House bill seeks to rebalance renter-tenant protections
Grand Bay-Republican state Rep. David Sessions introduced a bill to lessen the amount of time given to tenants to correct minor violations of their lease contracts. Under current law, tenants are entitled to up to four curable breaches of contract over the course of a 12-month period. If the lease contract is breached, landlords can provide tenants with a notice giving them seven days to either cure the breach, if it is curable, or move out. Sessions’ bill, titled HB421, seeks to shorten the notice of noncompliance within a lease contract from seven to three days, expand the list of non-curable lease breaches, and change the amount of curable breaches from four to two, within a 12-month period. The bill would also make a second breach of contract non-curable, no matter how small the infraction. “In Alabama, tenant laws are so restrictive on the landlords that getting a bad tenant out is often a lengthy, complicated process. Whats happening now, is that if landlords have a bad tenant, and the tenant takes the landlord to court, it can take 6 months to get them out, and all the court costs associated with the case are on the landlord.” “We’re not to here to punish anyone, we’re not here to throw people on the street, we’re just trying to streamline the process of getting a bad tenant out.” Opponents of the bill say it will undermine important protections for Alabama renters, and would be unforgiving towards tenants. “Just three days. If HB 421 becomes law, that’s all the time Alabama renters would get to correct a minor lease violation before landlords could kick them out of their homes,” wrote Arise Citizens’ Policy Project in a legislative alert to their supporters. “Alabama’s 2006 Landlord-Tenant Act set out a balanced set of protections for both sides of the rental relationship. But HB421 would tilt the scales back in landlords’ favor by allowing wildly disproportionate responses to minor breaches, while giving tenants no meaningful opportunity to fix issues before losing their homes.” The group also gave an example of how they think the bill will be used. “If a landlord on a Friday found a guest’s vehicle parked outside a rental house for a second time without a valid tag, that tenant could end up on the street by Tuesday… Alabama families shouldn’t be kicked out of their homes over minor mistakes,” they wrote.
Alabama kids no longer in danger of losing coverage after CHIP, All Kids funding restored
Due to a lapse in federal funding the Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP), known as ALL Kids in Alabama, recently found itself in jeopardy. The program, which acts as a safety net for roughly 150,000 children across the state became an important bargaining chip in the government shutdown when it came to negotiations over the federal budget and immigration. But the tide turned in CHIP’s favor early Monday afternoon, when members of the U.S. Senate agreed to pass a bill extending the federal budget for an additional three weeks — and CHIP’s budget for an additional six years. Across the state, Alabama officials applauded the extension of the program. “I am thankful that Congress has finally passed a continuing resolution to fund the Federal Government, including a six-year reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP),” said Gov. Kay Ivey. “I have continually supported CHIP funding because approximately 159,000 Alabama children depend on it for their health insurance. Caring for our children and meeting their healthcare needs is a bipartisan issue; I appreciate Alabama’s Congressional Delegation for playing a key role in ensuring continued funding for CHIP.” President of the Alabama Public Service Commission (PSC) and Lieutenant Governor candidate Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh said funding is “vital for Alabama.” “Great to hear that the #SchumerShutdown is about to end and the government will reopen. #CHIP funding is vital for Alabama, and a continuing resolution protects our military families and many hardworking federal employees and contractors (like those at @TeamRedstone),” Cavanaugh tweeted. More than 83,000 children in the state are covered by All Kids program. Meanwhile, another 75,000 are covered by an Alabama Medicaid component of CHIP. “Families across Alabama deserve to breathe a sigh of relief, but it never should have come to this. CHIP funding deserved a quick, straightforward renewal before it expired nearly four months ago. Delaying the renewal and tying it to other important issues was unnecessary and irresponsible,” said Jim Carnes, policy director for the Arise Citizens’ Policy Project. “CHIP, known as ALL Kids in Alabama, is a proven success story that played a big part in cutting our state’s uninsured rate for children from 20 percent to just 2.4 percent over the last two decades. Other states have seen similar improvements. Kathy Caldwell, Director of the Bureau of Children’s Health Insurance at the Alabama Department of Public Health confirmed those statistics. Since its inception in 1998, ALL Kids has helped reduce the number of uninsured children in Alabama from 20 percent to 2.4 percent. With such a success story, state legislators had worried how the state would fund the much-needed program should Congress fail to reauthorize the program since the legislative session began. Ozark-Republican and House Ways and Means Chairman Steve Clouse had gone on record saying that if the state has to pick up even a fraction of the cost of program, it will cast a “shadow” over the entire budget. Now, he tells the AP, the state can “breathe a collective sigh of relief here.” But ALL Kids future isn’t set in stone. While Congress has funded the program through 2023, the funding rates will decrease over time. For the first two years, federal money will pay for at least 88 percent of the program’s expenses in the state. In 2020, the federal share will decrease and the state will have to pick up some of the costs.
