Alabama House Rules Chair: Legislators to look at gambling, vouchers, workforce
Ralph Chapoco, Alabama Reflector The chair of the powerful Alabama House Rules Committee Wednesday said legislators would look at gambling, charter and voucher programs and the labor shortage in the legislative session scheduled to begin in February. Rep. Joe Lovvorn, R-Auburn, the chair of the House Rules Committee, told county commissioners and directors at the Association of County Commissions of Alabama conference in Auburn Wednesday that the state lacked a uniform approach to gambling. “Anybody had any conversations or thoughts on gambling — we all do,” he said. “Each of your counties have different aspects. Every county in the state has different thoughts of what is legal and what is illegal.” Both lotteries and games of chance are forbidden by the Alabama Constitution. Local amendments allowed for electronic bingo, but the Alabama Supreme Court has read those amendments in narrow ways, making much if not all of the gambling in the state illegal. The state constitution does not affect the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, a federally recognized tribe that operates casinos in Atmore, Montgomery, and Wetumpka. Alabama is the last state east of the Mississippi without a lottery. Attempts by the Legislature to establish a lottery or regulate gambling have fallen apart over mistrust between the Poarch Band and dog track operators and disputes over where legal gambling should be located. Then-Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, proposed a bill in 2021 that in its initial form would have created a state lottery, authorized gambling at certain locations in the state, and allowed sports betting. It collapsed amid disputes among House Republicans over the scope of the bill. No gambling bill has come as close to passage since. Lovvorn Wednesday denounced gambling, saying it was happening in Alabama without the regulatory infrastructure in place to oversee the industry. “We have a lot of quasi-legal activity going on in our state that is being operated by people that may not be the best public stewards, that may not follow the rules that are already in place,” he said. “And a lot of them are out of state, and our rules dealing with gaming are not strong enough.” Lovvorn referred to Alabama residents purchasing lottery tickets but said no one knows who is regulating those with the winning tickets or allocating the money to those who guessed the matching numbers. From there, he pivoted to other types of gambling which he took issue with and that had little regulation in place. “These slot machines are popping up everywhere,” he said. “A lot of them are made and manufactured and maintained by companies here in Alabama. If we want to have this type of gaming, that is something for the people to decide.” Ethics is another issue that legislators want to address. Rep. Matt Simpson, R-Daphne has taken the lead as chair of the House Ethics and Campaign Finance. The committee has convened a handful of times to get background information on the history of the ethics laws developed for Alabama. Members will review the information and use it to draft legislation to update the ethics rules for elected officials. “We need to clarify that, so we all know what rules to follow,” Lovvorn said. Lovvorn also said the Legislature would look at education issues. “The governor has laid out a plan where she wants to have an education savings account, often called a voucher program, that allows parents to use state funds to send their children to a school of their choice,” he said. A similar bill did not pass during the previous session. “We will be spending a lot of time speaking and working through how to make that work so that parents who are looking for an option that is better for children, how we can fix that and not impact other systems,” Lovvorn said. Alabama Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Follow Alabama Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.
Senate Committee to consider school choice bill
On Wednesday, the Senate Education Policy Committee will meet to consider school choice legislation. Senate Bill 202 (SB202) is sponsored by Sen. Larry Stutts. The Parental Rights In Children’s Education (PRICE) Act for K-12 education “would secure the fundamental constitutional rights of parents to direct the education of their children according to their religious faith, beliefs, values, and morals. This bill would create and provide for the PRICE Program and would establish a three-year phase-in period.” It establishes a Parent Advisory Board and “would provide for the funding of the PRICE ESA Fund and the PRICE Administration Fund for the costs of administering the PRICE Program.” The bill would also provide for implementing and administrating the PRICE Program and using education savings accounts. It would specify the qualified expenses that can be paid from an education savings account. The bill would give parents $6,900 to put into an Education Savings Account that the parents could use at a public school, a public charter school, a private school, or a religious school. The Alabama Republican Party has been adamant that the Party favors giving parents the power to decide where they send their kids to school. Yet, the overwhelming majority of children in the state are still trapped with only the option to go to the legacy public school they are assigned to. The GOP released a poll on Tuesday showing that most Alabama voters want school choice in the state of Alabama. The poll asked 1,610 respondents the following question: “The State Legislature is considering a bill that would allow parents to choose which schools their children attend using state funds. Do you support or oppose school choice legislation?” 57% answered support, only 16% responded that they oppose, and 27% said they were undecided. The GOP has a commanding supermajority in both Houses of the Legislature, so they can pass this if they choose to. Many legislators, however, fear pushback from teachers, superintendents, and prominent supporters of local public school systems. The GOP polls showed that support for school choice was highest among Republican voters (67% to 9%) but also overwhelmingly popular with independent voters (55% to 17%) and still the first choice among Democrats (37% to 30%). The survey also showed school choice had extremely strong support from black voters (52% to 21%). In 2022 then, Senator Del Marsh brought his school choice bill to the same committee, and it was effectively killed there without reaching the floor of the Senate. Dozens of Alabama’s public school superintendents flooded the room and were all over that session lobbying to kill that bill. The school superintendents were joined by the Alabama Education Association in steadfast opposition to the bill. Proponents of school choice argue that competition will benefit Alabama’s children and that if multiple schools compete for students, that will produce improved performance. Proponents say that the parent will act in the best interest of their child and will send them to the school that best serves the child academically with the family’s value system and religious beliefs. Polling shows that protecting children from “Woke indoctrination” by liberal public school teachers, curriculum, and texts has become an increasingly important issue with Alabama families. Opponents argue that if tax dollars are allowed to follow the children to private and religious schools that the most involved parents, higher-income families, and the most talented students will leave the public system leaving the legacy system underfunded and with the remaining student body increasingly poor and disadvantaged. Some opponents also oppose tax dollars going to religious schools. The Committee will meet at 9:00 a.m. in the Finance and Taxation Room on the eighth floor of the Alabama State House. Thursday will be day 15 of the 2023 Alabama Regular Legislative Session. