Norfolk Southern train derails in Calhoun County, Alabama
A Norfolk Southern train derailed Thursday in Calhoun County, Alabama, just hours before company CEO Alan Shaw faced lawmakers to answer questions about a February 3 derailment that led to a toxic chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio,” reported NBC News. This train derailment is followed with much speculation following the most recent train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which resulted in the spilling of vinyl chloride and butyl acetate, resulting in extreme air hazards for the people and animals in the East Palestine area. According to Calhoun County Emergency Management, no injuries or hazardous leaks have been reported following the approximate 20-car derailment. Norfolk Southern said the train left from Atlanta and was headed to Meridian, Mississippi. A spokesperson said they are working closely with local officials. It is not yet clear what caused the derailment in Calhoun County. Americans are demanding answers and solutions to recent events. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email beniraeharmony@gmail.com.
Tommy Tuberville says it is no longer safe for Americans to cross Mexican border
Four Americans were kidnapped while making a cross-border visit to Mexico. Authorities rescued two of those Americans, but the other two were found executed. On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville told the Alabama press corps, “You can’t go freely across the border.” “I hate this happened to four Americans,” Sen. Tuberville said in his weekly press call. “We lost two lives, and it is sad what happened. That you can’t go freely across the border, you can’t go at any stop across the border now. It is out of control.” “Well, it just goes to show you, not just on our side, but on their side – they’re losing control of their borders, Mexico is,” Tuberville continued. “Mexico actually is being held hostage by the cartels. The cartels are running the country of Mexico. Their government is under siege. You have got to be very careful. It is a different country than it has been in the past.” Tuberville urged President Joe Biden to talk to the President of Mexico and urge Mexico to send military to the border. “I would hope that President Biden would step up and have a meeting with the president over there,” said Tuberville. “I know President Trump did. He held them accountable and said we are going to stop trade if you don’t get your chips in a row. They straightened up. They gave us people at the border Military that would help out the border.” Tuberville said that President Biden is partly to blame for the border chaos. “President Biden is partly to blame for this for what he has done on our side of the border – opened up the border and let the cartel come through as they may,” Tuberville said. “So hopefully, this administration in the White House will wake up and smell the roses. It is wrong. It is wrong for the people of Mexico, and it is wrong for law-abiding citizens of Mexico, and something needs to be done, and there needs to be huge talks. We have got wars all over the world, but we have got a war right at our border, and we better wake up and see this and start getting some kind of answers to it at the border on both sides.” The four friends from South Carolina were traveling to Mexico for inexpensive cosmetic surgery. Eric James Williams, Zindell Brown, and cousins Latavia “Tay” McGee and Shaeed Woodard drove into Matamoros, Mexico, in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas just south of Brownsville, Texas. Their white minivan was fired on by heavily armed gunmen in body armor. The foursome was then taken hostage and forced at gunpoint to leave in another car. The hostages were moved frequently to avoid authorities who were frantically seeking to rescue the Americans. Williams and McGee were both rescued Tuesday morning. Brown and Woodard’s ordeal ended in tragedy. One of the victims’ bodies was found in the house with the survivors. The other body was found outside the home. All four are back in America now. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked on Wednesday if the President had spoken to the victims. Jean-Pierre told reporters, “I just don’t have anything more to share. Clearly, our hearts go out to the family members who lost — who lost a loved one. It is devastating, clearly, the news that we heard and the reports and what we know of the case thus far. And so, our hearts go out to them. I just don’t have anything to read — to read out.” A 24-year-old suspect, who allegedly was assigned to guard the hostages, is in custody, and authorities are seeking more suspects. Irving Barrios is the attorney general of Tamaulipas. Barrios said that the Americans were not directly targeted and that he believes it all “was a misunderstanding.” The FBI is urging anyone with information to call its San Antonio office at 210-225-6741 or submit information on its website. Tuberville was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2020. Since his election, he has visited the southern border multiple times and has urged Biden to address the growing border chaos. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Gov. Kay Ivey issues executive order to cut red tape
