The Alabama Legislature may soon have a new home. The body was put in the current State House, a building built in 1965, in 1985 in what was supposed to be a temporary move. It’s now outdated and getting crowded and renovations and repairs needed would be costly. So, lawmakers are considering constructing a new State House instead. Read more here.
The Alabama Board of Education recently voted 5-2 to add a new requirement that students must complete to eventually earn their Alabama high school diploma. Prior to dropping the graduation exam, the state adopted different types of accomplishments – called college and career readiness (CCR) indicators – that would serve as evidence that a student had what it takes to head to college or start their career, but they did not make it a graduation requirement at the time. The new rule takes effect in 2028 and will give students four years to attain at least one of the 10 indicators, which include a benchmark score on the ACT college entrance exam, earning college credits while in high school and being accepted into a branch of the military before graduation, to name a few. Students who do not earn an indicator before they graduate have two years following when they were supposed to graduate to attain an indicator.
Innovate Alabama named Huntsville businesswoman and Alabama A&M alum Cynthia Crutchfield as its first founding CEO. The Montgomery native brings to the position 40 years of experience in helping innovators grow roots across the state. Crutchfield is chief operating officer of the Crutchfield Company, a Huntsville real estate investment business that provides affordable housing to underprivileged families, veterans and college students. The addition of a new CEO marks the next chapter in Innovate Alabama’s impact and growth, according to Governor Kay Ivey. Crutchfield received her undergraduate degree in computer science from Alabama A&M University and was a civil servant for the Air Force and Navy for 18 years. She also founded Crutchfield Management Consulting in 2021. It is an IT services and consulting company.
The Alabama House will welcome some new faces in the 2023 session, including the youngest sitting member and one of the youngest state legislators ever. Twenty-seven-year-old Brock Colvin of Albertville was just elected to the seat for District 26. The Republican representative told the press he’s excited to give younger residents in his district a voice and believes he’s bringing the legislature a unique perspective to multiple issues that are important to all, regardless of age. Read more here.
Adding to the incoming diversity is newly elected Representative Philip Ensler, the first Jew to join the legislative ranks in Alabama in more than four decades. He beat out Charlotte Meadows for the District 74 seat. He ran on a platform of community service and has been quoted as saying, “There’s much work to do.” Read more here.
It’s largely accepted that rural and low-income areas in Alabama are at a disadvantage when it comes to receiving quality health care. To address the concerns of those living in theses areas, the USDA has awarded $7.3 million in emergency rural healthcare grants to rural Alabama. Eleven facilities across the state will receive funds for repairs and improvements, and the USDA estimates that nearly 200,000 rural Alabamians will benefit from them. The entities receiving grants are as follows:
Earlier this month, the Alabama House Republican Caucus met and chose Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, as its nominee for Speaker of the House; State Rep. Chris Pringle, R-Mobile, as its Speaker Pro Tem nominee; State Rep. Scott Stadthagen, R-Decatur, as House Majority Leader; State Rep. Wes Kitchens, R-Arab, as Caucus Vice Chair; and State Rep. Debbie Wood, R-Valley, as Caucus secretary/treasurer. Nominations are equal to election to these positions since Republicans control a supermajority in the House and have committed to vote together. Read more here.
U.S. Steel CFO Jessica Graziano said the company’s electric arc furnace at Fairfield Works near Birmingham will operate at near maximum capacity for seamless pipe in the fourth quarter. While the company continues to navigate challenges due to escalating raw materials and energy costs, the company is on pace for its second-best financial year ever. Fairfield’s electric arc furnace, a $412-million investment that began production in 2020, was the first in U.S. Steel’s history and built to produce 1.6 million tons of steel a year.
After handily winning the governor’s election and gearing up for her second term Governor Kay Ivey has made a staff change. She’s appointed Drew Harrell as director of legislative affairs. He comes to the position from the BCA, where he was most recently that organization’s vice president of governmental affairs. Read more here.
As we all prepare for Thanksgiving and the accompanying feast (where are those stretchy pants?), we at The Bloom Group want to stress who grateful we are for our clients. From each BG team member, thank you for entrusting your governmental relations needs to us; thank you for giving us the opportunity to represent you and do the work we love (and that some of us have been doing for more than 35 years!); and we hope you take a moment to take stock of all you have to appreciate in your own life. Gratitude is a very uplifting attitude. We wish you all a safe and relaxing holiday!
Lots of tech sector announcements have made headlines in the last month. Amazon has funded a training program for mechatronics and robotics at Tuskegee University. The plan to expand access to high-speed internet into currently underserved areas throughout Alabama is getting underway. And Microsoft is helping folks in Randolph County increase their digital skills in an effort to boost employment prospects.
In other big news, medical cannabis is on the move, with Birmingham, the state’s largest city, voting to allow dispensaries to locate within its borders. And Alabamians might be getting a tax rebate; Ivey is currently working on a plan for historic budget surpluses and tax relief is on the table.
Find more details on this and other #alpolitics activity below.
