Alabama legislators file bills that seek to end grocery tax
A pair of Alabama legislators have introduced bills in their respective chambers that would eliminate the state’s sales tax on groceries. HB 174, sponsored by Rep. Mike Holmes, R-Wetumpka, and SB 43, sponsored by Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Montgomery, would eliminate the state tax on food. Both bills are designed to put more money in the pockets of state residents. The bills, however, would take different paths to being enacted. HB 174 would be enacted through ratification by the Legislature and Gov. Kay Ivey’s signature, while SB 43 would appear on November’s ballot as a proposed constitutional amendment. Under the state’s existing law, a sales tax of 4% is assessed on food sales. Counties and municipalities throughout the state, however, levy their own local taxes on food, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. Under both bills, local municipalities would retain the power to excise taxes on food. Tuscaloosa and Cullman counties, according to the report, have the highest grocery tax rate in the state at 9%, which includes the 4% state grocery tax. Grocery taxes in the majority of the state’s counties are between 6% and 8%, while some counties have a 4% to 6% grocery tax. A handful of counties have a grocery tax between 8% and 9%. HB 174, if enacted, would exempt the sales of food from sales and use taxes beginning September 1. If SB 43 is enacted through a ballot referendum, it would go into effect on January 1, 2023. Holmes said he introduced the legislation to give state residents a tax break. “We wanted to be sure we didn’t try and replace the grocery tax revenue with a tax revenue stream from somewhere else,” Holmes said. “We didn’t want to shift a tax from one group to another.” Holmes said last year from tax sources, Alabama generated $7.6 billion in revenue. This year, he said, the state is anticipating $12.2 billion in tax revenue. “That is where it is going to hit the hardest,” Holmes said of the legislation benefiting all residents. “It will hit everyone equally. Everybody has to have groceries. That was a place I could go to help the working class, even down to the poverty level and even the upper class, to get everyone a tax break.” Holmes said counties and municipalities will still be able to have their own grocery tax. “I’m really hopeful we can get this done,” said Holmes, who is not running for re-election. “I’m hanging a lot on the fact we can get across-the-aisle support. We have a supermajority, but if we can get half of their votes, we can get it done and do it right.” The Alabama Policy Institute said it is in favor of repealing the grocery tax. “Groceries are exempt from state sales tax in most of the country, with only thirteen states taxing groceries at all,” API President and CEO Caleb Crosby said. “Out of thirteen states that do tax groceries, only Alabama, Mississippi, and South Dakota tax them at the full amount without any credit or rebate. “With state budgets hitting record high after record high, it is … time for Alabama to end this tax. The fact is that Montgomery is flush with cash. State leaders need not pretend that the sales tax on our bread and milk is essential.” Phil Williams, a former state senator who serves as the Institute’s chief policy officer, said, “it is time to pursue this matter without the old fallback of raising taxes elsewhere.” “This should be a matter of giving back, not amending to avoid a true tax cut,” he said. By Brent Addleman | The Center Square Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
House committee advances lottery, casino bill
Lottery and casino legislation will be decided in the last two days of the legislative session after being advanced Tuesday by the House Economic Development and Tourism Committee. The committee voted to send the bill to the floor of the House of Representatives. The decision came after a public hearing in which opponents said the bill picks “winners and losers” by naming the nine casino locations. And proponents said it was time to give Alabama voters the opportunity to vote on gambling for the first time in two decades. If approved by lawmakers, the measure would go before voters in November 2022. The bill would establish a state lottery. Casinos would be located at Victory Land dog track in Macon county, Greentrack dog track in Greene County, Mobile County Race Course in Mobile County, and the Crossing at Big Creek in Houston County. The Poarch Band of Creek Indians would also have casinos at its three locations plus the final bid for a new north Alabama site in either Jackson or DeKalb counties. “So, 1999 was the last time the citizens of Alabama had an opportunity to vote on a comprehensive gaming plan or any type of gambling in the state. Since then, almost 200 pieces of legislation pertaining to gambling, gaming lottery have been introduced in some form,” Republican Rep. Chris Blackshear of Phenix City said. Opponents said the legislation has the government picking “winners and losers.” “It literally takes the name of a business and imbeds it in our Constitution. When have you ever seen that happen?” said Phil Williams, a former state senator who now heads the conservative Alabama Policy Institute. Some opponents argued it was unfair to exclude existing electronic bingo locations in Greene and Lowndes county operating under current constitutional amendments. The state has been a long-running legal battle over the legality of the slot machine lookalikes. Rep. Kelvin Lawrence, R-Hayneville, said