On Wednesday, Governor Kay Ivey signed Executive Order 735. Ivey said that her order delivers on her commitment to making state government work with greater efficiency and accountability for the people of Alabama. “Sometimes, the best thing government can do is just get out of the way and allow the people to handle their business,” said Governor Ivey. “In many cases, government regulations that were necessary a decade ago have outlived their usefulness, and it’s time for that to change. This order directs state executive branch agencies to find where they can better serve our people, and I look forward to seeing its impact result in positive changes soon.” Ivey had promised in her State of the State address to issue the executive order. “During my inaugural address, I promised we would reduce burdens holding back our businesses with the goal of cutting regulations by 25 percent over the next two years,” Ivey told legislators Tuesday night. “I am proud to share with you all that tomorrow, I will sign an executive order to cut red tape so that our businesses are not held back, but can thrive. As I like to say, sometimes the best thing government can do is just get out of the way!” Ivey said that Executive Order 735 will reduce the “red tape” citizens and businesses must navigate by placing a moratorium on new rulemaking by executive branch agencies and establishing goals for the reduction in discretionary regulatory restrictions on citizens and businesses contained in the Alabama Administrative Code by 25%. The order will be carried out in three phases over the next two years. Phase one requires each state executive branch agency to prepare a written inventory of its existing administrative rules. Agencies are ordered to provide this information to the Office of the Governor. Phase one is anticipated to occur between March and September of 2023. Once that is done, phase two directs each state executive branch agency to develop a written plan to reduce regulatory burdens imposed through its administrative rules and otherwise tighten up its administrative code. Phase two is anticipated to occur between September 2023 and March 2024. Phase three is when the implementation of each agency’s rule reduction plan will begin. Phase three is anticipated to occur between March 2024 and March 2025. Each executive branch agency must also designate an existing employee to serve as its Red Tape Reduction Coordinator. Thursday is day 2 of Alabama’s First 2023 Special Session. Ivey called the special session for the Legislature to appropriate over one billion dollars of American Rescue Plan Act funds (ARPA) sent to the state by the federal government. Ivey is the second woman governor in state history. Ivey served two terms as State Treasurer from 2003 to 2011 and was elected Lieutenant Governor in 2010 and 2014. In 2017, Ivey was elevated to Governor when then-Gov. Robert Bentley resigned to avoid impeachment. Ivey was elected to her own term as Governor in 2018 and was re-elected in 2022. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
The ARPA Special Session begins
The Alabama Legislature met on Wednesday for the first day of the First 2023 Special Session. The session was called by Alabama Governor Kay Ivey to appropriate just over one billion dollars in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that the state received and has not yet appropriated. The Alabama House of Representatives met at 1:00 p.m. to conduct business and allow for the introduction of bills in the special session. The pre-filed bills we have been discussing for weeks are for the 2023 Regular Legislative Session and cannot be addressed during the special session. The regular session will resume on Thursday, March 21. House Speaker Pro Tem Chris Pringle introduced, and the House passed, a resolution to formally announce to the Senate that the House is in special session. The House passed a resolution to appoint a committee to announce to the governor that the House is in a special session. The Alabama Senate gaveled in just after the House adjourned. The Senate appointed a committee to announce to the Governor that the Senate is in special session. They also passed a resolution to announce to the House of Representatives that the Senate is in session. Many of these rules and procedures may sound redundant, but in 1901 when the Alabama Constitution was written, no one had cell phones, the internet had not been invented, and most people in the state still did not have telephones or electricity. These rules exist so that a legislative body is not meeting in secret without informing the other legislative body or the governor of its activity. State Sen. Greg Albritton addressed the body about the proposed bill to pay off the money that the state owes the Alabama Trust Fund. “A few years back, the Legislature ran into a problem, and there was a significant shortfall in funds,” for the state general fund (SGF) Albritton explained to the Senators. “We had to go to the people to seek authority to borrow money from the Alabama Trust Fund.” “We borrowed over $400 million to keep the government operational,” Albritton said. “We stated that we had a moral obligation to pay that money back.” “At the time, there was a lot of skepticism that we would never pay that money back,” Albritton said. “We have been paying $13 million a year out of the general fund. When times got better we began making double payments.” “The bill that I am introducing this afternoon, SB1, will pay that completely and totally off,” Albritton continued. “This bill will take $59,987 thousand and some change to pay that ATF off. When this was done that balance was approximately $2 billion and change. Today that amount is over $4 billion.” Senate Bill 1 has been referred to the Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee chaired by Albritton. Senate Bill 2 by Sen. Garlan Gudger, dealing with Healthcare, has been referred to the Senate Committee on Healthcare. Both committees will meet on Thursday to consider these two pieces of legislation. Senate Pro Tem Greg Reed announced that the Senate will reconvene for Day 2 of the 2024 First Special Session on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. A joint session of the House and Senate will meet in the historic 1859 Alabama Capitol Building at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday to honor former U.S. Senator Richard Shelby for his decades of service to the state of Alabama. The House will then return to the Statehouse for its own session at 11:30 a.m. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Katie Britt says inflation has “devastated” hardworking Americans