Alabama Arise opposes new GOP tax cut plan
A statewide nonprofit policy think tank that advocates for low-income families in Alabama has come out in opposition to the newly unveiled GOP tax cut plan. The Arise Citizens’ Policy Project on Friday said the new GOP tax plan would slash taxes for wealthy people while laying groundwork for cuts to education and Medicaid. “The House Republican tax plan is an expensive new giveaway to wealthy households and big corporations at the expense of working families. It would offer little or nothing to most Alabamians, and it actually would increase taxes for many low- and middle-income folks,” said Arise Executive Director Kimble Forrister. “The House Republican tax plan is an expensive new giveaway to wealthy households and big corporations at the expense of working families. It would offer little or nothing to most Alabamians, and it actually would increase taxes for many low- and middle-income folks. According to Forrister the plan would add at least $1.5 trillion to the national deficit, which he believe would lead to members of Congress cutting programs such as Medicaid and to food assistance to the poor. He continued, “Taking from those who have the least to give to those who have the most is no way to build a better economy, a better state or a better world. Congress should reject this tax bill and focus instead on closing corporate tax loopholes and investing in education, health care, transportation and other vital services that help struggling families get ahead across Alabama and across the country.”
New report says more than half of GOP plan’s tax cuts in Alabama would go to top 1 percent
Congressional Republicans’ new tax plan would deliver a major boost to the top 1 percent of Alabamians — the middle class, however, not so much. According to a new study released Wednesday by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, D.C., Alabamians with incomes of more than $1 million would get an average tax cut of nearly $116,000 a year. Meanwhile, one in seven Alabamians would pay higher taxes under the plan. Key Alabama findings from the ITEP report include: The top 1 percent of Alabama earners – those who make $501,800 or more – would receive 56.2 percent of the tax cuts going to the state. Nearly half, 49.2 percent, of the overall tax cuts that Alabama residents would get under the plan would flow to people with incomes of more than $1 million a year. They would receive an average annual tax cut of $115,900. 12.5 percent of the state’s total tax cuts would go to the three in five Alabamians with incomes of less than $57,900 a year. They would see an average tax cut of $190 a year. One in seven Alabamians, 14.5 percent, would pay higher taxes under the plan. “These tax cuts would be a windfall for the wealthy at the expense of everyone else,” Arise Citizens’ Policy Project executive director Kimble Forrister said. “This plan likely would force massive cuts to future federal funding for Medicaid, education, housing, transportation and other vital services that help everyday families make ends meet. Congress should reject these reckless tax cuts for the rich and focus on investing in education, health care and other services that help all Alabamians and all Americans get ahead.” A U.S. Senate Budget Committee is scheduled to vote soon on a federal spending plan that will lay the groundwork for tax cuts.
