Blog
Public policy should make life better for everyone, not just a select few. Throughout the year, Arise tracks a range of state and federal policy proposals and assesses what they would mean for Alabamians who are struggling to make ends meet. Our blog provides quick updates on these proposals and offers tips on what you can do to help build an Alabama where all people have an opportunity to reach their full potential.
Blog
VIDEO: Alabama Arise Action Legislative Day 2025
Arise held its 2025 Legislative Day on Thursday, March 20. More than 200 supporters from across Alabama joined us in Montgomery to urge their lawmakers to continue to untax groceries and to support a plan to allow every public school in our state to provide no-cost school breakfast to all students. Our supporters also were [...]
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Arise legislative update: Week of March 31, 2025
With a little less than half of the Alabama Legislature's 2025 regular session remaining, Arise's David Stout breaks down what to expect in the weeks ahead. The General Fund and Education Trust Fund budgets both will begin moving soon. Arise is working to ensure the education budget includes funding to allow every public school to [...]
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Federal workers are vital to Alabama’s economy
Federal workers help keep our food, workplaces and environment safe. Thousands carry out critical missions like weather forecasting, disaster relief and medical care. Federal employees and their families are our neighbors who live, work and send their children to schools across Alabama. But waves of firings in recent weeks have targeted federal employees who serve [...]
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Arise legislative update: Week of March 24, 2025
Arise's Dev Wakeley provides updates from the first half of the Alabama Legislature's 2025 regular session as lawmakers are on spring break this week. In good news, lawmakers passed a paid parental leave bill on Thursday! SB 199 will introduce paid leave for new parents who work as teachers or state employees. The bill now [...]
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Arise legislative update: Week of March 17, 2025
Arise's LaTrell Clifford Wood provides an exciting update about our progress on untaxing groceries in Alabama. LaTrell highlights HB 386 by Rep. Danny Garrett, which would reduce Alabama's state sales tax on groceries from 3% to 2%, saving families an estimated $122 million annually. Thanks to the efforts of Garrett and the Joint Study Commission [...]
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Maternal health, paid leave are early highlights in Alabama’s 2025 legislative session
Alabama Arise is advocating successfully to advance several good bills early in the Legislature’s 2025 regular session. Our members are speaking out and getting results on maternal health care access, paid parental leave and other issues. The session began Feb. 4 and likely will end in mid-May. Here is an overview of Arise’s advocacy at [...]
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Arise legislative update: Week of March 10, 2025
Arise’s Jennifer Harris provides an update on bills to expand access to maternal health care, postpartum care and paid parental leave in Alabama. She celebrates the progress on HB 89 and SB 102, which would remove barriers to Medicaid enrollment for expectant mothers, as well as SB 191 and HB 322, which would improve access [...]
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Federal Medicaid, SNAP threats imperil Alabamians
Lawmakers should not hurt people who are struggling to help people who are already doing well. But Congress is considering cuts to health coverage, food assistance and other human services that would do exactly that. These proposals would increase hunger and hardship for hundreds of thousands of Alabamians. The U.S. House last month approved a [...]
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‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’
Mr. Rogers said his mother told him the quote above when things he saw on the news frightened him. We are in scary times, to say the least. Congress is advancing a billionaires-first budget that could gut Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, TANF, public health and school meals. Our president is pushing the boundaries of executive authority [...]
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Make the most of your membership
At Alabama Arise, we work to engage everyday people on policies that impact people with low incomes. Our collective voice is stronger together! We’re in the middle of Alabama’s legislative session, which means your support is fueling our work at a critical time. Will you help us build momentum? Here are a few ideas: Visit [...]