On Monday, U.S. Senator Katie Britt spoke with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell during a Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing. The conversation addressed the generationally high inflation as well as other topics. “Over the past two years, we have seen the highest inflation of my lifetime – driving up costs for American families across the board,” Britt said. “According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the annual inflation rate in 2021 was 7%, and in 2022, it was 6.5%. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the cost of food went up 10% in 2022.” Britt continued, “And the real effect of that is moms and dads across this nation that are working to put food on the table for their kids, for their babies, had a harder time doing that. This has devastated hardworking Americans, causing a kitchen table crisis in every corner of our country, as the price of food, energy, and housing have all skyrocketed.” “In response, the Federal Reserve has raised the Federal Reserve Funds Rate more than four percentage points,” Britt said. “Being far from being transient, inflation has remained persistent — high and well above the Fed’s long-run goal of remaining under 2 percent. In the coming year, what factors and indicators are you paying attention to as you and the Federal Open Market Committee decide on whether to continue to increase rates?” Powell acknowledged the inflation but said, “We need the inflation that’s already underway in the goods sector to continue.” “So, I’d say a couple things to that. First, we are going to be looking at inflation in the three sectors that I mentioned,” Powell said. “The goods sector, housing sector, and the broader service sector. We need the inflation that’s already underway in the goods sector to continue. That’s really important. In the housing sector, we just need the time to pass, so that reported inflation comes down, and it’s effectively in the pipeline as long as new leases are being signed at relatively small increases.” “So, we will be watching very, very carefully though at the larger service sector, which is 56% of consumer spending and more than that of what’s currently inflation,” Powell continued. “So, that’s one thing we will be watching very carefully. Also, we raised rates very quickly last year, and we know that monetary policy, tightening policy, has delayed effects. It takes a while for the full effects to be seen in economic activity, inflation. So, we are watching carefully to see those effects come into play. We are aware that we haven’t seen the full effects yet, and we are taking that into account as we think about rate hikes.” “So, when you are looking at this, obviously not to get into a policy discussion, but if there were an increase of energy production in this country, do you feel like that would help drive down inflation?” Britt asked. Powell acknowledged that unleashing American energy dominance would drive down prices; but that their focus is on core inflation. “I think over time more energy would mean lower energy prices, but we are very focused on what we call core inflation, because that really is, that is what is driven by, really by demand, and our tools are really aimed at demand,” Powell said. “I’d like to ask you about labor participation,” Britt said. “So when you look at the unemployment rate, and we’ve heard my colleagues discuss people having to be displaced in order for us to maybe get to the inflation rate that we would like as a nation.” “I’d like to focus on the labor participation rate, so right now it’s 62.4%,” Britt said. “If there were an increase in people coming back into the workforce, would that be a positive factor with regards to driving us down to the 2% rate [of inflation] that you want to achieve?” Powell acknowledged that growing the labor participation rate “would be great for the country and great for them.” “I think that it would. I mean, remember that those people coming into jobs, that would be great because the economy clearly wants more people than are currently working,” Powell said. “Of course, those people would then spend more, so it wouldn’t be a zero-sum game, but it would be great for the country and great for them if they were able to come into the labor force.” Alabama’s labor participation rate is substantially lower than the national average at around 57% versus 62% nationally. “We are working to increase our labor force participation rate by eliminating any and all barriers to enter the workforce,” Gov. Kay Ivey said during her state of the State address on Tuesday night. “I believe that increasing capital requirements on financial institutions would have a chilling effect on the economy and the availability of financial services,” Britt said. “Last week, I joined many of my colleagues in sending you a letter that expressed concerns that if the Federal Reserve decides to conduct a “holistic review of capital standards,” as we heard Senator Scott talk about earlier. So is the Federal Reserve concerned that the impact to the economy of increasing capital requirements on financial institutions at a time when inflation remains persistently high would cause an issue?” Powell said that increasing the capital requirements would make banks safer, but that will also mean less credit available. “So, I think it’s always a balance,” Powell said. “We know that higher capital makes banks safer and sounder. We also know that you will, at the margin, provide less credit the more capital you have to have, but it’s never exactly clear that you’re at the perfect equilibrium, and it’s a fair question, I think to look at that.” A recent report insists that the Federal Reserve is acutely aware of the effects that inflation is having on the economic health of average Americans. Katie Britt serves as a member of the Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. To connect with the
