Healthcare High School, Workforce Development & Getting Ready for SCOTUS Redistricting Decision
November 2025 Group Watch: News & Views from the State House
Healthcare Education in Alabama Moving Forward
Last week saw the groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction on the new Alabama School of Healthcare Sciences in Demopolis. The school will train students to enter the booming medical industry, providing needed healthcare professionals to meet the state’s healthcare needs while also providing better futures for the students by readying them for in-demand careers. ASHS will be a residential school, meaning students from across the state will stay onsite when classes are in session. It is Alabama’s fourth residential specialty school, and like the others, is free for its students, who will apply to attend. The first freshman class begins its journey in August 2026 in a temporary facility, while the ASHS building is expected to be ready a year later. Read more here.
AL Senate President Pro Tem Pre-Files Bill Awaiting SCOTUS Redistricting Decision
By the end of June, the U.S. Supreme Court should have weighed in on the race and redistricting question facing Alabama and Louisiana (which brought the case SCOTUS is currently considering). In anticipation of a court decision declaring Section 2 of the U.S. Voting Rights Act unconstitutional and resulting redrawn district lines, Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman) pre-filed Senate Bill 23 last week.
If passed by the legislature when the 2026 session convenes, the bill will allow special primary elections so they can reflect any new districts if the boundary changes are made too late to be accommodated in the normal primary election schedule. Read more here.
New Bill Requires Alabama Elected Officials to Be U.S. Born
The Alabama Legislature will consider a requiring those vying for most state offices to be born in the United States, meaning naturalized U.S. citizens would be ineligible to run for governor, attorney general, state treasurer, seats in the Alabama House and Senate, state auditor and more. Secretary of State Wes Allen proposed the legislation, with Senator Donnie Chesteen(R-Geneva) is sponsoring the bill in Senate and Representative Rhett Marques (R-Enterprise) sponsoring it in the House.
Allen feels confident the bill will pass, after which it will be put to the people for a vote on the November 2026 ballot. But the idea has already gotten some pushback, including from fellow Republicans like former Congressman Mo Brooks, who wrote a piece explaining his opposition for al.com last week. Read more here.
Alabama Prioritizes Workforce Readiness With New Department
In an effort to build on and further bolster the state’s recent economic development wins, Alabama announced the new Alabama Department of Workforce, which will be called Workforce Alabama, last week. The move represents a major step in advancing workforce development and a recognition of how closely a skilled and ready workforce is tied to continued growth and a bright economic future.
Workforce Alabama brings together educators, business and industry leaders and government officials in pursuit of one goal: “to remove barriers and create clear pathways connecting people to prosperity through integrated services.” Combining several, previously separate workforce efforts, Workforce Alabama will use a more unified, community-based approach to help industry and employers find the right people and help Alabama residents find and land the right jobs. Read more here.
State Goes After Tech Sector with “Attraction Initiative”
Alabama is courting high-growth tech companies and tech entrepreneurs with a new statewide strategy announced in mid-October. The initiative, a joint effort of The Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, The Alabama Department of Commerce and Innovate Alabama, aims to recruit more tech companies by focusing on the founders in the sector, with a focus on supporting startups and small tech businesses and helping them scale up. Read more here.
Prostate Cancer Screening Bill Back for 2026 Session
Since it made progress in the Alabama Legislature’s 2025 session — making it through the Senate but never being considered by the full House — a bill requiring insurance companies to completely cover the costs of prostate cancer screenings for men at high risk of the disease is being introduced again when the next session starts. Senator Steve Livingston (R-Scottsboro) said SB 19 simply ran out of time in the previous session. The American Cancer Society has expressed its strong support for the legislation, noting its passage would make Alabama a leader in “reducing the cancer burden.” Read more here.
Meet The Bloom Group: (left to right) John Guthrie Jr., Harris Sanderson, Stephanie Norrell, Hal Bloom (principal/founder), Allen Sanderson (principal), Sara Elizabeth Burnham (vice president), James Dupree Jr., John Floyd.