Katie Britt is sworn in as U.S. Senator
Katie Britt was sworn into the U.S. Senate floor on Tuesday. The swearing-in ceremony took place on the Senate floor shortly after the first session of the 118th Congress convened. “It was a humbling moment to take the oath of office today on the Senate floor,” said newly sworn-in Senator Katie Britt. “I am truly grateful to the people of Alabama for their trust, confidence, and prayers. Now, it’s time to get to work to fight for our people, our liberties, and our values. It will be my mission every day in the Senate to be a leader who looks to identify and implement tangible, meaningful solutions to the serious challenges and opportunities facing both Alabama and America, so hardworking families can thrive in strong communities. Looking up to the gallery from the Senate floor today and seeing my two children smiling down at me reminded me what this is all about – preserving the American Dream for generations to come. As this new year gets underway, my family and I would like to wish everyone a healthy, safe, and prosperous 2023. I have no doubt that our brightest days are ahead. May God continue to bless our great state and nation.” In keeping with traditional protocol, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, as Alabama’s new senior senator escorted Senator Britt to Vice President Kamala Harris, who administered the oath as the Senate’s presiding officer. Members of Senator Britt’s family watched the swearing-in from the Senate gallery. Almost 500 Alabamians traveled to Washington to celebrate the landmark occasion in person. Senator Britt’s temporary office space is in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Her new official Senate website, while a work in progress, is now online and active. Britt is in the process of adding constituent services to the page, which is still a work in progress. This is Britt’s first elected office. Britt replaces the retiring Sen. Richard Shelby, who served for 36 years in the Senate from 1987 to 2022. Twenty years ago, Britt’s life changed when during college, she served an internship with Shelby’s office. Later she served as Shelby’s former chief of staff. Katie is a native of Coffee County. She is married to lobbyist Wesley Britt – a native of Cullman County. They have two children and reside in Montgomery. Congressman Dale Strong was also sworn in on Tuesday. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Steve Flowers: Two new U.S. Senators for Alabama
Richard Shelby walked out of the U.S. Senate this week after 36 years. Walking out with him is almost all of Alabama’s seniority and power in Washington. Seniority equates to power in the Halls of Congress, especially in the Senate. National publications have illustrated the fact that Alabama has benefited more than all 50 states from federally earmarked funds due to one man, Richard Shelby. It will be impossible to replace Shelby. His legacy will last for generations, especially in Huntsville, Birmingham, all defense facilities in Alabama, and the new docks he built in Mobile. No senator brought more federal dollars to their state unless it was Robert Byrd of West Virginia. You would think that we would be what some say, “up the creek without a paddle.” We are a state that depends on federal defense dollars, and we have zero seniority in the U.S. Senate. Our senior Senator, Tommy Tuberville, has two years seniority, and our junior Senator, Katie Britt, has zero years. That probably makes us 50th in seniority in the Senate. However, I contend that our freshman senators, Tuberville and Britt, are the best and right choices for this time. First of all, they will work together as a team. They like each other, and deeper than that, Tuberville’s people covertly and almost overtly campaigned for Katie Boyd Britt. She well knows that and appreciates it. Primarily, Tuberville’s and Katie Britt’s personalities will prevail to Alabama’s advantage. They both have larger-than-life gregarious, vivacious, winning personalities, and in a 100-member body, this is admired, respected, and appreciated. You have some pretty big personalities and egos in that 100-member elite chamber. Shelby has shared with me in past years that you can recognize the prima donnas and show horses who are running for president immediately. Then there are those that want to be a long-term, effective workhorse senator for their state. The first group immediately starts looking for a TV camera to get in front of. The second group is finding their offices, making friends, building a solid staff, and jockeying for committee assignments that help them be effective for their state. Katie Britt Boyd will be greeted and treated like a rockstar. She is young and looks even