Alabama’s rate of uninsured children plunged to 2.4 percent in 2016
Things are looking up for children in Alabama. According to new U.S. Census data released this week, nearly 49 of every 50 children in the Yellowhammer State had health coverage in 2016. The rate of uninsured children to dropped to 2.4 percent, from 2015’s 3.1 percent — far below below the national average. A huge piece of the credit for those recent coverage gains belongs to Medicaid and ALL Kids, Arise Citizens’ Policy Project executive director Kimble Forrister said Thursday. Combined the programs cover nearly 800,000 Alabama children who live in households with low or moderate incomes. “All children deserve consistent, appropriate health care, and Alabama does a good job of helping them get it,” said Forrister. “Medicaid and ALL Kids help kids stay healthy so they can learn, play and thrive. It’s essential to ensure these programs have the funding they need to continue providing health coverage for our most vulnerable residents.” The new figures are particularly incredible for the state’s children considering nearly one in four kids, 24.3 percent, in the state lived in poverty in 2016. Congress is currently set to debate federal funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which is known as the ALL Kids in Alabama, as it is set to expire Sept. 30 unless it is renewed. “Children’s health care is too important to be left up to chance,” Forrister added. “We urge Congress to protect Medicaid and ALL Kids and work together in a bipartisan way to make health care more accessible and more affordable for all Americans.”
Federal payday lending reforms find support in Alabama
An ongoing effort by the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to rein in the excesses of high-interest “payday loan” lenders has so far been generally been well-received in Alabama. “The proposed CFPB rules have bipartisan support and empower consumers to make better financial decisions for themselves,” said Rep. Terri Sewell, a Democrat. “I strongly support the adoption of these proposed regulations and will continue to fight for greater consumer protections in my role as a member of the House Committee on Financial Services.” Sewell repeated an oft-cited figure that there are “four times as many payday lenders in Alabama as there are McDonalds” in supporting the regulatory action. “Borrowers should not be at the mercy of predatory lenders and CFPB’s proposed rules would strengthen consumer protections and make it harder to prey on vulnerable communities,” said Sewell, who also noted minority communities are disproportionately affected by payday lenders’ usurious behavior. Arise Citizens’ Policy Project, a nonpartisan public interest advocacy group, also endorsed the moves by and large, though they said state-level reforms are still needed. A related bill which would have limited interest rates among other reforms circulated in the state Legislature earlier this year, though it ultimately failed to reach the desk of Gov. Robert Bentley. “Today’s CFPB announcement is an important step in the right direction for payday and title loan borrowers in Alabama, but it’s not enough. The new federal rules would strengthen consumer protections by requiring lenders to verify borrowers’ ability to repay for many loans. But the rules contain many exceptions, and they may not go into effect for quite some time,” said policy analyst Stephen Stetson. “The new rules also would not change the extremely high annual interest rates that Alabama allows those loans to carry: up to 456 percent a year for payday loans, and up to 300 percent a year for title loans. Alabama needs to build on these rules at the state level by closing loopholes and encouraging more affordable short-term loans for borrowers,” said Stetson.
Advocates urge support of proposed short-term lending rules
Civil rights advocacy groups and others are praising a federal proposal announced Thursday that seeks to tighten short-term lending regulations and are urging consumers to weigh in during a 90-day public comment period. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is looking to require lenders to prove that borrowers are able to repay money without taking out additional loans and give additional warnings before debiting borrowers’ accounts. The federal proposal comes as states including Alabama look to strengthen rules governing payday and auto-title lending. Alabama launched a payday-lending database in 2015 to enforce a law that limits consumers to having no more than $500 in payday loans at once. A bill that would have given borrowers up to six months to repay loans failed in the Legislature this year. The Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center is encouraging consumers to participate in the CFPB’s 90-day public comment period on the proposal. “In Alabama, we have repeatedly seen consumers facing tough economic times turn to these lenders only to discover, after it’s too late, that they intentionally trapped them in a cycle of unaffordable debt,” SPLC senior staff attorney Sara Zampierin said in an emailed statement. Arise Citizen’s Policy Project analyst Stephen Stetson said the proposals are a step in the right direction, but more attention is needed on high interest rates associated with short term loans. Stetson said in a statement that yearly interest rates for payday loans can be as high as 456 percent and 300 percent for auto title loans. “We would like to see rules that address the affordability of the loan directly. We don’t just want