This year already has seen a number of Alabama Arise priorities in the news, and death penalty reform is no exception. Unfortunately, Alabama recently became the first state to perform an execution using the unsafe and untested method known as nitrogen hypoxia. The state executed Kenneth Smith using this method on Jan. 25, despite concerns from many Alabamians and even the United Nations.
Smith’s execution could not have legally occurred if he had been sentenced today. After finding him guilty, the jury voted 11-1 for Smith to be sentenced to life imprisonment. However, the sentencing judge overruled the jury’s wishes and imposed the death penalty, a practice known as judicial override. Lawmakers banned this practice in 2017, but the ban wasn’t made retroactive. That means more than 30 people are still on Alabama’s death row against the wishes of a jury.
Arise and other death penalty reform advocates supported more than 150 faith leaders as they petitioned the governor to halt Smith’s execution and called for increasing transparency around the use of nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method. Similarly, we supported advocates, community members and former death row inmates who gathered at the steps of the State Capitol to protest the execution and the state’s new method.
This execution and the advocacy of Alabamians demonstrates, more than ever, our state’s need for death penalty reform. We must make the judicial override ban retroactive to address the injustice experienced by dozens of people who were sentenced to death by a judge, rather than a jury of their peers. Similarly, Alabama is one of only two states that doesn’t require a unanimous jury vote to sentence someone to death. In our state, only 10 of 12 jurors must agree to impose a death sentence.
It’s budget season at the Alabama Legislature and in Congress. But many of our state and federal representatives are not doing enough to meet the very real needs of ordinary people.
Gov. Kay Ivey has now proposed an Education Trust Fund budget as well as a General Fund budget, which funds Medicaid, mental health care and other state services. Ivey recommended a needed 4% funding increase for local K-12 schools. But she failed to include funding for two Alabama Arise priorities: public transportation and universal school breakfast. Arise will advocate actively for these critical needs as the budgets move through the Legislature.
Help needed for public schools, public transportation
At the same time, Ivey and education budget committee chairs are pushing HB 129 and SB 61, which would divert at least $100 million annually from K-12 public schools to pay for private school and homeschooling. This proposal would undermine efforts to improve public education and would lay groundwork for even more efforts to defund public schools.
Ivey’s General Fund budget would provide needed increases for mental health and the Department of Human Resources. But it misses the mark by not requesting money for the Housing Trust Fund and the Public Transportation Trust Fund. Arise will be working during the session to add these critical needs to the final budget.
Action needed on federal level to help families make ends meet
Federal budgets also have failed to meet critical human needs. A temporary Child Tax Credit (CTC) increase in 2021 cut the national child poverty rate by nearly half, but Congress allowed it to expire. Fortunately, the U.S. House in January passed a bill to expand the CTC for three years. But the Senate has yet to consider the measure.
About 280,000 Alabama children would benefit from the House’s CTC expansion. Arise has urged U.S. Sens. Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville to approve the CTC expansion quickly and help move thousands of Alabama kids out of poverty.
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) provides nutritious foods for pregnant and postpartum women, babies and toddlers. But WIC faces a budget shortfall because of recent food cost increases and higher participation. Without action by Congress, 92,000 Alabama mothers and young children could lose some or all of their WIC food. Congress must pass budget legislation in March to avoid a federal shutdown, and it’s critical for lawmakers to support our moms and babies by including adequate funding for WIC.
The Alabama Legislature began its second regular session of the current quadrennium on Feb. 6. Lawmakers already have voted on numerous hot-button issues early in this session, and Alabama Arise anticipates that trend may continue. The upcoming presidential election, Alabama’s early primary date and other political factors may color what legislative leaders prioritize this year. The regular session will end no later than May 20.
Eliminate the state grocery tax
Arise was thrilled last year to help pass monumental legislation that reduced the state sales tax on groceries by 1 cent on Sept. 1, 2023. That law also authorized an additional 1-cent cut to the grocery tax in a future year. Combined, those reductions will cut the state grocery tax by half over time, from 4% to 2%.
Under the law, the second 1-cent reduction will occur in the first year when Education Trust Fund (ETF) revenues are projected to grow by 3.5% or more. Unfortunately, projections unveiled during this year’s budget hearings indicated ETF revenues will grow by only 2% in 2025. Thus, the additional 1-cent grocery tax reduction likely will occur in a future year rather than in September 2024.