The 2023 Alabama Legislative Session has begun
Tuesday, the Alabama State Legislature returned to Montgomery for the start of the 2024 Alabama Regular Legislative Session. The Alabama House of Representatives and the Alabama Senate gaveled in at noon for the first legislative day and then joined the governor that night for a joint session where she presented her state of the state address. Senate Pro Tem. Greg Reed told members of the Senate, “I appreciate you being willing to serve the people of Alabama.” “The sacrifices made by the family of those who serve is not insignificant,” Reed added, thanking the families of the 35 Senators for their sacrifices. The Senate opened the journal to introduce bills, selected a committee to inform the governor that the Senate was now in session, and passed a resolution in honor of March being Women’s History Month. The resolution “celebrates the contribution that Alabama women have made to American history.” The resolution honors a number of Alabama women, including Rosa Parks, Helen Keller, and Condoleezza Rice, for their contributions to the state as well as the governor. “Current governor Kay Ivey is the longest serving woman governor in history and the second after Lurleen Wallace.” State Sen. Rodger Smitherman said, “This resolution inspired me. That resolution is a cosmic picture of the state of Alabama. It does not matter whether you are Black or White. It was a cosmic picture of all the people of Alabama.” “That’s our state,” Smitherman said. “All of us, we represent the state. Look around this room. This is what our state looks like. I am looking forward to voting for this resolution with a smile on my face.” Senate Joint Resolution 4 passed unanimously. Senate Joint Resolution 5 honoring former U.S. Senator Richard Shelby for his decades of service to the state passed. State Sen. Gerald Allen sponsored this. A second resolution supporting the oil and gas exploration by Allen was held over and referred to the Rules Committee after State Sen. Bobby Singleton asked for more time to study it. Reed announced that the Senate needed to address statutory requirements at the start of the session. The Senate held a Legislative Council election and selected Sens. Clyde Chambliss, Steve Livingston, and Vivian Figures to represent the Senate on the Council. For the Committee on Public Accounts, the Senate elected Sens. Arthur Orr, Clay Scofield, and Jabo Waggoner. On the Sunset Committee, Sens. Garlan Gudger, Keith Kelley, and Figures were elected. Sens. Orr, Scofield, Waggoner, Figures, and Singleton were elected to the Senate Ethics and Conduct Committee. Ivey called a special session beginning on Wednesday for the Legislature to focus on appropriating over one billion dollars in American Rescue Plan Act funds that the federal government sent to the state of Alabama. “This evening, I am calling a Special Session of the Alabama Legislature to begin tomorrow so that we can urgently address these endeavors,” Ivey said. “We are, once again, tasked with allocating our taxpayers’ dollars that are part of the second round of the American Rescue Plan Act from Congress.” “This is not free money,” Ivey warned legislators. “And we must invest these one-time funds wisely. Last year, thanks to you, members of the Alabama Legislature, we put these dollars to work, meeting some of Alabama’s biggest challenges. I commit to the people of Alabama we will once again take a smart approach and put it towards major and needed endeavors like expanding broadband access, improving our water and sewer infrastructure, and investing in our health care – including telemedicine.” Tuesday was the first day of the 2023 Alabama Regular Legislative Session, but since Ivey has called a special session, the second legislative day of the regular session will not begin until Tuesday, March 21. The Alabama Constitution of 1901 limits the Legislature to just thirty legislative days in a regular session. Members worked on Tuesday, introducing their bills for the regular session. At the close of the day on Monday, 98 bills had been pre-filed ahead of the session. By the end of the day on Tuesday, that had grown to 174 bills. Reed explained to reporters that it takes a minimum of five legislative days for a bill to pass both Houses of the Legislature, so it will take the rest of this legislative week and next week for the ARPA appropriations bill to pass and go to Gov. Ivey for her signature. Once that is done, the special session can end, and the Legislature will be poised to remove the 2023 Alabama Regular Legislative Session. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Vigil for slain state prisoners held Tuesday