to see the lenders making a cursory check, you know?” Stetson said. “We don’t want to just see an additional layer of paperwork applied to the process. And most importantly, we don’t want lenders to be able to tweak their products to get out from under the rule.” Max Wood, president of the lending trade group Borrow Smart Alabama, said the proposals could effectively eliminate much of the short-term lending industry and leave many consumers with virtually no options during a financial emergency. “The bottom line is that if the rules go into effect as proposed … 70 to 80 percent of the industry will no longer exist,” Wood said. “There is a large demand for this service and we don’t want to see it go away for the sake of the consumer,” Wood said. Payday lenders in 2013 filed a lawsuit to try blocking the lending database from being launched, but the Alabama Supreme Court sided with the state. Stetson said he expects similar lawsuits to follow the implementation of any regulatory tweaks. According to Wood, more than 300,000 Alabamians use short-term lending services. Alabama State Banking Department Associate Counsel Anne Gunter, however, said that as of Sunday more than 1.7 million short-term loans had been taken out since the lending database was launched in August. The loans average about $321 each and carry about $55 in interest, she said. “The demand is real and the demand is an important component,” Stetson said. “But just because somebody’s hungry doesn’t mean you should feed them poison.” Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Lawmakers vote to override Robert Bentley veto, enact General Fund budget
Rebuking Gov. Robert Bentley‘s veto for the first time in 2016, Alabama lawmakers voted Tuesday to enact the General Fund budget the governor previously rejected over Medicaid funding. Bentley vetoed the budget last month for being $85 million short of the money needed to maintain services and reimbursement rates in the state’s Medicaid program, warning lawmakers the state would not be able to provide basic medical services to children and the elderly without the additional funding. “As one of the lowest state-funded Medicaid agencies in the country, the Alabama Medicaid Agency focuses services to those most in needed: our low-income children, pregnant women, elderly and people with disabilities,” Bentley wrote in his veto message to lawmakers. “Without additional resources, we simply cannot fulfill our constitutionally and statutorily mandated duties.” Lawmakers ignored Bentley’s strong words overriding his gubernatorial veto with a majority vote — the Senate, 22-10, followed by the House, 71-24. Bentley, however, wasn’t the only one with harsh criticism over the approved budget. Kimble Forrister, executive director of Arise Citizens’ Policy Project – a nonprofit advocacy group for low-income Alabamians – said General Fund budget would force “devastating Medicaid cuts that could force many hospitals to close and lead many pediatricians to leave the state.” “We can’t build a stronger Alabama by taking a sledgehammer to the foundation of our state’s health care system. But that’s just what this inadequate General Fund budget would do,” said Forrister in a statement after Tuesday’s override votes. Bentley has hinted he may call lawmakers back for a special session to tackle the Medicaid shortfall.
House OKs General Fund despite opposition, threat of veto
The Alabama House of Representatives passed a General Fund budget Tuesday, which leaves in place a roughly $85 million budget shortfall for the state’s Medicaid program. Gov. Robert Bentley has already signaled that a failure to fully fund Medicaid would cause him to veto the bill and likely call for a special session. House Democrats fought vehemently against bringing the budget to the floor, noting that a failure to fully fund Medicaid would obliterate the state’s recently announced Regional Care Organization (RCO) program and leave millions of needy Alabamians with no healthcare. Despite that, the bill made it to the floor and was debated for several hours. In the chamber, Democrats again railed against the legislation in the five-hour skirmish and members of both parties chastised Bentley for providing some Cabinet members with a significant raise while the state’s General Fund crumbles. Republicans struck back, claiming that the additional money for Medicaid just is not there and there is little to no appetite for raising taxes in an effort to collect more revenue. After passage of the bill, the Arise Citizens’ Policy Project (ACPP) released a statement condemning the General Fund budget’s failure to fully fund Medicaid. “These Medicaid cuts would be devastating for Alabamians, our economy and our entire health care system,” said ACPP Executive Director Kimble Forrister. “They could force many rural hospitals to close and prompt many pediatricians to leave the state. They would end coverage of essential services like outpatient dialysis and adult eyeglasses. And they would end promising new Medicaid reforms that would save money and keep people healthier.” “We simply can’t afford these Medicaid cuts,” Forrister continued. “It’s wrong to put health care at risk for children, seniors, and people with disabilities in Alabama. It’s time to get serious about raising the revenue needed to invest in a healthier Alabama for all.” With its passage in the House, the bill will go before the Senate. If the Senate passes the measure, Bentley has said he will veto the legislation and require lawmakers to take it up again.