This 3.5% growth provision, however, came as an amendment just before lawmakers passed the bill. The original version of the bill would have reduced the grocery tax by another 1 cent as long as annual ETF revenue growth was at least 2%. During a Feb. 12 meeting of Alabama’s Joint Study Commission on Grocery Taxation, Arise urged legislators to amend the law to reduce the growth threshold to 2%, as originally proposed. This change would allow Alabamians to receive the additional reduction sooner rather than later.
We will continue to push the Legislature to finish what it started with regard to cutting the grocery tax. We also will oppose budget legislation that we find alarming, such as the CHOOSE Act, which would divert at least $100 million of ETF money each year to non-public schools. At press time, the House had passed this proposal (HB 129, sponsored by Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville), and a Senate committee had held a public hearing.
Protect voting rights and preserve child labor safeguards
Lawmakers have advanced two other troubling bills so far this year. The Senate passed SB 1, sponsored by Sen. Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, which would criminalize many efforts to attempt to assist people with absentee voting. The Senate also passed SB 53, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, which would eliminate the eligibility to work form for 14- and 15-year-olds. This requirement is an important safeguard that helps protect children from exploitative child labor practices. Arise successfully advocated to amend SB 53 to require data collection about injuries and labor violations.
Arise has reason to be concerned about both of these measures. We have devoted the early weeks of this session to educating Arise members, legislators and communities about these bills’ harms.
Advance criminal justice reform
It is an understatement to say that Alabama’s criminal justice system is in need of reform. A U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit accuses our state’s overcrowded prison system of violating the Constitution. And our state’s parole rates are abysmally low – just 8% in fiscal year 2023.
With those factors and others, Arise has a lot to keep us busy with regard to criminal justice reform. Thus, we will be devoting a significant portion of our time this year to legislation that would address issues like these. We also will support legislation to reform our death penalty laws. And we will support efforts to reform the felony murder rule, which allows a person to be convicted of first-degree murder even if they did not intend to or did not actually kill anyone.
Fund public transportation
Inadequate funding for public transportation keeps thousands of people across Alabama from meeting basic needs. Though lawmakers created the Alabama Public Transportation Trust Fund (PTTF) in 2018 to help fix our transit issues, the Legislature has never funded it. That is why Arise is urging lawmakers to include a General Fund appropriation for public transportation to rectify this oversight.
Ultimately, the return on transit investment makes allocating money to the PTTF a wise use of public funds. In fact, every $1 million invested in transit creates 49 full-time jobs, many of which are long-term jobs with good pay. An appropriation of up to $50 million from the General Fund to the PTTF also could empower Alabama to double its investment for operation expenses and to draw down up to $200 million of federal matching funds for capital improvements.
Arise will do all we can this year to educate lawmakers on the benefits of investing in public transportation. We also will highlight how a lack of adequate public transit limits workforce participation and shared prosperity across Alabama.
Arise’s Akiesha Anderson gives a rundown on a plethora of bills we are monitoring on voting rights, education funding and other issues as we begin the fifth week of the Alabama Legislature’s 2024 regular session. As a reminder, you can always visit alarise.org and click on “Take Action” to see a list of our action alerts and key legislation that we’re tracking.
Full video transcript
Hello, my name is Akiesha Anderson, and I am the policy and advocacy director for Alabama Arise.
I am excited to be here to give you yet another legislative update. Last week marked the fourth week of the 2024 legislative session. Thus, we are now entering into the fifth week of legislative session. By the end of this week, the Legislature will officially be halfway through their session, which means that they could — if they decide — be slated to end this year’s legislative session much earlier than the last day that they are constitutionally allowed to meet, which is May 20.
Last week, quite a bit happened. For starters, the CHOOSE Act, which threatens public education funding, passed out of the House. Two IVF bills designed to put a Band-Aid on the Alabama Supreme Court’s decision passed as well, one out of each chamber. The dangerous absentee ballot bill, SB 1, passed out of committee in the House. And last week also, the alarming child labor bill, which removes protections designed to ensure that 14- and 15-year-olds who work also perform well in school, was in committee in the House. This bill, however, was carried over and is expected to be heard in committee again this week.
