larry J. Avery, Jr. defeated Denecia Ann Getaw 282 to 243. For City Council District 4, incumbent Kent Back narrowly defeated challenger Carrie Machen 723 to 628 In City Council District 5, incumbent Jason Wilson defeated challenger Billy F. Billingsley, Sr. 382 to 222. In the City Council, District 6 race Dixie Minatra defeated Renay Stokes Reeves 263 to 206. And finally, in Gadsden City Council District 7, incumbent Ben Reed was defeated by challenger Chris Robinson 439 to 800. Longtime Gadsden Mayor Sherman Guyton did not seek a fifth term. The Gadsden City Council will meet on Wednesday with a pre-meeting at 10:00 a.m. and a meeting at 11:00 a.m. to certify the election results. These election results were originally published by the Gadsden Times. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Steve Flowers: Board of Education
School board members are some of the most selfless public servants in Alabama. This accolade goes to the Alabama State Board of Education, and, more specifically, local school board members. These members are tasked with a very important mission but receive very little compensation for their time and efforts. They are indeed public servants. The Alabama State Board of Education is a nine-member body that sets public education policy for K-12 schools. The governor is an ex-officio member of the board, and the remaining eight members are elected to four-year terms from single-member districts of approximately equal population. There is no limit to the number of terms a school board member may serve. The seats are partisan-driven. Currently, our state school board has six Republican members and two Democratic members. Given the fact that members are elected rather than appointed, it is somewhat surprising that our current eight members are so well-qualified and suited to be state school board members. Dr. Wayne Reynolds, who represents District 8, best exemplifies this statement. He has a doctorate in education and has spent over four decades as an education administrator. He is retired and brings his experience and wisdom to the table. In his early years, Wayne was a decorated Vietnam War Veteran. He and his wife Carol reside in the Limestone/Madison area. Wayne is a Republican and was re-elected to his second four-year term earlier this year. Marie Manning has just been elected to District 6, which is a Republican district. She will begin her first term in January. Prior to her recent election to the state school board, Marie served as Vice President of the St. Clair County Board of Education. During her stellar career in education, Marie was a classroom teacher, vice-principal, principal, and superintendent. Dr. Yvette Richardson represents District 4 and is a resident of Montgomery. Yvette is a Democrat and was re-elected to another four-year term in the Democratic Primary. She has a doctorate degree from the University of Alabama and has had a distinguished career in education. Tracie West is a Republican member of the board from District 2. She was re-elected to a second four-year term in the Republican Primary. She hails from Auburn and, as would be expected from this area, is well-qualified and versed in education knowledge and policy. Prior to being elected to the state school board, Tracie served as a member of the Auburn City Schools Board of Education, including serving as president of that board. There are four members up for re-election in 2024, Jackie Ziegler, Stephanie Bell, Tonya Chestnut, and Belinda McRae, provided all four decide to seek another term. Jackie Ziegler of Mobile is a Republican board member and represents District 1. She was first elected in 2016 and is an experienced and successful educator. She is a graduate of the University of South Alabama. She was a classroom teacher, then a longtime principal in the Mobile County School System. She is married to State Auditor Jim Ziegler. Stephanie Bell, who represents District 3, is by far the most veteran member of the board, having first been elected in 1994 and re-elected to eight consecutive terms. At the end of her current term, she will have served over 30 years. She is a stellar member, an asset to the board, and hopefully, will run again. Stephanie is a lifelong resident of Montgomery, as is her husband. Dr. Tonya Chestnut, a native of Selma, is a Democrat and represents District 5. She has a doctorate in education and is the former Dean of Alabama State University College of Visual and Performing Arts. Belinda McRae of Hamilton is the Republican board member for District 7. She is in her first term. Belinda taught English and art for 25 years in the Marion County School System and served on the Marion County Board of Education before being elected to the State School Board. Choosing the State Superintendent is probably the most important task of the Alabama State School Board, and the board made an excellent choice when they selected Dr. Eric Mackey as Alabama State Superintendent of Education. Dr. Mackey is a former school superintendent and former Executive Director of the State School Superintendents Association. Most of our former governors did not take their ex-officio role as seriously as Governor Kay Ivey. Governor Ivey has been a very active and dutiful member of the Alabama State School Board. In closing, allow me to not only give accolades to the state school board but also a tip of the hat to all local school board members. See you next week. Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.