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Dean Odle: A call to “truly transform Alabama’s K-12 education disaster”
During my run for Governor of Alabama, my opponents gave lip service to school choice because it had become popular, but none of them have put forth a plan that would go far enough to truly transform Alabama’s K-12 education disaster. In 2017, Florida ranked 29th in K-12 education. Governor Ron DeSantis came into office and removed Barack Obama’s Common Core curriculum. Then, the Florida legislature expanded eligibility for their school choice programs to include 56% of their K-12 students. Those two things helped Florida go from 29th in K-12 to 3rd by 2021. My plan was to go even further than Florida. The Parents Choice Act put forth by State Senator Del Marsh in the last legislative session was doomed to fail even if it was passed. Why? It did not go far enough with the amount of the voucher, and it did not prevent government meddling. In fact, it was actually another expansion of government and a sneaky attempt to allow them to get their corrupt fingers into private schools, religious schools, and even homeschooling. As a homeschool dad myself, I know how important it is to protect homeschooling from government interference! It has come to my attention that the current school choice bill being pushed by Eagle Forum called The Parental Rights in Education Act is more of the same. My plan for Alabama K-12 education included removing all traces of Common Core and then putting into place a total, no-strings-attached school voucher program. That means no central state or federal government control over schools. Instead of the existing school boards, there would be parent boards in each school. Those parent boards would consist of parents (elected by the other parents) with children in the school, and they would have authority to hold the school administration and teachers accountable. This creates more parent and local involvement in each school and less government control. A sizable voucher would be given to parents for each child (possibly up to 75-80% of the approximate $12,000 the state spends per child). This voucher program would create free-market competition among schools. The good schools would get better, and the bad schools would stop being propped up by tax dollars even though they fail year after year. In his book, School Choices: True and False, John Merrifield writes, “Perhaps the biggest myth about school choice is that current choice programs constitute a meaningful experiment. They don’t. Current voucher programs are limited to such a small number of students, and they have so many restrictions that they don’t look at all like a competitive school system. At best, current choice programs are escape hatches for a few students. But even these students would be better off under a fully competitive school system, because such a system would offer greater specialization of teaching styles and would benefit from continuous improvements (as is routine in other competitive industries). Public-school choice, including charter schools, will NOT transform our school system any more than the freedom to choose a state-owned store transformed the Soviet Union.” Merrifield continues, “In contrast, a truly competitive school system would encourage the development of a large educational ‘menu.’ This would enable schools to better accommodate students with diverse learning styles or who could use special help to catch up to their private-school peers. Limited school choice programs, in contrast, have been too small to make this option feasible, resulting in some voucher students returning to their prior school.” Charter Schools and Tax Credits “Charter schools and tax-credit proposals often compete for attention with vouchers. Charter schools can act as escape hatches to help a small number of students, but the small number of charter schools CANNOT systematically improve entire public school systems. Charter schools may also displace some private schools or shrink their enrollments, reducing desirable competition in the education industry. And, charter schools are seldom as free to innovate as many people believe. Some choice advocates favor tuition tax credits instead of vouchers, because they believe that tax credits would be less susceptible to government regulation than would voucher-accepting schools. Tax credits would also serve as an escape hatch, but they are unlikely to transform education: Neither the size of the tax credit nor the number of participants would be sufficiently large to unleash market forces great enough to improve the education system. Low-income families, with little ability to supplement a voucher, would have to choose between a public-school system that has served them badly and the cheapest private schools. The greatest threats to progress are low expectations and misleading alleged experiments. We need to achieve real competition in only one reasonably populous area to assure that eventually it will exist virtually everywhere. If we keep our eyes on the goal and are not distracted by half-measures…, it can happen quickly, much like the sudden collapse in 1989 of the socialist regimes of eastern Europe.” The Choice: Freedom or Communism Giving the freedom back to parents and individual schools would change Alabama’s broken system quickly, and it is the American way of doing things. The idea of state-controlled schools came from Marxism. In their ten-point plan, Marx and Engel wrote in point ten, “Free education for all children in public schools.” On January 10, 1963, Congressman Albert S. Herlong. Jr. from Florida read the list of 45 Communist Goals for America into the Congressional Record. Here is number seventeen: 17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers’ associations. Put the party line in textbooks. I hope and pray some Alabama legislators and leaders will actually put forth a bill that embraces true freedom, true free-market competition, and less government control in education. Dean Odle is a pastor and recently ran for governor of Alabama. Odle lives in Cusseta, Alabama.