On Tuesday, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey delivered her state of the state address in a packed gathering of legislators, staff, and supporters in the historic 1859 Alabama State Capital Building. Minutes earlier, families of deceased state inmates gathered outside the same building to protest the conditions in which their loved ones were housed by the State of Alabama and remember those prisoners who died while in state custody. The Vigil for the Victims of the Alabama Department of Corrections was organized by the Woods Foundation. The rally was held on the Capitol Steps. Nearly 100 protesters attended the event. The protestors held photos of incarcerated Alabamians who had died prematurely while in the custody of the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC). Following the Capitol Steps remembrance of the dead inmates, the group moved their rally to the historic Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. Woods Foundation founder Lauren Faraino addressed the rally. “We are here to wake up our politicians and wake up the people of the state of Alabama,” Faraino said. “They will tell us that prisoners should stay in prison until the last day of their sentence. They will tell us that parole is not an option. We are here to tell them that a prison sentence should not be a death sentence.” “Alabama has the highest in-custody death rate of any state in the nation,” Faraino said. “Alabama has the highest murder rate. Alabama has the highest suicide rate,” for prisoners compared to the other 52 prison systems. The Ivey administration has addressed the issue of Alabama’s overcrowded prisons by beginning construction of two new mega prisons in Elmore and Escambia Counties. “We don’t need more prisons,” Faraino said. “We don’t need to give more money to a corrupt and failing agency.” According to the Wood Foundation, the murder rate for prisoners by prisoners is eight times the national average, and most suicides are prisoners in solitary confinement. The Woods Foundation also claims that assaults by corrections officers show a “pervasive pattern [of] excessive force.” They claim that the use of batons, chemical spray, physical altercations, and kicking by the guards often result in the deaths of prisoners. They claim that the vast majority of incarcerated men in prisons are addicted to deadly drugs often brought in by prison staff. ADOC Commissioner John Hamm recently told legislators that most of the contraband (drugs, weapons, and cell phones) are thrown over the fence. The Woods Foundation alleges that rapes of inmates occur “at all hours of the day and night…occurring in the dormitories, cells, recreation areas, the infirmary, bathrooms, and showers.” Former ADOC Corrections Officer Stacy George also spoke to the protestors. George told Alabama Today that the conditions in the prison facilities are “just awful. It’s terrible.” Fariano claims that ADOC has not notified the next of kin when their relatives have died in the penitentiary. “I can’t tell you how many of the families tell me that they found out that their sons and brothers had died on Facebook,” Fariano said. The ADOC has a chronic shortage of corrections officers. The low ratio of guards to prisoners means that guards aren’t there to protect prisoners from violence by other prisoners. It also means that guards receive little oversight, and often there is no one to intervene if a prisoner attempts suicide or drug overdoses until it is too late. In her state of the state address, Gov. Ivey did not mention the high mortality of the prisoners or justice reform but did say that she supports increased pay and benefits for the corrections officers. “Here in our state, we have and we will always back the blue, and that means standing behind the men and women who serve Alabama as Corrections officers,” Ivey told legislators. “That is a tough – and too often thankless calling, not just a job, and we must continue to make increasing their salaries and benefits a priority.” George did express some optimism that raising pay for corrections officers would result in the prisons being able to recruit and retain more officers. Fariano accused the leaders of the state of Alabama of being apathetic about the plight of the prisoners. “The politicians of the state of Alabama do not see these faces as victims, but they are victims,” Fariano said. The state of Alabama has been accused by the U.S. Department of Justice of having prison conditions so poor that it constitutes cruel and unusual punishment and is unconstitutional under the eighth amendment. The legal costs of defending against that and other lawsuits is costing ADOC funds that could otherwise be going to improve prison conditions or adding staff. Federal Judge Myron Thompson has ordered the state to hire an additional 2,000 corrections officers in a lawsuit brought on behalf of current and former prisoners by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). ADOC has adopted a new healthcare provider and attempted to improve mental health services for prisoners to address the issues brought up in that litigation. However, the number of guards has declined since Judge Thompson gave that order. The legislature has boosted funding for ADOC after years of neglect. ADOC received a state general fund (SGF) appropriation of $595 million in fiscal year 2023, as well as $400 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to kickstart construction of the new mega prisons. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Governor Kay Ivey gives State of the State Address