younger than she is. She is a very articulate and attractive media subject. However, if you know Katie, she will not be swayed by this allure from the national media. She is grounded and has already made inroads with the senate GOP establishment leadership and will be rewarded with surprisingly powerful committee assignments. She will settle into being in Washington as a Senator for Alabama rather than a show horse. Tuberville is now our senior U.S. Senator. When he ran and won two years ago, most of us thought it was a whim, something he wanted to do in his later years. When you first meet him, you can gather that he is a very patriotic fellow. He is doing this for the right reason. He truly wants to serve his country. Tuberville, from the get-go, fell in love with politics. He campaigned—especially one-on-one. But, when he got to the Senate, it has been like Katie bar the door. Folks, he likes it, and the other Republican senators like him. He has really fit in. He has the brightest, happiest contented smile on his face. He looks ten years younger than his 68 years. He is always around his GOP senate buddies. He votes totally with the Republican caucus and does not seek fanfare. He knows the golden rule of politics, “Your word is your bond,” and, “You dance with those who brung you.” He knew the Alabama Farmers’ Federation (Alfa) was an integral part of his election. His first allegiance was to gravitate to committees that could help Alabama farmers as well as Alabama military veterans. He has put together a good staff. It will not surprise me if Coach runs for another six-year term in 2026. The aforementioned Alfa Farmers’ Federation is the most important lobbying group in the state with our two U.S. Senators. Alfa early and ardently supported both Tommy Tuberville and Katie Boyd Britt. Their endorsement of Britt and Tuberville were pivotal and instrumental to their wins. Both know it. Another young man named Paul Shashy was an integral part of both Britt’s and Tuberville’s campaigns. We may be in better shape in the Senate than some think. 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.
Paul DeMarco: With 2022 coming to a close, signs of good days ahead for Alabama in 2023
As we close out 2022, Alabama is another year away from the initial days of the pandemic that has caused much suffering for so many. Yet, state residents continue to deal with economic woes created largely by wayward policies from Washington DC that have affected the pocketbooks and wallets of most everyone. Alabama has also seen the same spike in violent crime as the rest of the Nation, and this past year was one of the worst in state history. The city of Birmingham alone is close to breaking an all-time high for homicides that dates back 90 years. But with a new year ahead, there is hope that our state will see better days. There are signs of financial good news for the state in the next year that will carry over from 2022. This past year the state was recognized for its workforce development, landing top manufacturing facilities and being ranked as a top state to conduct business. Alabama has continued to attract new manufacturing plants, and existing ones are expanding. There are more recruiting projects on the table that will bring good-paying jobs and contribute overall to the state economy. The state maintained low unemployment rates throughout the year, and there is no reason to believe that will not continue in 2023. This past fall, Alabama businesses employed more workers than at any time in state history. A further positive sign is that wages and salaries continued to rise at record amounts. One of the reasons for the strong business climate is the investment in infrastructure. The Port of Mobile was the busiest in history for the state’s front door to shipping with record growth. In addition, with millions of dollars of construction to expand the port’s facilities, you can expect even more products moving through the Alabama Port Authority Terminals in the coming months. And in North Alabama, this is the year that the state has been waiting for with the hope of an official announcement that the United States Space Command will relocate to Huntsville. A final decision is pending and should come early in 2023. The move from Colorado to Alabama would be another major addition to the strong military installations in our state. Finally, tourists continue to make Alabama a destination at record numbers, and state agriculture products continue to be the backbone of the state economy. It has been a long three years, but Alabama and its residents see signs of better days ahead. Paul DeMarco is a former member of the Alabama House of Representatives and can be found on Twitter at @Paul_DeMarco.