Also in committee this week will be the anti-diversity, equity and inclusion bill, SB 129. Another IVF bill, SB 325, several voting rights bills — including one that allows people to easily update their address after voting, that’s HB 86 — one that prohibits political parties from disqualifying candidates from the ballot due to who they receive contributions from — that’s HB 186 — and also HB 218, which is a bill to allow improperly marked provisional and absentee ballots to be cured.
Also in committee this week is HB 238, which will remove the sales tax off of diapers, baby supplies, maternity clothing and women’s hygiene products. HB 227, which would reform our ethics laws, is also in committee this week. So is SB 4, which would prohibit most flags from being flown on public property. And lastly, HB 32 will be in committee this week. HB 32 is one of Arise’s priority bills, and this will amend our felony murder rule to make it less broad and more aligned with the way that most states apply this unique legal provision. HB 32 will also have a public hearing on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., and I myself will be testifying in supporting the bill, alongside some of our friends from Arise.
Although not listed on the Legislature’s website at the time of this recording, I also anticipate that the Senate will take up both gaming and the CHOOSE Act in committees this week. In fact, I would actually be surprised if they don’t take up both or either of these issues.
I mentioned earlier that at the end of this week, the Legislature will have used half of their allocated meeting days for this session. Yet also worth noting is that next week the Legislature will be going on a one-week break for in-district legislative meetings with constituents. Thus, if there’s anything that you would like to meet with your legislators about, please take advantage of the fact that they will be in district rather than at the State House next week.
I anticipate that next week’s update will be relatively short, but I will be sure to keep you posted on what happens during this week at the Legislature. Take care.
Arise’s Akiesha Anderson breaks down a flurry of legislation that kept us busy last week. She discusses bills filed in response to the Alabama Supreme Court’s decision on in vitro fertilization (IVF), updates us on anti-DEI legislation and examines the CHOOSE Act, a bill that would redirect public school funding to private schools and homeschooling. She also previews what’s ahead this week, including committee action on a harmful bill that would impose limits on absentee voting and a good bill that would increase help for those who can’t afford a lawyer when charged with a crime.
Full video transcript:
Hi there. My name is Akiesha Anderson, and as you know, I am the policy and advocacy director for Alabama Arise. I’m here once again to provide you with another weekly legislative update.
If you by any chance were following what happened at the State House last week, then you, like me, were probably somewhat exhausted if not depleted by the time the week was over. So before I delve into this week’s update, I do want to hold space for that reality and to thank you for all that you do to help to make this state better. Even in response to the tough political terrain that we often find ourselves in, it’s people like you that continue to show up and stay engaged with the political process that help to position us to create that Alabama that we hope to see.
Also, my apologies in advance — I know that these videos typically aren’t very long, but given all that happened last week and what’s slated to come up this week, I do think that I would be doing you a disservice by not talking about each of the things that I’m about to discuss.
Within the first three weeks of the legislative session, we have already seen a host of attacks targeting women’s health; diversity, equity and inclusion; public education funding; people’s rights to free speech and peaceful assembly; protecting our children from child labor and exploitation; and voting rights.
With regard to last week specifically, we started off with news about the Supreme Court ruling that embryos are human — something that has already had significant implications on women like me whose doctors have recommended IVF or other medical procedures in response to complications with conceiving naturally. In response to that decision, however, I am grateful that legislation like HB 225 designed to protect people’s ability to access IVF treatment without fear of prosecution has been filed by House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels.
Also less than ideal last week, we saw SB 129, the anti-diversity, equity and inclusion bill, be quickly introduced and placed on a committee agenda. Basically was heard the next day, within hours of being placed, or within hours of dropping in the Senate. This legislation unfortunately has already passed out of the Senate at an unprecedented speed. If passed into law, this bill would essentially ban diversity, equity and inclusion departments, programs and staff from existing on the campuses of our public institutions, namely colleges and universities. It would also rob many students of color of one of the few safe spaces that we often feel like we have while on the campuses of predominantly white institutions, or PWIs.