the proposal as written would close an existing electronic bingo hall in Lowndes County, one of the poorest counties in the state while allowing a new casino location in north Alabama. “You are not only pouring salt in the wound, you are digging the hole, putting us in it, and burying us. That’s not fair,” Lawrence said. The proposal would name the sites for the casinos, but the casino license would be put up for bid. Some lawmakers asked what would happen if the site owner does not win the license. Blackshear said he thought if another entity won the license, it would be “very difficult to walk away from a sale, a partnership or a lease agreement.” “That’s so gangster, though?” Rep. Rolanda Hollis, D-Birmingham said. The Alabama Senate last month voted 23-9. However, the measure is facing a tough vote and a ticking legislative clock in the House of Representatives. Lawmakers have two meeting days remaining. Lawmakers plan to meet Thursday and then conclude the session May 17. The debate on the substantial piece of legislation comes at a time when the public is being largely excluded from the Alabama Statehouse because of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the public hearing was broadcast on the Legislature’s website, people have largely been unable to attend legislative proceedings. Republican Rep. Reed Ingram of Pike Road urged lawmakers to take a pause instead of trying to push out the bill in the last two days of session. He said lawmakers could resume debate during a special session for redistricting later this year. Democratic Rep. Berry Forte of Eufaula said the state has waited long enough. He said when he drives to Georgia from his east Alabama district, all he sees are Alabama cars with people buying lottery tickets. “I think we should vote on it and let the folks decide if we need it or not,” Forte said. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Phil Williams: Less outrage, more leadership
Time and again over the past few years, we have witnessed a disturbing trend among liberals, namely that if you don’t agree with their positions that you are to be silenced, boycotted, or removed. This past weekend, the Executive Committee of the Alabama Republican Party jumped into the liberal playbook feet first when it passed a resolution calling for Representative Ilhan Omar (Democrat-Minnesota) to be ousted from Congress. As I write this, I imagine that some of my GOP brethren around the State are slack-jawed that I would say such a thing. So, before you espouse my demise as a conservative, let’s be clear: I am an individual with unquestioned credentials as a conservative, a Christian and a Republican. I find Congresswoman Omar to be generally reprehensible, a fomenter of chaos, and a person with whom I have yet to find agreement. I also find her opinions to be protected under the First Amendment of the US Constitution……and that, my conservative friends, is what really matters. Winston Churchill, never one to mince words, said “Everyone is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people’s idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone else says anything back, that is an outrage.” What we need is less outrage, and more leadership with willingness to debate. It wasn’t so long ago that In-and-Out Burger was threatened with a boycott for supporting Republicans. Chick-Fil-A has often faced criticism and threats for standing for their corporate Christian culture. Entire States, including the great State of Alabama, have been the subject of proposed travel bans and business exodus for daring to stand for the rights of the unborn. All of these examples, and more, exist in current lexicon and were rebuffed by conservatives, including the ALGOP. And then, in a fit of hypocrisy, members of the same party, who withstood those similar attacks, cast aside any notion of constitutional protection and called for a duly elected representative from Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District to be thrown out of Congress altogether for her liberal views. Justice Antonin Scalia, arguably one of the most conservative jurists of our time, considered the notion of content discrimination a matter of strict scrutiny on the question of freedom of speech. Referring to this principle as the “first axiom” of First Amendment law, Scalia stated, “The point of the First Amendment is that majority preferences must be expressed in some fashion other than silencing speech on the basis of its content.” Let’s be real here….conservatives don’t generally like Representative Omar. I get it. The answer to that is to debate on the merits of our own position. Say what you want on your social media, or around the water cooler. Heck, we can even travel to Minnesota and campaign for her opposition. I suspect her public image is actually going to implode on its own. But, the idea that a group of Alabama hecklers is going to have her thrown out of office is not only ludicrous, and beneath what we stand for, it is antithetical to the foundations of this great experiment we call a representative democracy. I’m not afraid of Ilhan Omar. I’d be proud to debate rings around her in a public forum. But, like many others, I swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. And that same Constitution affords a voice to all, not just to some. Phil Williams, API Director of Policy Strategy, is a former State Senator from Gadsden. For updates, follow him on Twitter at @SenPhilWilliams and visit alabamapolicy.org.
State Sen. Phil Williams to California’s In-N-Out: ‘C’mon to Alabama!’