Nathaniel Ledbetter elected as new Alabama House Speaker
Republican Rep. Nathaniel Ledbetter was sworn in Tuesday as the new speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives after being elected to the leadership role without a dissenting vote. Ledbetter, a legislator from Rainsville, secured the leadership position after Republicans, who hold 77 of the 105 House seats, chose him in November as their nominee. House members on Tuesday elected Ledbetter on a 102-0 vote since lawmakers typically follow the majority party’s selection. “I stand before you today, a man that is humbled by the faith you have put in me and the great responsibility you have placed upon my shoulders. I pledge to you, here and now, to work as hard as I am able to justify both,” Ledbetter told House members. He said all representatives share a common goal to make the state a better place, although they may have different ideas on how to accomplish that. Ledbetter said he understood that the speaker’s gavel should be a tool to ensure open debate and not a weapon to stifle it. Ledbetter, 61, replaces former House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, who did not run for reelection. Ledbetter was elected to the Alabama Legislature in 2014. He served as majority leader from 2017 to his election as speaker. At this time, Republicans, firmly in control of the Legislature, pushed through several priority bills, including a 2019 abortion ban. During his tenure, he sponsored legislation to place mental health service coordinators in school systems and a bond issue to improve state parks. Ledbetter is the former mayor of Rainsville. He first ran unsuccessfully for the House as a Democrat. He won four years later after switching to the GOP. Lawmakers began meeting in an organizational session on Tuesday to elect leaders and approve operating rules for the next four years. They return to Montgomery in March for the regular session. On Monday, Sen. Greg Reed of Jasper was reelected as the Senate president pro tempore, the top-ranking position in the Alabama Senate. Reed has been pro tem since 2021, when he took over for longtime Senate leader Del Marsh. Marsh did not run for reelection in 2022. Republican Rep. Chris Pringle of Mobile was elected as speaker pro tempore. Ledbetter said his priorities in the upcoming legislative session will include bills to streamline the adoption process and to stiffen penalties for fentanyl possession. Ledbetter said he also thinks there is legislative support for a possible tax rebate for Alabamians as the state sees a rare budget surplus. “I think we’ve got to be cautious in what we do, but I think at this point in time that the members would support that, and with inflation running away like it is, it certainly gives them an opportunity to help offset that a little bit,” Ledbetter said. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Greenetrack will reopen tonight
Greenetrack will hold a grand re-opening tonight of its Gaming Center. The casino closed in the aftermath of the Alabama Supreme Court decision finding for the state, stripping the “charity bingo” of its non-profit status and ordering Greenetrack to pay $76 million in disputed back taxes. Greenetrack is reopening on very shaky legal ground. The Alabama Supreme Court ruled last week that three other casinos in Lowndes and Macon County were illegal gambling halls, not bingo halls as their owners maintain. The state’s highest court remanded the case back to the lower court and ordered those judges to issue orders that those three casinos close within thirty days. The Court on Friday expounded on earlier court decisions going back to 2009 that bingo is a game played on paper cards. The court has ruled that gambling machines at the facility, very similar to the ones at Greenetrack, are (under Alabama law) illegal gambling machines and not electronic bingo machines as their operators claimed to the court. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a statement that he was pursuing a separate court action to permanently close Greenetrack. Greenetrack CEO Luther Winn told the Tuscaloosa Thread that the casino will reopen Friday at 5 p.m. and will offer “Las Vegas-style games, mechanical reels, new titles,” and more. “We’re reopening with a product proven to be the top-growing market in the United States with historical horseracing,” Winn said, “We’ll have really nice games that are very competitive and fun to play.” Winn said Greenetrack, which employs an estimated 80 people in Eutaw, is essential to the Greene County economy. “Re-opening means that Greene County, I’m hoping, can take a deep breath, and people can depend on Greenetrack again for employment for years to come,” Winn said. The Alabama Constitution of 1901 outlaws games of chance. That 121-year-old document has not been reversed. Confusion entered into the law when certain counties, including Greene, Macon, Jefferson, and Mobile, passed local county-wide constitutional amendments allowing dog and/or horse racing in Alabama. Greenetrack opened as a dog track where people could bet on live dog races. That was followed by amendments allowing charity bingo. Over time, the tracks went to bingo and then put in electronic bingo machines, which state officials allowed. The Poarch Band of Creek Indians (PCI), Alabama’s only federally recognized Indian tribe, asked for and got a license from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs to build their own “electronic bingo” halls in Atmore and Wetumpka under the 1986 Indian Gaming Act. Then-Attorney General Troy King issued an attorney general’s opinion that affirmed that electronic bingo was legal under the charity bingo