Also unfortunate last week, the CHOOSE Act, or HB 129, was voted out of the out of the House Ways and Means Education Committee. While I myself was someone who attended what would be considered a failing or an underperforming school while growing up here in Montgomery, Alabama, and while I definitely understand the desire of parents to have access to quality education, the truth is we cannot as a state ignore the fact that too many students are being failed by the public education system because of the fact that we have failed to properly fund the education system. Meaning our public schools need more, not less, resources in order to give our children the access to quality education that they deserve. Unfortunately, however, the CHOOSE Act, which would possibly help defund public education, is being backed by some powerful representatives and senators, Rep. Garrett in the House and Sen. Orr in the Senate, as well as being backed by Gov. Ivey. Thus it seems slated to be passed out of the House as early as this week.
Last week, we also saw a piece of legislation sponsored by Sen. Orr that would curb people’s ability to protest in residential areas. In particular, this bill would prohibit any protest near the residence of a public official that’s designed to “disturb” that official. Thus, this bill would have drastically undercut the right to protest public officials — and to be clear, all protests by nature are designed to disturb the peace of people in power. The right of Alabamians to make their voices heard is something that has been a bedrock to our democracy and has long been a tool utilized to transform both local and national policies. This right is also something that’s protected by both the First Amendment and the Alabama Constitution. Yet if passed, SB 57 would undermine both of those.
Looking ahead into this coming week, I am happy to report that things aren’t all bleak and grim. While many of the bills I just discussed may continue to move through the legislative process and advance this week, so too may other bills, including some that we are supportive of.
For example, HB 77 by Rep. Rigsby passed out of the House Health Committee last week, as well as the full House last week. Thus, it is positioned to be heard by the Senate at any point. If passed, this newborn screening bill would help advance some of our goals related to our new issue priority surrounding maternal and infant health.
Similarly, related to another new issue priority, HB 32 by Rep. England is slate to be heard in the House Judiciary Committee this Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. While a public hearing has been called on this bill and a vote won’t take place on it until next week, if passed, this bill could bring Alabama in line with the majority of states regarding the way that we apply the felony murder rule. As you may recall, working on this new issue under our criminal justice portfolio was proposed and approved by our Arise members last fall.
And for the sake of brevity, I’ll simply try to name a few other good bills to have on your radar, as they will be in committee this week as well.
SB 35 by Sen. Smitherman would require all history lessons to be fact-based. SB 83, also by Sen. Smitherman, would help more people in need of indigent defense by increasing the compensation that attorneys get for representing clients that need court-appointed counsel. Currently, many attorneys simply can’t justify taking on court-appointed cases given the low rate at which they’re currently compensated for such work. Also, HB 188 by Rep. Collins would create a uniform due process, procedure, standards and rights for schools to follow when taking certain disciplinary actions against students.
Also worth having on your radar, however, are going to be some bills of alarm that will also be in committee this week. Those include SB 1 by Sen. Gudger. If you recall, this is the bill that criminalizes certain forms of helping people with delivering their absentee ballot. This bill will have a public hearing in Room 418 at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, and if you are interested in testifying or being in that room to witness what happens, I definitely encourage you to show up early, because that is a very small room and the seats are limited.
Also, HB 102 by Rep. DuBose, which is a piece of legislation that mirrors Sen. Orr’s legislation that weakens protections against child labor in the state, will be deliberated in a House committee on Wednesday as well.
And honestly, y’all, I know that that is a lot, and it’s probably not as hopeful as we would like it to be. But those are this week’s updates on what happened during the third week of the legislative session and what we’re on the lookout for as we enter into the fourth week of session.
So hopefully the next time I come to you is with a more upbeat update, and just better news regarding what’s happening at the State House. In the meantime, take care, y’all.
I am honored to join the Alabama Arise team to help address one of the most pressing issues facing our state: maternal health. My name is Victoria, and I am Arise’s new maternal health fellow. I come to Arise with a deep passion for improving maternal health outcomes for all individuals in our state.
About me
My professional journey spans several industries, including higher education, corporate wellness, disease intervention and event management. These experiences provided me with a unique and diverse perspective in all my pursuits. With a bachelor’s degree in health care management and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), I have dedicated my academic and professional endeavors to understanding the complexities and nuances of health.
Victoria Enyinda Petty, Alabama Arise’s maternal health fellow
I am a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the Community Health Promotion program at UAB, where my research focuses on maternal health disparities and interventions to improve health outcomes for mothers. Throughout my professional and academic career, I have been consistently driven by a desire to make a meaningful impact on the population’s health and well-being, particularly in the realm of maternal health.