In-N-Out Burger, a quintessential west coast fast-food chain that’s practically synonymous with California dining, has found itself under scrutiny over a $25,000 contribution to the California Republican Party. Despite the fact that In-N-Out donates to both Republicans and Democrats, Eric Bauman, Chair of the California Democratic Party, called for the boycott of the beloved burger joint last week. “Et tu In-N-Out? Tens of thousands of dollars donated to the California Republican Party… it’s time to #BoycottInNOut – let Trump and his cronies support these creeps… perhaps animal style!,” Bauman tweeted. Et tu In-N-Out? Tens of thousands of dollars donated to the California Republican Party… it’s time to #BoycottInNOut – let Trump and his cronies support these creeps… perhaps animal style!https://t.co/9zkdFaG5CJ — EricBauman (@EricBauman) August 30, 2018 Which got one Alabama State Senator to thinking maybe he ought to invite the Christian-based chain — the company prints Bible verses on the bottoms of its packaging — to relocate their headquarters in more GOP-friendly state. Rainbow City-Republican, State Sen. Phil Williams tweeted an invitation to In-N-Out to move to Alabama on Thursday night. “Hey #InNOutBurger c’mon to Alabama! We love burgers, and we love #Republicans! #alpoliticshttps://t.co/DAruwg2uCh,” Williams tweeted. Hey #InNOutBurger c’mon to Alabama! We love burgers, and we love #Republicans! #alpoliticshttps://t.co/DAruwg2uCh — Sen. Phil Williams (@SenPhilWilliams) August 31, 2018 It remains unclear whether or not In-N-Out would consider leaving California. The company has been headquartered there, in Irvine, Calif since 1948. Currently, it doesn’t have a location farther east than Dallas.
Phil Williams: A full-spectrum approach to school safety
In the wake of the recent horrific school shootings in Santa Fe, Texas, and Parkland, Florida, and today’s tragic events at a middle school in Noblesville, Indiana, I found myself reviewing another opinion piece that I wrote in December of 2012. That one was written in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shooting in Connecticut. Fast forward six years and we are there again. There is no way to say with any certainty whether any of these incidents were entirely predictable or preventable. But what is predictable are the usual, oversimplified calls for gun control, or the opposite response of arming teachers. We can do better than that. What is needed is a far more robust and comprehensive view of the situation. It is time for state and federal funding to be applied to a broader solution in what the U.S. Army refers to as “Full Spectrum Operations.” Full spectrum operations require equal and continuous application of offensive, defensive, stabilizing, and civil measures. It is not enough to simply shout “Arm the teachers!” or “Take their guns!” The leaders of every community should look to a broader view. In the offensive category of full spectrum operations, we must be proactive in the areas of mental health and on-site response capability. Mental health is often overlooked in these debates, but studies indicate it is nearly always a factor in the incidents themselves. We should recruit, train and place social workers to work in our schools and set the student ratio at a reasonable level to ensure their ability to interact with students and faculty. At the same time, it is past due for every school to have a uniformed school resource officer on duty. Both the social worker and the SRO should then be able to interact with each other and provide input on student issues that comes from firsthand knowledge. The average costs to the budgets for a school counselor or an SRO are each roughly the equivalent of hiring an additional teacher. That’s an investment we can and should make. In the defensive and stabilizing categories, we must make our schools harder targets with additional standoff capabilities. Every school should have controlled access and live-feed security cameras. Staff and students should conduct active shooter drills the same as they do for tornado drills. Barriers can be easily placed in front of major entryways to prevent vehicular forced entry. Up-to-date school schematics for both public and private schools should be on file with state and local law enforcement to better equip them for response. Funds currently allocated for technology and facilities improvement in Alabama’s education funding should be immediately modified to allow for security expenses determined at the local discretionary level. A robust, layered defense is necessary for every facility, and the cost to create these defensive measures is minimal by comparison to our multi-billion dollar state education budget. Lastly, full spectrum operations are never complete until the civil aspect has been addressed. Local communities need to ensure that they are fully engaged in providing what they can to the schools in their jurisdictions. Several years ago, one of the smallest towns in my legislative district smartly chose to annex land to get their municipal limits adjacent to a rural elementary school, in order to provide a municipal police officer as an SRO, at no cost to the school system. The mayor and town council felt that it was their responsibility to watch out for those kids. What a testimony. Whether via state grants, discretionary funds from elected officials, parent-teacher associations, churches and faith-based organizations, or simply an increased willingness by local citizens to engage the process, it is absolutely necessary for communities to rally around their schools and ensure that they have what they need to prevent another senseless tragedy. In truth, all of the measures just described are not guaranteed to stop every attempt by a committed killer to harm one of our children. But if the application of a full spectrum approach to school safety saves just one life….just one….it will be worth it. ••• A decorated U.S. Army officer who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, Phil Williams represents District 10 in the Alabama State Senate, which is comprised of all or parts of Etowah, Cherokee, St. Clair, and DeKalb counties. Follow him on Twitter for his latest legislative updates: @SenPhilWilliams