On Tuesday, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey addressed a packed joint meeting of the State Legislature in the Old House Chambers in Alabama’s historic Capitol Building. This was Gov. Ivey’s sixth State of the State address and the first since winning re-election in a landslide last November. Ivey extolled the strength of the Alabama economy and the strength of the state’s budgets. “Alabama is thriving,” Ivey said. “Alabama’s budgets are strong, and that is not by chance.” “We can be very proud of the fact that during my time as governor, we have never used the word proration,” Ivey added. The state has $3 billion in surplus left over from the 2022 fiscal year. Ivey promised to use that for tax rebates. “This is the people’s money,” Ivey said. “It is only fair that we give a share of this money back to the people of Alabama.” Ivey also wants to dole out $200 million in government handouts to Alabama businesses. “I am also proposing we invest even more into our locally owned businesses – the ones engrained into the DNA of our communities – through a $200 million grant program known as our Main Street Program,” Ivey said. “These competitive grants will help revitalize our small cities and towns. When folks think of main streets, they should think of rural Alabama!” In the aftermath of the Great Recession, the state increased and modernized its incentive program to lure new jobs and industry. Even though state unemployment has dropped to well below three percent and there is a worker shortage across the state, Ivey wants the legislature to renew these incentives. “I am proud of the successful track record we have had in recruiting business and industry to both the rural parts of Alabama and the larger cities,” Ivey said. “Since I’ve been governor, more than $42 billion have been invested in our state, which has created some 78,000 new jobs. For most of those, we can thank the Alabama Jobs Act. And any good coach knows when you have a play that’s working; the team needs to keep running it. Today, we have to look ahead and create an economic development strategy for the 2030s. I assured you we would have a winning game plan here at home, and tonight, I am calling on you to get behind our playbook for economic success, what I am calling The Game Plan. We will ensure stability and growth by renewing and improving the Alabama Jobs Act and the Growing Alabama Act.” In addition, the state has over a billion dollars in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars it needs to appropriate. “We are, once again, tasked with allocating our taxpayers’ dollars that are part of the second round of the American Rescue Plan Act from Congress,” Ivey said. “This is not “free money,” and we must invest these one-time funds wisely. Last year, thanks to you, members of the Alabama Legislature, we put these dollars to work, meeting some of Alabama’s biggest challenges. I commit to the people of Alabama we will once again take a smart approach and put it towards major and needed endeavors like expanding broadband access, improving our water and sewer infrastructure, and investing in our health care – including telemedicine.” Ivey has called a special session beginning on Wednesday for the Legislature to focus on appropriating that $billion in ARPA funds. “This evening, I am calling a Special Session of the Alabama Legislature to begin tomorrow so that we can urgently address these endeavors,” Ivey said. Tuesday was the first day of the 2023 Alabama Regular Legislative Session, but since Ivey has called a special session, day 2 of the regular session will not begin until Tuesday, March 21. The Alabama Constitution limits the Legislature to just thirty legislative days in a regular session. “I predict that we will have a busy and production session,” Ivey said. Ivey emphasized education in her speech. “Everything we do today is for a better tomorrow for these children and all who call Alabama home,” Gov. Ivey said. “We must make sure that Alabama provides a quality education for each of these children no matter where they live.” The governor wants to mandate kindergarten, so that compulsory education begins at kindergarten rather than the first grade. “It’s also past time we require our students to complete kindergarten,” Ivey said. “I call on you to adopt legislation to ensure our students are ready for the first grade. Our first-grade teachers should be preparing those students for the second grade, not simply catching them up to be on a first-grade level.” The mandatory kindergarten bill, HB43, has been introduced by State Rep. Pebblin Warren. Ivey also announced plans to build a healthcare magnet school, the Alabama School for Healthcare Science, so that future high school graduates are ready for a career in the healthcare sector. That magnet school will be sited in Demopolis in Marengo County. “Improving our children’s educational outcome will be my top priority and will continue to be over the next four years,” Ivey said. The governor expressed confidence that her previous efforts of plowing money into pre-K classrooms, math coaches, reading coaches, and other programs will eventually yield fruit, and she wants to throw even more money at these efforts. Ivey also promised state support for the Saban Center – a STEM school in Tuscaloosa that is a partnership between Tuscaloosa and Nick and Terry Saban. Ivey also said that her goal was to have the highest starting pay for teachers in the Southeast before this term ended. Ivey voiced support for school choice but stopped short of giving every parent the freedom to decide where and how to educate their children. “I am proposing we provide startup funds for Charter Schools and make needed reforms to the governance of the Charter School Commission in order to create better accountability,” Ivey said. Ivey promised to help businesses by cutting government red tape. “Tomorrow, I will issue an executive order to cut red tape so that our businesses can thrive,” Ivey
