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
Final shape of General Fund, education budgets unclear as plans advance in Alabama Legislature
Alabama’s prison system would get slightly less money next year under a General Fund (GF) budget that cleared the Senate’s GF budget committee 9-1 Wednesday. Even though the committee’s budget includes more prison funding than the House-passed version, total GF support for the Department of Corrections next year still would fall by about $2 million, [...]
Blog
Payday loan database wins Alabama Senate committee’s approval
A statewide payday loan database moved one step closer to becoming a reality Tuesday when an Alabama Senate committee voted 6-0 for it. HB 145, sponsored by Rep. Patricia Todd, D-Birmingham, now moves to the full Senate, which could vote on the plan later this week. The House voted 93-1 for the bill last week. Committee chairman [...]
Blog
Alabama House passes payday loan database bill
The Alabama House voted 93-1 Thursday for a bill to create a statewide common database of payday loans. HB 145, sponsored by Rep. Patricia Todd, D-Birmingham, now goes to the Senate. Todd’s bill would make it easier to enforce a current state law that prohibits borrowers from taking out more than $500 in payday loans [...]
Blog
Alabama House committee votes to lift individuals’ scholarship credit cap under Accountability Act
An Alabama House committee Wednesday approved a bill to erase a size limit on the state income tax credit that an individual can claim for contributions to groups that grant scholarships under the Alabama Accountability Act. HB 558, sponsored by Rep. Chad Fincher, R-Semmes, moves to the House. The Accountability Act, enacted last year, provides [...]
Blog
Alabama House could vote next week on bill to end lifetime SNAP, TANF bans for people with felony drug conviction
The Alabama House could vote as soon as Tuesday on a bill that would allow people convicted of a drug-related felony to regain eligibility for food assistance or cash welfare benefits. A House committee Wednesday approved the bill, which the Senate passed last month. SB 303, sponsored by Sen. Linda Coleman, D-Birmingham, awaits consideration by [...]
Blog
Bill to increase homestead exemption for debtors clears Alabama Senate committee
Alabamians could shield more of their home’s value from creditors under a bill that the Senate’s General Fund budget committee approved 7-0 Wednesday. SB 427, sponsored by Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, awaits consideration by the full Senate. Ward's bill would allow individuals to protect up to $30,000 of their home's value from creditors. The exemption [...]
Blog
Changes to state landlord-tenant law approved in Alabama Senate
The Alabama Senate voted 28-0 Thursday for a bill that would adjust some deadlines in the state’s landlord-tenant law in favor of property owners. SB 291, sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, goes to the House. Current state law requires landlords to provide tenants with a 14-day written notice if they plan [...]
Blog
Arise members gather in Montgomery to support payday, title lending reforms
Nearly 100 Arise supporters gathered Thursday in Montgomery to urge reforms of payday and auto title lending in Alabama. Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, and Rep. Rod Scott, D-Fairfield, spoke at an Arise news conference to encourage advocates to push for their respective reform bills. “There is no one in this state who does not have [...]
Blog
Alabama House committee OKs bill to create statewide database of payday loans
Enforcement of current Alabama law would be easier under a pared-down payday lending reform bill that emerged from a House committee Wednesday. Triple-digit annual interest rates on the loans would not change, however, under the new version of HB 145 that the House Financial Services Committee approved. The bill awaits consideration by the full House. [...]
Blog
Alabama Senate passes education budget; changes likely in House
State K-12 and higher education funding next year would remain far lower than it was before the recession under the Education Trust Fund (ETF) budget that the Alabama Senate passed 21-10 Thursday. The $5.9 billion budget is identical to the version that cleared a Senate committee Wednesday, but changes likely are ahead in the House. K-12 [...]