State House passes data breach protections for consumers
Before Thursday, Alabama was one of only two states in the nation that did not require a data breach notification. SB318, or the Data Breach Notification Act, passed through the Alabama house with a unanimous 101-0 vote Thursday evening. The bill requires all companies doing business in the state to notify their customers if their personal information has been compromised. “Virtually all of our vital personal information – including Social Security numbers, military IDs, drivers’ licenses, bank account numbers, and medical data – is now online,” said the bill’s sponsor Decatur-Republican state Sen. Arthur Orr. “With this bill, consumers will know if their information has been compromised and what steps a company is taking to recover and protect consumers’ data.” “Tonight, the Alabama House took action to arm Alabama consumers in the event that their personal information is compromised in a data breach,” added state Attorney General Steve Marshall. “Passage of the Alabama Data Breach Notification Act has been a high priority for my office. It is all the more important now, as yesterday the only other state in the country without such a consumer-protection law – South Dakota – enacted a data breach notification law, leaving Alabama alone.” Marshall congratulated Orr and Huntsville-Republican state Rep. Phil Williams, who advanced the bill through the House. “I appreciate the hard work of Williams and Orr in moving the data breach notification bill a step closer toward final passage,” said Marshall. The Alabama Senate passed SB318 by a vote of 24 to 0 earlier in March, the bill now returns to the Senate for a vote on whether to concur with the House changes.
State Senate votes against term limits for lawmakers
According to a poll commissioned by the organization and conducted by McLaughlin and Associates 84% of Alabamians want term limits placed on Members of Congress, but only nine state senators voted to bring a term limits bill to the floor for debate on Wednesday. State Sens. Bill Hightower, Trip Pittman, Paul Sanford, Bill Holtzclaw, Greg Reed, Larry Stutts, Phil Williams, Rusty Glover and Arthur Orr voted in favor of bringing SB127 to the floor for debate. But the bill failed a procedural motion, 9-15, to do so. “Today’s decision by Montgomery Insiders to vote against legislative term limits legislation epitomizes why Alabama voters are so frustrated with their state government,” said the bill’s sponsor, Mobile-Republican state Senator, and candidate for Governor, Bill Hightower. “More than four in five Alabama voters believe we need term limits, but career politicians understand this is a threat to their personal ambition and power. This morning the Montgomery Insiders put cronyism and smoke-filled backroom deals above the people they are supposed to represent.” SB127 would have proposed an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama that would provide that no person may be elected to either house of the state Legislature for more than three consecutive four-year terms. Currently, most other constitutional offices in Alabama have term or age limits. Hightower’s term limits legislation is a key component of his gubernatorial platform — the Alabama First Agenda, which is focused on reforming the way Montgomery operates. “We will not stop until we end the old boys network that is stopping real change!,” Hightower continued. “We will never change Montgomery if we continue to elect the same insiders, and that is why I am running for Governor, to shake up the establishment and bring positive change to Alabama. As Governor, we will continue to push for term limits and many other reforms that the career politicians know will end their grip on power,” concluded Hightower. Most all of the senators who voted in favor of bringing SB127 up for debate, are all self-term limited: Sen. Bill Hightower: self term limited after 2 terms Sen. Trip Pittman: self term limited after 3 terms Sen. Paul Sanford: self term limited after 3 terms Sen. Bill Holtzclaw: self term limited after 2 terms Sen. Phil Williams: self term limited after 2 terms Sen. Rusty Glover: self term limited after 3 terms
Senate Passes ’30 days to pay’ bill to reform payday lending
On Thursday, the Alabama Senate passed a bill that seeks to issue reforms to Alabama’s payday loan industry. The bill passed with bipartisan support on a vote of 20-4, and now moves to the House. Under current law, lenders are allowed to set the terms of their loans from 10 to 31 days, and can charge up to a 17.5 percent fee for the loan; giving a loan with payment due in 14 days an annualized interest rate of 456 percent. SB138 seeks to drop this rate to 200 percent by requiring payday lenders to give borrowers 30 days to repay their loans. Decatur-Republican Sen. Arthur Orr, the bill’s sponsor, believes it is a simple, but necessary change, and will make repayment easier for Alabamians who pay their loans monthly, alongside their household bills. “This simple reform enjoys bipartisan, overwhelming, statewide support, we are grateful for the responsive leadership that carried this bill through the Senate. Now, we look toward the House seeking the same level of commitment to the well-being of Alabama’s borrowers. Predatory lending reform is a priority for many Alabama voters who are tired of seeing this can kicked down the road year after year, and this bill is an opportunity for legislators to finally deliver on the change that their constituents have requested for so long.” Dana Sweeney with the Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice, told Alabama News. Madison-Republican Sen. Bill Holtzclaw, Rainbow City-Republican Sen. Phil Williams, and Birmingham-Democrat Sen. Rodger Smitherman are co-sponsors of the bill.