Daniel Sutter: Taylor and Ticketmaster
A fiasco involving tickets for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour has renewed calls to break up Ticketmaster through anti-trust. While many commentators have weighed in on the website crash, I will discuss Ticketmaster’s alleged monopoly. Is Ticketmaster responsible for high-priced concert tickets? The demand to break up Ticketmaster relates to its 2010 merger with concert promoter Live Nation. The economics model of monopoly holds under three conditions: the existence of a single seller of a product with no close substitutes and with barriers to entry by other sellers. Ticketmaster meets the single seller and barrier conditions, with exclusive booking rights for over 300 venues, including 47 of the 52 Eras Tour shows. (This is for the primary market; many ticket brokers resell in the secondary market.) Preferences for music vary widely, but for the legions of Swifties, there is no close substitute for the one and only Taylor Swift. The monopoly model predicts higher prices than with competition, suggesting Ticketmaster’s responsibility for high prices. And musicians since Pearl Jam in the 1990s have raged against Ticketmaster. Yet Ms. Swift reportedly set the prices of Eras Tour tickets to ensure affordability for her fans (the average price is $215). Ticketmaster makes money off fees for purchase, not the face price, which passes through to the artist, team, or venue. Furthermore, Ms. Swift wanted all tickets sold in the primary market; Ticketmaster normally directs upwards of 90 percent of tickets to the secondary market. Codes for her loyal fans for the presale tried to prevent purchases by ticket brokers. Nonetheless, many bots allegedly helped crash Ticketmaster’s site. Nor are the high prices on the secondary market (up to seven times face value) Ticketmaster’s fault. The secondary market reflects demand and supply, and Eras Tour tickets are ultimately worth however much people will pay. And the fewer tickets reaching the secondary market, the higher the prices. The forces of demand and supply are beyond the control of Ticketmaster or even Taylor Swift. Ticketmaster’s monopoly might have other effects, though. Ticket revenue for the Eras Tour is estimated at $590 million; Ticketmaster will reportedly make $13 million from its fees on sales. Although modest relative to the gate, these fees may be higher than necessary. Judging costs from outside an industry is virtually impossible, but we can gauge profit. Ticketmaster boasts a very healthy 37 percent adjusted operating margin. Monopoly can also lower quality. Poor service hurts a company more when customers can go elsewhere. Fans trying to buy Eras tickets had to deal with Ticketmaster. The company has notoriously poor service, with a Customer Service Scoreboard rating of 25 out of 200, in the “Terrible” category. Customers complain about a lack of transparency regarding fees. Ticketmaster’s monopoly has effects, but its position is due to the exclusive booking contracts granted by venue operators. Economics helps explain this. Suppose you owned a stadium and needed to sell tickets. While hiring ticket sellers is an option, even a busy stadium hosts a relatively small number of events each year with high demand when new events go on sale. This is a good spot for the expertise of a company specializing in selling tickets. When you negotiate with ticket sellers, you will get a better deal from granting exclusive booking rights. Why? Because monopolists can charge higher fees! Profits likely get shared with the venue operators. Breaking up Live Nation Entertainment would not change the dynamic, leading to exclusive contracts. Ticketmaster’s monopoly position likely produces excessive fees and poor customer service. I can offer one option going forward. Most of the stadiums hosting Eras Tour events were built with at least some tax dollars. Instead of going after Ticketmaster, taxpayers could try to limit exclusive booking deals for publicly funded stadiums. Daniel Sutter is the Charles G. Koch Professor of Economics with the Manuel H. Johnson Center for Political Economy at Troy University and host of Econversations on TrojanVision. The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of Troy University.