Why I do this work
I believe every Alabamian deserves access to high-quality maternal health care, regardless of their race, income or ZIP code. Pregnancy and childbirth should be moments of joy and celebration. But for far too many individuals in Alabama, they are shadowed with challenges, barriers and tragedy.
Maternal health in Alabama
Alabama has some of the worst maternal mortality rates in the country, particularly among Black residents. Many counties in Alabama also are considered “maternity care deserts.” This means pregnant individuals there lack access to essential obstetric services close to home. Additionally, the shortage of obstetricians and other maternal health care providers in rural areas further compounds maternal health challenges.
Without adequate access to prenatal care and skilled providers, pregnant individuals are at higher risk of experiencing complications during pregnancy and childbirth. This lack of access not only exacerbates existing health disparities, but it also puts lives at risk.
These are just a few examples of why our work in maternal health advocacy is so crucial. By advocating for policies that expand access to prenatal care, address racial disparities in maternal health outcomes and invest in maternal health care infrastructure, we can make a tangible difference in the lives of countless individuals and families across Alabama.
This year, I look forward to working with our community partners as we strive to create a future where individuals in Alabama have the opportunity to thrive during pregnancy and beyond.
Arise’s Akiesha Anderson catches everyone up on a busier-than-normal first week of the Alabama legislative session and previews an additional busy week ahead. Anderson discusses what’s been happening with a harmful bill that would create more barriers to absentee voting and provides an update on the future of the state sales tax on groceries.
Full video transcript:
Greetings! Akiesha Anderson here, policy and advocacy director for Alabama Arise, and I am thrilled to be here to provide you with your weekly legislative update.
We have ended the first week of the legislative session and are now entering into week two. During the first week of session, both chambers ate through three legislative meeting days rather than their normal two. That simply means that they are moving faster than usual.
Also during this first week, a very controversial bill — SB 1, sponsored by Sen. Garlan Gudger — was heard in a Senate committee and had a public hearing. This piece of legislation, if passed, could criminalize people who assist others with voting absentee. Thus, it was wonderful to see so many familiar faces, some Arise members and just fellow Alabamians, show up at the committee meeting in which this bill was being heard to testify against it.
There were way more people who testified in opposition to this bill than people who testified in support of it. Unfortunately, however, despite Sen. Gudger asking for this bill not to be voted on last week, leadership overruled that request, and senators unfortunately voted it out of committee directly along party lines. It is very likely now that this bill we will be heard and voted on by the full Senate chamber as early as Tuesday of this week.
Also on the slate for this week is a grocery tax commission meeting. I am grateful to have the honor of serving on this commission, and I look forward to gleaning more about where the state stands and its efforts to continue to reduce the grocery tax.
As you may know, budget hearings took place last Monday and Tuesday, and it was reported that fiscal projections for the upcoming fiscal year are not high enough in the ETF for the second cent to be reduced off the grocery tax this year. That is truly unfortunate and something that I really hope that the commission can attempt to address when we meet today. If you are able, I encourage you to tune in or to watch the replay of this commission meeting. It should be on the Alabama Channel, which is run by our friends from the League of Women Voters. And if you tune in, you might see a familiar face presenting at this meeting.
In addition to the grocery tax and voting rights being topics of discussion this week, so too will be gaming. Last week, HB 152, sponsored by by Rep. Blackshear, was introduced, and while Arise currently has no formal position on this legislation, seemingly, if passed, some of the money that comes in from gaming could possibly be used to fund a number of Arise priorities. Thus we will be closely monitoring and keeping you updated on this legislation throughout session.
Worth noting, this piece of legislation could be up in the House’s Economic Development and Tourism Committee as early as this Wednesday and on the floor of the House as early as the following day, which will be this Thursday.
Thank you for tuning in. I look forward to keeping you posted on what happens throughout the rest of the legislative session.
Arise’s Akiesha Anderson welcomes everyone to the Alabama Legislature’s 2024 regular session. She talks about what we’ll be looking out for on our members’ legislative priorities and how you can stay engaged with us this year as we work to build a better, more inclusive Alabama.
Full video transcript:
Hi, everyone. My name is Akiesha Anderson, and I am the policy and advocacy director for Alabama Arise. I am here to give a brief update on the 2024 legislative session.