amendments to the Alabama Constitution. Then Gov. Bob Riley appointed Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson, a political rival of King’s, to head a gambling task force that began seizing the electronic gambling machines. The Alabama Supreme Court found that Riley and Tyson were correct and that bingo cannot be played on a machine. Robert Bentley followed Riley as Governor, closed down the Governor’s gambling task force, and issued an executive order that prohibited state troopers from enforcing the law against gaming. Gov. Kay Ivey has continued the Bentley policy on gambling. In 2020 the Governor’s task force on gambling issued a lengthy report urging the Legislature to pass legislation allowing the current casinos to operate legally and impose a state lottery. State Sens. Greg Albritton and Del Marsh both separately brought the governor’s legislation, and it passed the State Senate in 2021 and 2022. The Alabama House of Representatives did not. Gov. Ivey has said that her greatest regret from her first term is that the Legislature has not passed gambling legislation. Marshall, meanwhile, has pursued legal actions to shut down the casinos. The Greenetrack Gaming Center has been in the process of remodeling and refurbishing its gambling machines since August. It reopens tonight, but its legality and its future remain in doubt. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Steve Flowers: New fiscal year begins, teachers and state employees looking good
The new state fiscal year begins October 1, and the two state budgets are flush. Both the General Fund and the State Special Education Budgets will be the largest in state history. The General Fund Budget is a record-breaking $2.7 billion. It increases the revenue for mental health and prisons. Medicaid continues to be a money-eating monster. State employees are getting a 4% cost of living raise. This is the third time in recent history that state workers have gotten a back-to-back pay raise. In addition, retired state employees will get a bonus. State Senator Greg Albritton (R-Escambia) and Representative Steve Clouse (R-Ozark), the budget chairmen, deserve accolades. Veteran Alabama State Employees Association executive director Mac McArthur deserves a lot of credit for state employees getting a 4% pay increase this year and 2% last year. Ole Mac has put together four raises in five years for his folks. Alabama Education Association (“AEA”) head Amy Marlowe and her chief lobbyist ally, Ashley McLain, deserve kudos for garnering a 4% teacher pay raise. Once again, the AEA has become a power to be reckoned with on Goat Hill. The legislature passed a record-breaking $8.17 billion Education Budget. The historic spending plan increases education funding by about $502 million over the current year. It drew praise from all corners of education for its increases, which includes teachers’ salaries and workforce development. There will be more money for classroom materials, the hiring of technology coordinators and reading coaches, and $20 million to implement the K-5 math instruction bill. The budget includes a 4% raise for teachers and lump-sum bonuses for retirees. There is also a $33 million bonus to increase teacher longevity. Other states have been giving similar salary adjustments. One of the budget allotments that has gotten the most accolades is the increase from $700 to $900 per classroom in supply money. The story that has been building over the past several years is the resurgence of the AEA as a power player on Goat Hill. The fruits of their labor emerged immensely during the regular session. It is apparent that AEA was instrumental in crafting the Education Budget with the 4% pay increase for teachers and the money that is going into the classroom. You would have thought Dr. Paul Hubbert was still sitting in the gallery directing legislators’ votes with a thumbs up or a thumbs down. They have built AEA into a power to be reckoned with at the Statehouse. The new leadership of Marlowe/McLain have reorganized by acknowledging that Alabama, and especially the Alabama Legislature, is very Republican. They understand the rule that “money is the mother’s milk of politics” and “you win more bees with honey.” The AEA has generously donated to House Republicans like nobody’s business and no other Special Interest entity. It is no longer taboo or heresy for a Republican legislator or State Senator to accept teacher union money. They have made $10,000 to $15,000 contributions to House members on both sides of the aisle. In reviewing campaign disclosure statements, AEA is the only entity writing checks that large. Checks to senator’s coffers are $25,000 or more. AEA lobbyists, especially Ashley McLain, have earned the friendship and respect of the Republican House members and Senators. She and her team have gone out to their districts all over the state and gotten to know them and their families. They have connected the legislator with key educators in their hometowns who are respected centers of influence and can orchestrate a field or army of teachers to work the districts for their legislative friends. This footwork and shoe leather, coupled with large campaign checks, hits home with legislators of both parties. The telling blow that resonated and echoed off the walls of the Statehouse was the defeat of the so-called School Choice Bill. Senator Del Marsh made it his final mission to place state education dollars into private, parochial, and charter schools. His school choice was given a stinging defeat by none other than the AEA. Folks, make no doubt about it; the AEA is back in Alabama politics. 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.