Taxes fall, wages rise, and jaywalking OK’d by new state laws
Taxes will fall, and minimum wages rise for residents in numerous states as a variety of new laws take effect Sunday that could impact people’s finances and, in some cases, their personal liberties. Some new laws could affect access to abortion. Others will ease restrictions on marijuana and concealed guns, or eliminate the need to pay to get out of jail. Jaywalkers will get a reprieve in California, thanks to a new law prohibiting police from stopping pedestrians for traffic violations unless they are in immediate danger of being hit by a vehicle. Here’s a look at some of the laws taking effect in the new year. After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling in June, abortion access became a state issue. Laws in place in 13 states, most of them controlled by Republicans, ban abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with varying exceptions. Meanwhile, more liberal states have been extending abortion protections. Laws taking effect in January are not wholesale policy changes but are intended to make abortion more accessible in California and New York. Abortion already is legal in those states through viability, which is about 24 weeks gestational age. California will allow trained nurse practitioners, midwives, and physician assistants to provide abortions without supervision from a physician. In New York, a law dealing with multiple facets of health care requires private insurers that cover births to also cover abortion services, without requiring co-payments or co-insurance. A new Tennessee law, adopted in May, will bar dispensing abortion pills by mail or at pharmacies, instead requiring them to be given with a physician present. But advocates on both sides of the issue believe the effect will be minimal because a ban on abortions throughout pregnancy went into effect after the Supreme Court’s ruling. TAXES Thanks to large budget surpluses, about two-thirds of the states approved permanent tax cuts or one-time rebates last year. Several of those will take effect in January. Income tax cuts mean less money will be withheld from workers’ paychecks in Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, and South Carolina. An Arizona income tax rate reduction to a flat 2.5% also will take effect in January, a year before originally scheduled because of strong state revenues. Iowa will revamp its income tax brackets as a first step toward an eventual flat tax, and it will stop taxing retirement income. Kansas will reduce its sales tax on groceries. Virginia will lower the tax on groceries and personal hygiene products. Colorado also will remove taxes from hygiene products but will impose a 10-cent fee on plastic bags as a precursor to their elimination in 2024. Other states are providing tax incentives for law-and-order professions. Rhode Island will exempt military pensions from tax. Georgia will offer a tax credit for donations to local law enforcement foundations. But not all taxes will be going down. A voter-approved “millionaire tax” will take effect in Massachusetts, imposing a 4% surcharge on income of more than $1 million. Wyoming is taking steps to collect taxes more quickly. Producers of coal, oil, gas, and uranium will have to pay taxes monthly, instead of up to 18 months after extraction. The change comes after some counties had difficulty collecting millions of dollars owed by coal companies that went bankrupt. WAGES Minimum wage workers will get a pay raise in 23 states as a result of laws passed in previous years, some of which provide annual inflationary adjustments. The increases range from an extra 23 cents in Michigan to an additional $1.50 in Nebraska, where a ballot measure approved in November will raise the minimum wage from $8 to $9.50 an hour. The gap continues to grow between the 20 states following the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour and the 30 others requiring more. The highest state minimum wage now will be $15.74 an hour in Washington — more than double the federal rate. Another law taking effect with the new year will require employers in Washington to include salary and benefits information in job postings, rather than waiting until a job offer to reveal such information. Similar salary transparency laws are in place in half a dozen other states. Workers in Colorado and Oregon will start seeing paycheck deductions in January to fund new paid family leave programs. But Oregon residents will have to wait until September and Colorado residents until 2024 before they can claim paid time off following a serious illness in their family, the arrival of new children, or recovery from sexual assault, domestic violence, harassment or stalking. Ohio will offer a new way for people to spend their paychecks. Sports betting will become legal, joining more than 30 states that have adopted similar laws since a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling said it was OK. CRIMINAL JUSTICE A new law in Illinois is supposed to eliminate cash bail for people accused of crimes, but a judge put that on hold in late December after 64 counties challenged it as unconstitutional. Requiring bonds to be posted has long been a way to ensure people who are arrested show up for their trials, but critics say the system penalizes the poor. Eliminating cash bail would put Illinois in a group of states including California, Indiana, New Jersey, Nebraska, and New York that have prohibited or restricted the practice. Another area where social justice meets criminal justice is relaxing marijuana laws. In November, voters made Maryland the 21st state to legalize recreational use by adults. That begins on July 1, 2023. As an interim step at the start of the year, possession by adults of up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis will become a civil offense punishable with a maximum fine of $100. In Connecticut, some provisions of a 2021 law that legalized recreational marijuana also kick in, including automatic expungement of convictions for possession of less than 4 ounces of marijuana that were imposed from 2000 through September 2015. According to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, 21 other states have expungement laws. Alabama will become the 25th state where it will