So if you are not aware, the 2024 legislative session will begin on Tuesday, Feb. 6. In the day prior to the beginning of the legislative session on Monday, Feb. 5, there will be budget hearings that will take place just about all day, and on Tuesday morning, those budget hearings will continue.
And then Tuesday afternoon, the legislative session will begin. This legislative session, we believe that there is a lot in store for Arise and our members and supporters, and we look forward to keeping you posted each week with the updates of what happened at the State House in the week prior.
And so for now, what we are anticipating before the start of the legislative session is that there will be a lot of hot topic issues that come up this session, some controversial issues that we may not be in support of. But we also are hopeful that our legislative priority issues — things related to maternal infant health criminal justice reform, death penalty reform, state budgets, tax reform, closing the health care coverage gap — all those things we hope will be up on the agenda of this session.
And so, again, we look forward to keeping you posted throughout legislative session about how things are progressing. And if you have any questions along the way, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our office.
But we especially look forward to making sure that you all stay engaged with the different action alerts that we send out, contacting your legislator and making sure that your voice is uplifted, to make sure that people at the State House understand and know what it is that you care about and what it is that you would like to see this session.
The state sales tax on groceries is a cruel tax on survival, and Alabama Arise is committed to eliminating it. That is why I am grateful that Sen. Bobby Singleton nominated me to serve on the Joint Study Commission on Grocery Taxation on behalf of Arise. I am extremely excited about and honored for this opportunity, and I know that together, we will move Alabama closer to the goal of untaxing groceries once and for all.
Arise supports eliminating the state grocery tax sustainably and responsibly. That means ending the tax while also protecting vital funding for public schools. Lawmakers created the Grocery Tax Commission this year to figure out a pathway to do that.
This commission formed as the result of HJR 243 by Rep. Penni McClammy, D-Montgomery. The commission’s purpose is “to study a proposed elimination of the sales and use tax on food items,” according to the enabling legislation.
Arise’s testimony on untaxing groceries
I testified during the Grocery Tax Commission’s first meeting on Nov. 14 about the importance of untaxing groceries to help Alabama families make ends meet. And I suggested ways that Alabama could make it happen, including capping or eliminating the state deduction for federal income taxes.
I was one of three presenters at the first meeting. The others were representatives from the Alabama Grocers Association and the Fiscal Division of the Legislative Services Agency. During my presentation, I spoke about:
Arise’s 30-year history of advocating to reduce and ultimately eliminate the state’s grocery tax.
The harmful impact that taxing groceries has on families with low incomes.
Ways in which Alabama compares to other states regarding taxing groceries.
Innovative solutions and ways to eliminate the remainder of the state’s grocery tax while protecting the ETF.
What will happen next
In serving on the commission, Arise is charged with helping to evaluate the effects of eliminating the state sales and use tax on groceries. The factors we will help assess include:
(1) Household expenses of Alabamians with low and moderate incomes. (2) Education Trust Fund revenues. (3) County and municipal revenue collection. (4) Community food banks and other nonprofit organizations that provide food. (5) Hunger and malnutrition experienced by children and older adults.
Here is the full list of commission members:
Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Centre – co-chair of the Grocery Tax Commission
Rep. Penni McClammy, D-Montgomery – co-chair of the Grocery Tax Commission
Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville – House Ways and Means Education Committee chair and sponsor of HB 479
Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur – Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee chair
Rep. Troy Stubbs, R-Wetumpka – appointee of Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter
Akiesha Anderson (Alabama Arise) – appointee of Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro
Michael Coleman (Heart of Alabama Food Bank) – nonprofit representative appointed by Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed, R-Jasper
Rosemary Elebash – representative of the National Federation of Independent Business
Catherine Gayle Fuller – staffer for and appointee of Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth
Allison King (Alabama Education Association) – designee of House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville
Wade Payne (Mitchell Grocery Co.) – representative of the Alabama Grocers Association
The Grocery Tax Commission will meet periodically between now and 2026, when it will release findings and recommendations. The next meeting will be in 2024. Arise will work closely with the commission in the coming years to lay the groundwork for eliminating the state grocery tax forever.
