October 2021 Group Watch: Southern Research to Invest Nearly $20M in Birmingham

Southern Research has closed on the sale of its Maryland facility as part of the organization’s plan to spur investment and launch new facilities in Birmingham. The sale paves the way for the research nonprofit to invest almost $20 million in its Birmingham campus, which will bring an additional 50 jobs to Alabama. Southern Research’s founding dates back to 1941, when it was established in Birmingham. According to the nonprofit, Southern Research has involved itself in COVID-19 response since the pandemic began. The organization has directed more than $30 million in research and development on virus testing, treatment and vaccine development. Southern Research and Tonix, the organization which purchased the Maryland site, have collaborated on a COVID-19 vaccine that is currently in clinical trials. The partnership will continue as Southern Research moves forward with its work on vaccines and antivirals at its Birmingham campus. Southern Research is an independent, nonprofit scientific research organization that conducts work with its scientists and engineers across three divisions: life sciences, engineering and energy and environment.

October 2021 Group Watch: Department of Commerce Announces Promotion

The Alabama Department of Commerce announced that longtime employee Stefania Jones has been promoted to Manager of Governmental Affairs and Marketing, giving her the responsibility for key activities at the state’s lead economic development agency. In her new role, Jones will serve as Commerce’s representative on legislative matters, helping to shape policy positions and maintaining channels of communication with state lawmakers and their staffers. She will also be Commerce’s conduit to local and federal legislative and government offices. Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield said Jones has the talents and institutional knowledge to serve as an effective representative for Commerce in their multi-layered interactions with the state legislature. Jones has served as Secretary Canfield’s executive assistant since 2011, shortly after he took the helm at Commerce. Since that time, Alabama’s strategic economic development efforts have generated more than $50 billion in new capital investment and more than 160,000 job commitments.

October 2021 Group Watch: Medical Cannabis in AL Not Likely Until 2023

Last week, The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission, which is working to get everything in place for medical cannabis in the state, said it will not ask the legislature to move up previously established dates regarding when medical cannabis will be available. The commission claims it has plenty of work to do in the meantime and didn’t want to open the door for other changes to the law by having it taken back up in the legislature. Read more here. 

October 2021 Group Watch: Committee Looking at Racism in AL Constitution

The Committee on the Recompilation of the Constitution, created with the support of both Republicans and Democrats to study the racist language still in Alabama’s Constitution, recently heard a proposal for revisions, and while the body did not accept the proposal with a formal vote, there were no objections voiced. A formal vote is expected in the coming weeks. Read more about the proposal here. 

October 2021 Group Watch: Gov Announces Birmingham-Area Crisis Center

Governor Kay Ivey recently announced that the Jefferson, Blount, St. Clair (JBS) Mental Health Authority in Birmingham will be the home to the state’s fourth crisis center. The addition to the Alabama Crisis System of Care will join AltaPointe Health in Mobile, Wellstone in Huntsville and the Montgomery Area Mental Health Authority in Montgomery in providing crucial mental health services to the citizenry. The state’s first three crisis centers were awarded funding in October 2020 and have been operational since May 2021. Crisis centers were established to serve individuals suffering from mental illness and substance use disorders. Crisis centers are a designated place for community members, law enforcement and first responders to take an individual who is in a mental health crisis. Crisis centers offer both walk-in access and the capacity for first responders and law enforcement to transfer individuals to the center for a warm hand-off to crisis center staff, short-term admission, medication management and case management.

October 2021 Group Watch: AL AG Requesting Updates to AL’s Law on Vaccine Mandates

In the 2021 regular legislative session, the legislature passed Act 2021-493, which states that “no government, school, or business in Alabama may demand that a constituent, student, or customer be vaccinated for COVID-19 or show proof of his or her vaccination for COVID-19.” This was in anticipation of a federal vaccine mandate, which President Joe Biden announced in September. Now, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is asking the legislature to add two updates to the state law to help him challenge Biden’s vaccine mandate. Read more here.

October 2021 Group Watch: AL Accepting Hemp Growing & Processing Applications

The Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries has started taking license applications from Alabama hemp growers, those who process and handle hemp and interested universities. In 2016, the legislature passed the Alabama Industrial Hemp Research Program Act, which required the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries to set up a licensing and inspection program for industrial hemp production. The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 declassified hemp as a schedule I drug,  deemed hemp an agriculture commodity, and defined hemp as the parts of the marijuana plant that contain less than 0.3 percent THC. The industrial hemp industry can produce essential oils from CBD, as well as grain and fiber products. In the 2019 pilot program, Alabama granted 152 hemp growers, 59 processors and five universities. The final day to apply is November 29, 2021. More information for registration is available here.

October 2021 Group Watch: Gov Extends Emergency Flexibility for Hospitals

Governor Ivey has extended the state of public health emergency, which grants hospitals flexibility by relaxing regulations. On August 13, Governor Ivey announced a state public health emergency as ICU bed capacity in the state hit 95 percent, and COVID-19 hospitalizations approached record levels. The emergency measures made it easier for hospitals to access the resources they need and are supposed to ease pressure on the state’s health systems. It allowed out-of-state health practitioners to operate in state hospitals under temporary permits and for the implementation of hospitals’ alternative standards-of-care plans. It also allowed for expedited capacity expansion of healthcare facilities. This order is now scheduled to expire on October 31.

October 2021 Group Watch: Rural AL Companies Make a Splash at Made in AL Showcase

Companies making great products in small corners of the state stepped into the spotlight at the first installment of the Made in Alabama Showcase that featured extraordinary homegrown products. Six of the 12 companies honored by Governor Kay Ivey are based in rural Alabama communities, a fact not so surprising when you consider the variety of in-demand products originating from the state’s rural areas. Beatriced-based Monroe Meat Co. was one of several businesses recognized. The Monroe Brand Sausage company became a household name decades ago when its sausage biscuits were tossed from a company float during the annual Monroeville Hog festival. Today, hickory-smoked Monroe Sausage can be found in most grocery stores. Other companies highlighted were Henry Brick Co., a Selma-based brick manufacturer whose roots go back 65 years; Dean’s Cake House, an Andalusia bakery known for its seven-layer cakes and other treats; SouthFresh Feeds, a Demopolis-based producer of feeds for fish, cattle, deer and horses; SHOWA Group in Fayette County, which after 50 years has become the nation’s largest manufacturer of single-use nitrile gloves, an alternative to latex; and Kith Kitchens based in Haleyville, which started in 1998 as a family-owned business and now employs more than 700 people and is one of the largest cabinet makers in the United States.

September 2021 Group Watch: News & Views from the State House

With COVID still putting stress on Alabama hospitals, Gov. Ivey has acted quickly to provide assistance by freeing up federal money to bring in extra nurses as needed. Money is also a big topic of discussion in the state’s longstanding prison problems, but State Representative Steve Clouse recently outlined a plan to finance the solution. There’s talk of at least one special legislative session in the coming months to address the prison issue.

There’s good news too. Alabama continues to earn accolades from national biz media praising its business-friendly environment. And special elections, appointments and private-sector promotions have added some new faces and put people in new roles in the state’s political scene.

Read on to learn more.