U.S. southern border sees 2 million migrant encounters for first time in one fiscal year
More than two million migrant encounters have occurred along the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2022 as of August. This is an all-time high and driven partly by an increased influx of people coming from what U.S. Customs and Border Patrol refer to as the failing communist regimes of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. They comprised 35% of the migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border in August 2022. There was a 175% increase in people from these countries being spotted around the border over the past year. “Failing communist regimes in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba are driving a new wave of migration across the Western Hemisphere, including the recent increase in encounters at the southwest U.S. border,” CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus said in a press release. “Our dedicated teams of skilled agents continue to work around the clock to secure our border and safely and humanely process and vet every individual encountered, but those fleeing repressive regimes pose significant challenges for processing and removal.” There were 203,598 migrant encounters at the southern border last month. Most were apprehensions (181,160) of migrants who entered the country illegally. A much smaller portion (22,427) were migrants and asylum-seekers processed at legal ports of entry. With one month left of the fiscal year, CBP agents along the southern border had encountered more than 2.1 million migrants. That beat the record set in the fiscal year 2021 (1.7 million migrant encounters). About one million of the migrants encountered at the border have been expelled to Mexico or another country subject to Title 42, which was used to mitigate the spread of coronavirus. Title 42 does not carry any criminal or immigration penalties, unlike other deportations. Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
Mississippi nears $6M in revenue off medical marijuana licenses, fees
With the medical marijuana program still in its infancy in Mississippi, the state is already raking in revenue. Through Monday, the state has culled nearly $6 million in license and one-time application fees from dispensaries, cultivators, transportation companies, processors, and testing operations in the state, according to information posted on the state’s Department of Health website. While sales aren’t expected to begin until November, there are already 113 licensed dispensaries on file with the state’s Department of Revenue, the entity collecting fees and taxes. The Department of Health did not respond to inquiries for this story. The state has already gained $4.52 million in revenue from licensing and application fees for dispensaries through late September, and that revenue will only continue to rise once sales begin later this year. All told, just through licenses and fees, the state has collected $5.785 million. When sales do begin, medical marijuana will be subject to a 7% state sales tax. For the first year of the program, the state’s Department of Health has set up one-time fees of $40,000, which is comprised of a $25,000 license fee and a $15,000 nonrefundable application fee, for dispensary licenses. Yearly renewals are set at $25,000. Dispensary licenses are good for one year, while cultivation licenses are good for just four months, which falls just beyond the 90-day gestation period for medical marijuana plants. Transportation, processing, and disposal license are also good for just four months. For transportation licenses, there is a one-time application fee of $5,000 and a license fee of $7,500. The same fees are applied to disposal licenses. That state has brought in $905,000 for cultivation licenses, $175,000 for processor licenses, $110,000 for micro-cultivation licenses, and $12,500 for disposal licenses; $37,500 for transportation businesses; and $25,000 for testing facilities. Under the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act, known as Senate Bill 2095, which was signed into law on Feb. 2, patients will be able to acquire flowers, concentrated cannabis products, extracts, and other products infused with cannabis, which includes edibles, beverages, topical products, ointments, and oils. Taxes under the law are set at 5% for cultivators when selling to dispensaries and 7% on sales at dispensaries to patients, according to the law. Medical marijuana cards will be available to qualifying patients through the Department of Health, and carry a nonrefundable fee of $25, with the exception of veterans and disabled first responders, who will have fees waived. Medicare patients will pay just $15 for a card. Qualifying conditions include cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, muscular dystrophy, glaucoma, spastic quadriplegia, HIV, AIDS, hepatitis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Also, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, sickle-cell anemia, Alzheimer’s disease, agitation of dementia, post-traumatic stress disorder, autism, pain refractory to appropriate opioid management, diabetic/peripheral neuropathy; And also, spinal cord disease of severe injury, or the treatment of a chronic, terminal, or debilitating disease. Patients, according to the law, will be permitted to purchase 21 grams per week and 84 grams per month. That works out to 2.96 ounces per month, and just 0.74 ounces per week. Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
Arbiter in Donald Trump docs probe signals intent to move quickly