By Debbie Smith, Cover Alabama campaign director at Alabama Arise, and Whit Sides, Cover Alabama storyteller at Alabama Arise
Medicaid expansion would empower nearly 300,000 uninsured and underinsured Alabamians to access the health care they need to survive and thrive. Alabama Arise and Cover Alabama were proud to attend a Nov. 6 community discussion in Birmingham titled “Closing the Healthcare Coverage Gap in Alabama.”
The panelists – including Dr. Khalilah Brown, vice president of medical affairs and patient advocacy at Southern Research, and Jane Adams, government relations director at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network – discussed how expanding Medicaid would bring federal funding into Alabama. They also spoke about how closing the coverage gap would create jobs in health care and related sectors, bolstering local economies and reducing uncompensated care costs for hospitals and providers. Both speakers made a compelling economic and budgetary case for why Alabama should expand Medicaid as soon as possible.
The need to center people when discussing Alabama’s health coverage gap
That’s why we’re glad that personal stories of directly impacted people were featured heavily throughout the MDC event. Personal stories, like those shared through the Cover Alabama coalition, break down walls that keep policymakers and the public away from seeing the real experiences of people affected by our state’s failing health care policies.
These lived experiences are powerful. They help people understand and empathize, going beyond just talking about money and instead seeing how the coverage gap affects real lives.
For example, Kenneth King shared during the panel discussion about his experience living in the health coverage gap. Kenneth is an underemployed resident of Birmingham, where he lives with his wife and daughter. He chooses the term “underemployed” carefully, as a testament to the difficulty of finding and keeping work in the face of chronic health challenges, some life-threatening.
After facing health issues while uninsured, Kenneth has been left with more than $100,000 in medical debt. As a contractor, Kenneth hasn’t been able to get employer-provided health insurance. He makes too much for Medicaid but can’t afford coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace. (In Alabama, a parent in a family of three only qualifies for Medicaid coverage if their annual income is below 18% of the federal poverty level. That’s just $4,475 a year.)
How the coverage gap harms Alabamians with cancer
Jenny Fine, originally from Enterprise, Alabama, also shared how the coverage gap hit home for her. Jenny recently lost her sister to pancreatic cancer. Navigating care can be hard even in the best of times for those with a cancer diagnosis. But Jenny’s sister also faced long waits to see a doctor and a lack of treatment options when their local hospital became overwhelmed.
Smaller regional hospitals bear the brunt of uncompensated care, adding up to $13.4 million in 2021 in Coffee County, where Jenny’s family calls home. Expanding Medicaid would reduce that county’s adult uninsured rate by nearly half (42%), and it would add $68.2 million to the local economy in the first year alone. That would mean nearly 2,000 people like Jenny’s sister in that county alone would gain the life-saving coverage they need under expansion.
One of the most powerful moments of the event came when attendee Callie Greer shared the story of her daughter Venus. Venus was in the coverage gap and received her breast cancer diagnosis too late because she did not have access to the preventive care she needed. Venus only received help after countless expensive visits to the emergency room.
Callie told the audience that on one of Venus’ final desperate ER visits, a doctor walked in the room and asked, “What’s that smell in here?” Venus replied, “It’s my breast!” Her breast was literally rotting away from cancer. She went through a radical mastectomy and started chemo, then radiation. The treatment helped for a few months, but it proved too late to save her life.
The path to making Medicaid expansion a reality in Alabama
Personal stories like these, paired with grassroots action, are ultimately how Medicaid expansion is going to become a reality in Alabama. Finally closing the coverage gap depends on highlighting these stories of real Alabamians and working together to push our state leaders for change. As we reflect on these poignant stories shared at the MDC event, it’s crystal clear that Medicaid expansion isn’t just a policy discussion. It’s about lives, families and communities.
The time to act is now. Together, we can urge policymakers to listen to these stories, to recognize the human cost of inaction and to take the necessary steps to close Alabama’s health coverage gap. You can help us: Contact your legislators, share your story and join the Cover Alabama campaign.
Let’s ensure that no one else suffers the tragic consequences of being left in the coverage gap. Join us in demanding a healthier, more equitable future for all Alabamians.
Debbie Smith is the campaign director of Alabama Arise’s Cover Alabama campaign. Whit Sides is the storyteller for Alabama Arise’s Cover Alabama campaign. Visit coveralabama.org for more information on how you can get involved.