Seven State Senate seat races to watch
All 35 State Senate seats are up for grabs in the November 8 general election. Republicans hold a 27 to 8 margin over Democrats in the current makeup of the Alabama Senate. The Alabama Republican Party is running candidates in 29 seats. The GOP is defending all of the 27 seats they currently hold and are running candidates in two districts currently held by Democrats. Alabama Democrats are defending the eight seats they currently hold and are challenging the GOP in six districts currently held by Republicans. Libertarians currently hold no seats in the Alabama Senate but are running twelve candidates in State Senate races. There are a number of contested State Senate races on the November ballot. These are the seven races with the most chance of becoming interesting. Democrat Lisa Ward is challenging Republican incumbent State Sen. Gerald Allen in Senate District 21. Both of these candidates are well known in the Tuscaloosa area. Allen has represented the district for three terms and served in the Alabama House of Representatives before that. Ward is a former city councilwoman who is very active in the community. According to filings with the Alabama Secretary of State’s office, Allen has a $204,872.68 campaign account balance entering September, which includes August contributions of $8,250. Ward, the challenger, meanwhile raised $23,149.76 in August and has a cash balance of $31,968.94 entering September. Neither faced a primary opponent. Democrat Kim Lewis versus Republican incumbent State Sen. Tom Butler in Senate District 2. Butler has represented Madison County in the legislature for parts of five decades, but this is one of the fastest growing areas in the state, and there are thousands of new people that bring different politics with them to the area. Lewis is hoping that an increasingly purple Madison County will result in a win. Butler was pushed hard in the Republican primary by former State Sen. Bill Holtzclaw. Butler raised $44,500 in the month of August and enters September with $38,166.63. Lewis raised $7,830 in August and comes into September with $27,859.70. In Senate District 33, incumbent Democratic Sen. Vivian Figures faces Republican challenger Pete Riehm. This has been a very safe Democratic district consisting of the poorest parts of Mobile as well as Mobile County suburbs like Prichard, but redistricting meant that the new district now goes deep into Baldwin County and picked up the very prosperous and heavily Republican community of Spanish Fort. This district went from very blue to purple thanks to the legislature’s redistricting and efforts to “unpack” Black voters from majority-minority districts. Is it purple enough for a Republican to take it away from the Democrats? That is for the voters to decide on November 8. Sen. Figures raised $31,500 in the month of August to enter September with $110,497.02. Riehm had contributions of $19,577.54 in August and enters September with $60,911.31. Democrat Sherri Lewis versus Republican Jay Hovey in Senate District 27. Hovey, an Auburn City Councilman, just narrowly defeated incumbent Tom Whatley (R-Auburn) in a heavily contested GOP primary. Hovey, who has the challenge of unifying Republicans, raised $85,500 in contributions in August to enter September with a cash balance of $70,074.17. Reese meanwhile raised $1,806.20 in August to bring a total of $2,703.33 into the month of September. Senate District 23 – here, there are three candidates vying for the open seat formerly held by State Sen. Malika Sanders-Fortier, who vacated the seat in an unsuccessful bid for governor. Democrat Robert Lee Stewart narrowly defeated former State Sen. Hank Sanders in a hard-fought Democratic primary runoff in June. Stewart faces both a Republican in Michael Nimmer and a Libertarian in Portia Stephens. Stewart raised $16,987 in August to bring $17,872.84 into September. The Libertarian, Stephens, reported raising $2,060 in August to finish the month with $6,285 in cash on hand. The Republican, Nimmer, has not filed a campaign finance report. Alabama does not have general election runoffs, so when there are multiple candidates, the candidate with the most votes wins even if they got less than half of the votes. There is another three-way contest in Senate District 29. There, incumbent Republican Sen. Donnie Chesteen (R-Dothan) faces both Democrat Nathan “Nate” Mathis and Libertarian Floyd “Pete” McBroom. Matthis reported raising no money in August, but he has $5,719.36 in cash on hand. McBroom has not filed a campaign finance report with the Secretary of State’s office yet. The incumbent, Chesteen, raised $25,500 in August to enter September with $327,660.86. In Senate District 12, Republican Keith Kelley is battling Democrat David McCullars for the open seat currently held by Sen. Del Marsh. Kelley raised $29,658.24 in August and has $65,102.13 in cash on hand. McCullars only raised $265 in the month of August and entered the month of September with $4,377.15 in cash on hand. Kelley had a hard-fought Republican primary. This is a district that has given Marsh a close call in the 2014 general election. In other contested Alabama Senate races · SD3 incumbent Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) faces Libertarian Rick Chandler · SD4 incumbent Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman) faces Libertarian Jacob Marlow · SD6 incumbent Larry Stutts (R-Sheffield) faces Libertarian Kyle Richard-Garrison · SD7 incumbent Sam Givhan (R-Huntsville) faces Democrat Korey Wilson · SD15 incumbent Dan Roberts (R-Mountain Brook) faces Libertarian Michael Crump · SD17 incumbent Shay Shelnutt (R-Trussville) faces Libertarian John Fortenberry · SD24 incumbent Bobby Singleton (D-Greensboro) faces Libertarian Richard Benderson · SD25 incumbent Will Barfoot (R-Montgomery) versus Libertarian Louie Woolbright · SD28 incumbent Billy Beasley (D-Clayton) faces Libertarian David Boatwright · SD35 incumbent David Sessions (R-Grand Bay) faces Libertarian Clifton Hudson Republican incumbents Tim Melson, Greg Reed, Steve Livingston, Clay Scofield, Andrew Jones, Randy Price, April Weaver, Jabo Waggoner, Greg Albritton, Clyde Chambliss, Chris Elliott, and Jack Williams are all running unopposed. Republican newcomers Lance Bell in SD11 and Josh Carnley in SD31 are also unopposed in the general election. Democratic incumbents Rodger Smitherman, Linda Coleman-Madison, and Kirk Hatcher are all also unopposed in the general election. State Rep. Merika Coleman is unopposed in SD19, which is being vacated by the retirement of Priscilla Dunn (D-Bessemer). In 2022 Republican candidates in Alabama have received $44,321,108.97 in contributions. Political Action Committees have received $17,846,761.05. Democratic candidates have received $6,629,199.43, and all other candidates have received just $111,950.87. The general
Parker Snider: Arizona governor signs universal school choice legislation into law