The independent arbiter tasked with inspecting documents seized in an FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida home said Tuesday he intends to push briskly through the review process and appeared skeptical of the Trump team’s reluctance to say whether it believed the records had been declassified. “We’re going to proceed with what I call responsible dispatch,” Raymond Dearie, a veteran Brooklyn judge, told lawyers for Trump and the Justice Department in their first meeting since his appointment last week as a so-called special master. The purpose of the meeting was to sort out next steps in a review process expected to slow by weeks, if not months, the criminal investigation into the retention of top-secret information at Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House. As special master, Dearie will be responsible for sifting through the thousands of documents recovered during the Aug. 8 FBI search and segregating those protected by claims of executive privilege or attorney-client privilege. Though Trump’s lawyers had requested the appointment of a special master to ensure an independent review of the documents, they have resisted Dearie’s request for more information about whether the seized records had been previously declassified — as Trump has maintained. His lawyers have consistently stopped short of that claim, even as they have asserted that a president has absolute authority to declassify information. They said in a separate filing Tuesday that the Justice Department had not proven that the records remained classified. “In the case of someone who has been president of the United States, they have unfettered access along with unfettered declassification authority,” one of Trump’s lawyers, James Trusty, said in court Tuesday. But Dearie said that if Trump’s lawyers will not actually assert that the records have been declassified, and the Justice Department instead presents an acceptable case that they remain classified, then he would be inclined to regard them as classified. “As far as I’m concerned,” he said, “that’s the end of it.” In a letter to Dearie on Monday night, the lawyers said the declassification issue might be part of Trump’s defense in the event of an indictment. Trusty said in court Tuesday that the Trump team should not be forced at this point to disclose a possible defense based on the idea the records had been declassified. He denied that the lawyers were trying to engage in “gamesman-like” behavior but instead believed it was a process that required “baby steps.” He said the right time for the discussion is whenever Trump presses forward with a claim to get any seized property back. Dearie said he understood the position but observed: “I guess my view of it is, you can’t have your cake and eat it” too. The resistance to the judge’s request was notable because it was Trump’s lawyers, not the Justice Department, who had requested the appointment of a special master and because the recalcitrance included an acknowledgment that the probe could be building toward an indictment. Despite the focus on whether the seized documents are classified or not, the three statutes the Justice Department listed on a warrant as part of its investigation do not require that the mishandled information be classified in order to initiate a prosecution. The Trump team has also questioned the feasibility of some of the deadlines for the special master’s review. That work includes inspecting the roughly 11,000 documents, including about 100 marked as classified, that were taken during the FBI’s search. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee who granted the Trump team’s request for a special master, had set a November 30 deadline for Dearie’s review and instructed him to prioritize his inspection of classified records. The Justice Department has asked a federal appeals court to halt Cannon’s order requiring it to provide him with classified documents for his review. That appeal is pending. Dearie, a Ronald Reagan appointee whose name is on the atrium of his Brooklyn courthouse, made clear during Tuesday’s meeting that he intended to meet the deadlines, saying there was “little time” to complete the assigned tasks. Julie Edelstein, a Justice Department lawyer, said she was hopeful that the department could get the documents digitized and provided to Trump’s lawyers by early next week. She noted that the department had given the legal team a list of five vendors approved by the government for the purposes of scanning, hosting, and otherwise processing the seized records. After some haggling, Dearie instructed Trusty’s lawyers to choose a vendor by Friday. Earlier Tuesday, the Trump legal team urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit to leave in place Cannon’s order temporarily barring the Justice Department’s use of the classified records for its criminal investigation while Dearie completes his review. The department has said that the order has impeded its investigation into the presence of top-secret information at Mar-a-Lago. Trump’s lawyers called those concerns overblown, saying investigators could still do other work on the probe even without scrutinizing the seized records. “Ultimately, any brief delay to the criminal investigation will not irreparably harm the Government,” Trump’s lawyers wrote. “The injunction does not preclude the Government from conducting a criminal investigation, it merely delays the investigation for a short period while a neutral third party reviews the documents in question.” Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