Inauguration for Gov. Kay Ivey will be January 16
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey was recently re-elected to a second term as Governor of Alabama. Gov. Ivey’s next four years will begin on January 16. Ivey and the other state constitutional officers will be sworn in at 10:00 am CST on the Capital steps in Montgomery. The festivities will begin on January 15 with the Made in Alabama Reception from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Governor Kay Ivey will kick off inaugural festivities by hosting an Alabama Made reception at the Alabama Governor’s Mansion. The traditional Morning Prayer Service will be held on January 16 at 8:15 am. The governor will begin inauguration day with an early morning prayer service at her home church, First Baptist Church in Montgomery. There she will petition our Heavenly Father for wisdom, guidance, and strength in leading the people of Alabama. The swearing-in Ceremony will follow at 10:00 am. With one hand on the Bible, Governor Ivey will take the oath of office on the Alabama State Capitol steps and publicly be sworn into her second term as governor. Other state constitutional officers likely to be sworn in include Will Ainsworth – Lieutenant Governor; Steve Marshall – Attorney General; Rick Pate – Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries; Wes Allen – Secretary of State; Andrew Sorrell – State Auditor, and Young Boozer – State Treasurer. Jeremy Oden and Chip Beeker were both re-elected to the Public Service Commission. All of Alabama’s statewide constitutional officers are Republicans. Following the swearing-in ceremony, celebrate newly inaugurated officials with a parade up Dexter Avenue that showcases and celebrates Alabama’s diverse communities and talent at 12:00 pm. Attending the parade is free for all Alabamians and their families. Before the Inaugural Gala, Governor Ivey will host an exclusive donor reception at 6:00 pm for her donors to personally thank those supporters who went above and beyond to keep Alabama working. The Inaugural Gala will be at 7:00 pm. A formal gala will be held to commemorate Alabama’s first Republican female governor and celebrate Governor Ivey’s dedication to keep Alabama growing. The Governor’s inauguration committee is still accepting opportunities for donors as she is sworn into office for a second term as Alabama’s 54th governor. A $100,000 contribution gets you to the Governor’s Circle Level. Those high-dollar donors receive ten tickets to the Alabama Made Reception, ten tickets to the Prayer Service, forty priority seating tickets to the swearing-in ceremony, eight tickets to the special Donor Reception, and forty reserved seating tickets to the Inaugural Gala as well as two full-page, four-color advertisements in the Official Inaugural Commemorative Program and acknowledgment in the program as a Governor’s Circle Level Inaugural Sponsor. A $50,000 donation is a platinum Level sponsorship. Those donors receive eight tickets to the Alabama Made Reception, eight tickets to the Prayer Service, twenty-four priority seating tickets to the swearing-in ceremony, six tickets to the special Donor Reception hosted by Gov. Ivey, twenty-four reserved seating tickets to the Inaugural Gala, full-page, four-color advertisement in the Official Inaugural Commemorative Program, and acknowledgment in the program as a Platinum Level Inaugural Sponsor. A $25,000 contribution is gold level. That purchase six tickets to the Alabama Made Reception, six tickets to the Prayer Service, ten priority seating tickets to the swearing-in ceremony, four tickets to the special Donor Reception hosted by Gov. Ivey, sixteen tickets to the Inaugural Gala, a full-page, four-color advertisement in the Official Inaugural Commemorative Program, and acknowledgment in the program as a Gold Level Inaugural Sponsor. A $10,000 contribution purchases silver-level sponsorship. That purchases two tickets to the Alabama Made Reception, two tickets to the Prayer Service, four priority seating tickets to the swearing-in ceremony, two tickets to the special Donor Reception hosted by the Governor, eight tickets to the Inaugural Gala, a half-page, four-color advertisement in the Official Inaugural Commemorative Program, and acknowledgment in the program as a Silver Level Inaugural Sponsor. $5000 is Bronze Level, and those donors receive two tickets to the Prayer Service, two priority seating tickets to the swearing-in ceremony, two tickets to the special Donor Reception, four tickets to the Inaugural Gala, a half-page, black-and-white advertisement in the Official Inaugural Commemorative Program, and acknowledgment in the program as a Bronze Level Inaugural Sponsor. Commemorative Program Ads cost $5,000 for one full-page, four-color advertisement; $3,500 for a one full-page, black-and-white advertisement; $2,500 for a half-page, four-color advertisement; and $2,000 for a half-page, black-and-white advertisement. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