School choice for every family, regardless of income, zip code or social status, has become reality in Arizona. This week, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (R) celebrated with parents, students and teachers at Phoenix Christian Preparatory School his signing of the nation’s most expansive school choice program in history into law. “Arizona is now the gold standard for educational freedom in America,” Governor Ducey said. “Our kids will no longer be stuck in under-performing schools. We’re unlocking their educational potential and advancing a bold new era of learning opportunities. Parents and teachers know there is no one-size-fits-all model to education. Kids and families should be able to access the school or learning program that best fits their unique needs — regardless of income or where they live. In Arizona, we’re making sure they have that choice.” The program offers any family, if they prefer a different education option other than the school they are zoned for, around $6,500 though an Empowerment Savings Account (similar to a health savings account but for K-12 education) to attend a private school, pay for homeschooling expenses, enroll in an online school, or pay for other approved expenses. Six percent of Arizona students are already enrolled in schools of choice using Empowerment Savings Accounts, a voucher program. Prior to this law, the program was limited to those with special needs, military families, and children who have been adopted or are in foster care. The expansion, however, opens the program to all families in Arizona. Fox News host Greg Gutfeld praised the bill’s signing on The Five Wednesday evening. “What’s happening in Arizona is so amazing,” Gutfeld said. “We’re going to see a huge change…it’s the parents that are pushing this, and it’s really going to change things.” Arizona is setting the standard in the school choice movement, according to American Federation for Children fellow Corey DeAngelis. Arizona’s Governor Ducey agrees. “I want to say to every one of my fellow governors,” Governor Ducey said Tuesday, “you can grab this bill, scratch out Arizona, write your state in, pass it through the two chambers, and you can have a ceremony like we’re going to celebrate today.” In the 2022 regular session, Alabama legislators had the opportunity to pass similar legislation as Arizona. The Parent’s Choice Act, SB140 sponsored by Senator Del Marsh (R-Anniston) and Rep. Charlotte Meadows (R-Montgomery), would have offered families over $5,000 per student to use for private school tuition and other approved expenses through an Education Savings Account. That bill, however, did not get a vote in either the House or the Senate. Many Republicans simply did not seem interested, even though school choice is a part of the party’s national platform. The Alabama Policy Institute, in fact, was one of only a few groups that supported the bill publicly. Governor Kay Ivey also did not openly support or oppose the bill. As more and more states adopt expanded school choice, however, the governor and quiet legislators will likely have to break their silence on the issue. Parker Snider is the Director of Social Policy for the Alabama Policy Institute.
Steve Flowers: Women and young folks prevail in 2022
In my observations of Alabama politics, every election year brings an underlying election year surprise or two. The underlying prevailing theme emerging from the Alabama political arena this year is that women have arrived politically in the Heart of Dixie. Governor Kay Ivey is only the second female elected Governor of Alabama, Lurleen Wallace being the first in 1966. Governor Ivey won a decisive second-term nomination as the Republican nominee in May. She will face another female Democratic nominee, Yolanda Flowers, in the November General Election. This is the first time two women will face each other for governor. In fact, the first and second place finishers in both the Republican and Democratic primaries were women. Governor Ivey was followed by Lindy Blanchard, who finished second in the GOP primary. Dr. Yolanda Flowers, a retired Birmingham educator, was in a runoff with second place Democratic female State Senator Malika Sanders Fortier in the Democratic primary. Katie Britt emerged victoriously from the Republican U.S. Senate contest, and if elected in November, as is expected, she will be the first female elected to the U.S. Senate from Alabama. Katie Britt is the brightest young star in Alabama politics. She is the new rock star of the state. Not only will she be the first female senator, but she is also the headliner for the second theme of 2022. That is, we have a pair of new youthful stars arriving on the scene as the dust settles from the June 21 runoffs. Wes Allen and Andrew Sorrell have become the new stars on the scene. Wes Allen defeated veteran politico Jim Ziegler in the Secretary of State race. Andrew Sorrell bested Stan Cooke and Rusty Glover to become State Auditor. Both Sorrell and Allen were about to become freshmen members of the Alabama House this time four years ago. Now, they are the new stars on the statewide political block. They will be joining Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth as young constitutional officeholders with a future. You have four young stars on the horizon in the state. Rockstar Katie Britt is 40, superstar Will Ainsworth is 41, star Wes Allen is 46, and star Andrew Sorrell is 36. Another young superstar has arrived on the behind-the-scenes political consulting arena in Alabama politics. Twenty-seven-year-old Sean Ross ran the Katie Britt campaign masterfully. He is absolutely brilliant. He ran one of Twinkle Cavanaugh’s campaigns four years ago when he was just graduating from the University of Alabama. Katie did a good day’s work when she acquired his services with a recommendation from Twinkle. He is the hottest item in Alabama political consulting. There were four vacancies in the Alabama State Senate. State Representative Merika Coleman, a Bessemer attorney, won a very impressive victory for the seat of retiring Priscilla Dunn. She is young and brilliant and is going to be a star in the Alabama State Senate. Lance Bell won the seat of retiring state Senator Jim McClendon. Bell beat his opponent 73% to 27% in this Republican seat. Keith Kelley emerged victorious over Wendy Ghee Draper, in the Anniston-based Republican seat of retiring veteran state Senator Del Marsh. In probably the biggest upset surprise of the 2022 primary season was the victory of Josh Carnley to fill the Republican Southeast Alabama Senate Seat held for decades by the powerful and popular Jimmy Holley. This district is comprised of Coffee, Covington, Pike, and part of Dale counties. Twelve-year veteran State House member Mike Jones of Andalusia was expected to waltz to victory having every business group’s endorsement. Carnley carried his home county of Coffee overwhelmingly, and veteran political consultant David Mowery did a masterful job with Carnley’s ads. Popular first-term state senator, Dan Roberts, was challenged by a self-financed urologist in Roberts’ silk stocking Jefferson/Shelby district, but Roberts won handily. For the first time in 40 years, there will not be a Sanders representing the Black Belt in the Alabama Senate. Veteran Senator Hank Sanders failed in his bid to take back his seat he loaned to his daughter, the aforementioned Malika Sanders Fortier. Hank Sanders had served nine terms as the Black Belt’s senator. He was defeated by Robert Stewart of Selma. Jay Hovey won the coveted Lee/Tallapoosa/Russell County State Senate seat, prevailing over incumbent Tom Whatley by one vote. For the most part, the powerful 35-member State Senate will return intact with only a few new faces. 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.