Alabama lawmakers pass one of two marijuana bills
On Wednesday, two Alabama bills to lower penalties for marijuana possession went before House and Senate Judiciary Committees. Birmingham-Democrat state Rep. Patricia Todd’s bill, HB272, which sought to change sentencing for possession of one ounce or less to a violation, and to add fines which would not appear on a person’s criminal record, even after repeat offense, failed to pass the House Judiciary Committee. “I’m sad, but it’s an election year. And a lot of people who voted no told me to my face that they were going to vote yes. And I think the roll-call vote scared a lot of people (who) don’t want to look like they’re soft on drugs. But most people sitting there have no concept or understanding of marijuana,” Todd told the Associated Press. The committee voted 7-5 against the bill, Moody-Republican state Rep. Jim Hill, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, believes the bill went too far in saying that possession would be only a violation even after repeat offenses. “I think we’re probably headed toward either some type of either decriminalization or lesser emphasis being placed on marijuana, but it’s illegal. And to say that no matter how many times you use it, how many times it’s personal use, it never rises to the level of a misdemeanor, I just think that’s a mistake,” Hill told AL.com. However, Montgomery-Republican state Sen. Dick Brewbaker’s bill, SB51, was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, his bill seeks to up the minimum amount of marijuana needed to be convicted of trafficking from 2.2 pounds to 10 pounds. “Nobody in here wants to hang felonies or drug conviction misdemeanors on a bunch of college kids,” Brewbaker told AL.com. “We’re arresting more people for marijuana than opioids.” Brewbaker’s bill passed on a 6-4 vote, it now moves to the Senate floor, but will also need to be passed by the House to become a law. Although the bill passed through the Senate committee, it already faces some opposition on the Senate floor. Rainbow City-Republican Sen. Phil Williams has gone on record saying he will filibuster the bill if, or when, it comes to the Senate floor.
Phil Williams: Political animals and sacrificial lambs
Anyone who supposed that politics was not a contact sport has likely had that opinion changed in the last thirty days. In actual fact politics and public life in general have become a bloodsport. Compared to a mere decade ago the relative speed at which accusations now fly and public officials resign in the age of social media and the 24/7 news cycle is like comparing my grandmother’s rotary phone with the iPhone X. Blood is spilled daily. But it is also noteworthy that the death blows no longer come in the form of attacking the public positions of another. All too often the kill-shot comes by crushing the person, the name, the character of the individual. Liberal activist and community organizer Saul Alinsky opined that “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.” Tear down the person and you can effectively diminish his or her ability to operate. The current U.S. Senate race in Alabama is ground-zero for the political weaponization of character crushing. In the midst of the feeding frenzy are the political animals in the Democrat Party who once chose to ignore the same behaviors that are now crushing their own peers. Those who once turned a blind eye to unacceptable behaviors are realizing that they no longer have the luxury of believing that it will all blow over soon. The notion that no one is really paying attention is being overcome by a cacophony of real and fake news that break like waves on a shore when controversy arises. Republicans have their share of problems. Republicans in Alabama recently worked to remove one of their own from the Governor’s office under a cloud of immoral behavior. Republicans nationwide had called for Bill Clinton to be ousted from positions of power long ago. But Democrats have traditionally turned a blind-eye to sexual misconduct and harassment in their own ranks. How then can a Democrat who pish-poshed over Bill Clinton’s misogynistic behavior maintain their political position? The answer comes in their quest to regain the moral high ground. In order to preserve some measure of credibility on the hottest topic in the public arena the Democrats knew that they needed a sacrificial lamb… or two. Enter Senator Al Franken and Representative John Conyers. Democrats know that their cat-calls and contempt for Roy Moore in Alabama’s Senate race were deflated when overwhelming evidence surfaced that Franken and Conyers were predators-in-fact. Photographic evidence and contemporaneous testimony from Franken and Conyers accusers destroyed the high ground that Democrats had staked for themselves in the modern melee. It is understood by realists on both sides of the aisle that Roy Moore will win the US Senate election and travel to DC. The only way that