Parker Snider: Arizona poised to expand school choice to every student
A school choice measure that would allow all 1.1 million Arizona students to use state-funded education savings accounts passed in the state’s House of Representatives this week. The bill, HB2853, expands the state’s current education savings account program, which today serves just under 12,000 children, to all Arizona students. According to Corey DeAngelis, a senior fellow at the American Federation for Children, the program will be the largest in the nation if approved. That approval looks likely. The Arizona Senate seems poised to vote in its favor and Governor Doug Ducey, a school choice advocate, will likely sign the bill. Passage in the House, where two Republican members switched votes to push it over the finish line, appears to have been its most difficult legislative hurdle. Even so, there is some opposition. The Arizona Education Association, a teachers union, and an organization called “Save Our Schools Arizona” are calling on Senators to vote ‘no’. Knowing their efforts are likely to fail, Save Our Schools Arizona is planning a referendum campaign to force a vote of the people. A similar referendum in 2017 and 2018 was successful in stopping an earlier program expansion. That rejection, of course, was before the pandemic which caused many parents and families to see the benefits of school choice. If the measure goes into effect, families will be able to use the money–between $6,000 and $7,000 a year–for private school tuition, tutoring, homeschooling materials, and other approved expenses. Already many Arizona children are enrolled in a school of choice. 15% of Arizona students currently attend charter schools, which are privately operated schools that receive funding and some oversight from the local school district. Another 6% are enrolled in the private schools through Arizona’s current private school choice program. In Alabama, less than .1% of students are enrolled in charter schools. Only .5% are enrolled in private schools through a school choice program. This is not due to lack of demand, as many needy students attempting to escape their failing schools are not given the opportunity. Alabama’s school choice programs are simply too limited and are only serving the smallest number of students. In the 2022 Regular Session, Alabama legislators had the opportunity to pass similar legislation as Arizona. The Parent’s Choice Act, SB140 sponsored by Senator Del Marsh (R-Anniston) and Rep. Charlotte Meadows (R-Montgomery), would have offered families over $5,000 per student to use for private school tuition and other approved expenses through an Education Savings Account. Like in Arizona, the state’s teachers union was vocally against the bill. Unlike in Arizona, Alabama’s GOP-dominated legislature did not put the bill up for discussion in the Senate or the House, much less pass it into law. The fact that expanding school choice is a part of the national Republican Party platform seems a non-issue for most Alabama legislators. Whether such duplicity matters to Alabama residents, however, remains to be seen. Parker Snider is the Director of Policy Analysis for the Alabama Policy Institute.