the Democrats in power can appear credible when they attempt to drown Moore in the swamp is to be seen as the Party that sacrificed two of their own for the greater good. Make no mistake, Franken and Conyers needed to go. People should never be objectified or forced into compromise by anyone, especially by someone in a position of authority over them. But had it not been for the Harvey Weinstein era that arose recently then history dictates that the Democrats would have just filed the Franken/Conyers accusers in the “trollop file” with other well-known accusers like Juanita Broadrick and Paula Jones. Moore is going to win on December 12th. I also predict with certainty that Moore is going to have Republican competition for the 2020 primary. But Moore is also going to face the wrath of Democrats in DC in the short-term who will feel emboldened by their new found righteousness. Franken and Conyers have just been sacrificed on the altar of the Democrat Party to appease the God’s of liberalism. They will now march into battle like the political animals that they are with the mistaken belief that they have captured the key terrain. ••• Phil Williams represents Etowah, Cherokee, Dekalb and St. Clair Counties in the Alabama Senate. You may reach Senator Williams by phone at (334) 242-7857 or by e-mail at phil@williamsstatesenate.com.
State Sen. Phil Williams on Roy Moore: God help us as we sort through the mess
An Alabama state senator is calling on God to help “sort through the mess” that has surfaced in recent days following a bombshell report with the accounts of four women who claim Alabama-Republican and U.S. Senate nominee Roy Moore sexually pursued them when he was in his 30s and they were in their teens. In his official capacities as both the State Senator for District 10 and as the Chairman for the Etowah County Republican Party, Rainbow City-Republican and Alabama State Sen. Phil Williams went on the record Monday saying the women who have accused Moore of sexual misconduct “deserve the full measure of credibility that any victim should be given in cases such as these.” “In recent days horrible allegations of sexual predation have been levied against Judge Roy Moore that have caused genuine unrest in the final days of Alabama’s US Senate race. The allegations by Ms. Leigh Corfman and several others deserve the full measure of credibility that any victim should be given in cases such as these,” Williams said in a statement. Williams went on to say the allegations are decades old and past the statue of limitations for prosecuting a case against Moore, leaving both sides to “be forced to forever live with the alleged memories, and the pain of accusation from which a defense cannot be mounted in the truest sense.” Williams concluded, “It occurs to me that what we have before us is the worst of humanity on display. On one hand, if the allegations are true, then a young woman at a defenseless position in her life was the victim of actions that no one should be subjected to – actions that may well have colored her days thereafter. On the other hand, if the allegations are untrue then we have a situation in which outright lies are being told with the sole intent to destroy the life and ruin the name of someone for the sole purpose of gaining an edge in politics. It is horrible to contemplate that anyone would wreak either havoc on another person – but that is the world that we live in and those are the only two possible grounds for the stories being given top billing in the media today. God help us as we sort through the mess.”
Bill to decriminalize Alabama midwifery passes Senate committee
An Alabama Senate committee on Wednesday passed a bill that would allow certified professional midwives to legally practice in the Yellowhammer State. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the bill, sponsored Moulton-Republican state Rep. Ken Johnson , 9-2. The committee also approved an amendment Rainbow City-Republican Sen. Phil Williams offered that would mandate certified midwives to carry liability insurance. It also requires mothers and midwives to have a written emergency plan in place at least 30 days prior to the mother’s expected due date. Currently, state law says it’s a misdemeanor offense to practice midwifery without a license issued by the state Board of Nursing and the Board of Medical Examiners. Meanwhile, midwifery is legal and regulated in 31 states, including neighboring states Florida and Tennessee. Supporters of the bill call today’s vote a victory for Alabama midwives. “It passed!!!,” the Alabama Birth Coalition posted on their Facebook page. “We are so thankful for the favorable report from the Judiciary committee today. On to the Senate floor! We will explain the amendment in more detail later, but supporters…. this is a time to celebrate and remain positive and hopeful!!” The bill will now move to the full Senate for consideration. It has already passed the State House, 84-11.