Steve Flowers: Incumbency reigns supreme in State Senate
Being an incumbent state senator in Alabama is like owning that seat. The level of re-electability odds is probably better than that of an incumbent congressman, which is about the same as being elected to a seat in the Russian Communist Politburo. Being a freshman state senator in Alabama is a more powerful position than being a freshman U.S. congressman, especially if you want to affect public policy. Many times, a 50-year old, successful person who is interested in seeking a representative role will approach me and seek my advice about running for either a state senate seat or an open congressional seat. I will quickly advise them that as a state senator, you are one of 35, and you immediately have an impact on your first year as a state senator. However, if you win a congressional seat, you are one of 435. Because of the seniority system, it will be 15 years before they know your name in Washington and 25 years before you are chairman of a committee, and then it is time to retire. In the 35-member Alabama Senate, there are 27 Republicans and 8 Democrats – a pretty supermajority for the GOP. Twenty-four of the twenty-seven senate Republicans are running for reelection. Republicans Jimmy Holley, Del Marsh, and Jim McClendon are retiring. These seats will be filled by another Republican. Therefore, when the Senate organizes next January, the 27 to 8 supermajority will remain the same. The lines are drawn to protect incumbents on both sides of the aisle. The Constitution provides the power of the pencil for legislators to draw their own legislative districts. Seventeen of the 24 Republican incumbents have no opposition in the Republican Primary. Of the seven Republican senators who drew a Republican opponent, they only got an opponent the last day of qualifying, and their opposition is token at best. All 24 Republican incumbents will be reelected. If my prognostication is correct, that is a 100% re-electability rate. There are only two GOP incumbents that were first thought to have viable opponents. Tom Whatley, at first blush, was rumored to have a race. However, polling and fundraising reveal he will win easily. The only interesting race may be in the Huntsville area, where incumbent Tom Butler is being challenged by Bill Holtzclaw, who previously served in that senate seat. The rule of incumbency also prevails on the Democratic side of the aisle. There is only one Democratic seat open. Priscilla Dunn holds the post in name only. She has never attended a senate day in Montgomery for this entire quadrennium. The Senate has, in essence, been operating with 34 senators. In actuality, the Democrats have only seven senate seats. There are 150,000 residents of Jefferson County who have had no voice or vote in the Alabama Senate for four years. There are two Democratic House members vying to fill this seat, Merrika Coleman and Louise Alexander. Ms. Coleman is favored to win this open Senate seat. The cadre of leadership on the Democratic side will return, including powers Bobby Singleton, Rodger Smitherman, and Vivian Figures. Hank Sanders will return to represent Selma and the Black Belt after a four-year sabbatical. His daughter was in the seat this last quadrennium. The entire leadership of the Republican-led Senate will return unopposed, including Greg Reed, Jabo Waggoner, Clay Scofield, Arthur Orr, Greg Albritton, Steve Livingston, Gerald Allen, and especially Clyde Chambliss. They will be joined by a superstar freshman class, who will become even more powerful. This class of leaders includes Will Barfoot, Garlan Gudger, April Weaver, Sam Givhan, Donnie Chesteen, and a trio contingency of Baldwin/Mobile senators Chris Elliott, Jack Williams, and David Sessions. Another member of this sterling class, Dan Roberts of Jefferson, has an opponent but will be reelected. The three open Republican seats and one Democratic open seat will give us some interesting senate races to follow. One of, if not the most important ingredients which creates the power of incumbency is the almighty campaign dollar. Money is the mother’s milk of politics. Most of this campaign money comes from Special Interest Political Action Committees. Ninety percent of those special interest dollars go to incumbents. Thus, over 90% of Alabama state senators are reelected. 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.
Alabama tourism committee advances lottery and casino bill
An Alabama legislative committee swiftly advanced lottery and casino legislation on Wednesday, acting after a public hearing dominated by opponents who said the proposal would hand the licenses to a few powerful operators. The Senate Tourism Committee voted for the proposed constitutional amendment authorizing a state lottery, sports betting, eight full casinos with slots and table games, and two smaller gambling sites that could have up to 300 slot machines each. It now moves to the Senate floor. Republican Sen. Greg Albritton, the sponsor of the proposal, told the committee it was time for the state to address the issue of gambling. He argued his bill would give Alabamians a much-wanted state lottery and “grab control” of gambling by allowing a limited number of casino sites. “The people have been ready for this vote for years,” Albritton said of the proposal, which would go to a statewide vote in November if approved by lawmakers. Opponents argued that the bill would essentially hand the licenses to a few select operators. The casinos would be located at existing state dog tracks and sites owned by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. “We shouldn’t be, as a Legislature, in the posture of picking winners and losers,” Rep. Kelvin Lawrence, a Democrat from Hayneville, told the committee. He said it would close an existing facility in his county by limiting the number of machines. Those speaking against the bill in the public hearing included both longtime opponents of legalized gambling and representatives of existing electronic bingo operations that would likely be shuttered under the proposal. Casinos would be located at the site of four existing dog tracks in Greene, Jefferson, Macon, and Mobile counties. The Poarch Band of Creek Indians would have a casino at each of the three tribal sites as well as a new location located in either DeKalb County or Jackson County. The licenses at the track locations would be competitively bid, although the track owners would have the opportunity to come in and make a final bid for the license. It would authorize two smaller satellite operations in Houston and Lowndes counties with up to 300 slot machines each. “The competitive bid process that it mentions in this piece of legislation is actually more of a rigged bid process because the current owner is given the opportunity to offer one dollar over the winning bid to secure the license at the end of the day,” Heather Coleman Davis, a lobbyist representing another Greene County operation, told the committee. The proposal would require a change to the Alabama Constitution. It must be approved by three-fifths of lawmakers and then a majority of state voters to take effect. The gambling proposal, along with a companion bill to create a state gaming commission and operating rules, now goes to the Alabama Senate, where similar legislation was approved last year. Tourism Committee Chairman Del Marsh urged the House of Representatives to take up the proposal if it is approved by the Senate. He said it is the top issue he is asked about when he goes home to his Anniston district. “I think the people of this state want to have something to vote on and make a decision on,” Marsh said. Alabama is just one of five states — along with Nevada, Utah, Alaska, and Hawaii — without a state lottery. State voters in 1999 rejected a lottery proposed by then-Gov. Don Siegelman. Since then, efforts to legalize casinos or create a state lottery have failed under a fatal mix of conservative opposition to legalized gambling and turf wars over who could operate lucrative electronic gambling machines. Albritton has previously acknowledged that it would be difficult to pass legislation that just put the licenses out for bid. The existing facilities carry political clout and support from local legislators who don’t want to see local jobs disappear. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
