Issue: Criminal Justice

Arise 2025: How we’re working to build a better Alabama

By Alabama Arise

Alabama Arise believes in dignity, equity and justice for all. We believe in an Alabama where everyone’s voice is heard and everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential. And we believe better public policies are the key to building a brighter future for our state.

Below, we’ll share some details of that vision with you before the Alabama Legislature’s regular session begins Feb. 4. We’ll focus on the crucial legislative priorities on our 2025 roadmap to change.

Graphic listing Alabama Arise's 2025 legislative priorities: Arise's roadmap to a better Alabama. The priorities are untaxing groceries, Medicaid expansion, voting rights, criminal justice reform, maternal and infant health, public transportation and death penalty reform.

It’s time to close Alabama’s health coverage gap

For more than a decade, Alabama has been outside looking in on a good deal. While hundreds of thousands of Alabamians continue to struggle without health insurance, state leaders have failed to expand Medicaid. A few loud voices have politicized an issue that never should have been political. And our state has paid the price in lost dollars, lost jobs and lost lives.

Alabama is one of 10 states that has yet to expand Medicaid. That inaction has left hundreds of thousands of Alabamians in a health coverage gap. We’re advocating to make this the year when our state closes that gap.

READ MORE – An Alabama solution: Closing the health coverage gap

Finish removing the state grocery tax

Alabama’s state sales tax on groceries is a cruel tax on survival, and Arise is committed to eliminating it. We were thrilled to see lawmakers pass legislation in 2023 to cut the state grocery tax in half after decades of persistent advocacy by our members. And we’ll continue advocating to remove the rest of the tax sustainably and responsibly. We’re grateful to serve on a state commission that is studying policy pathways to end the state grocery tax while protecting vital funding for public schools.

WATCH – The path forward in Alabama Arise’s work to untax groceries

Fund public transportation to improve life for all Alabamians

Alabama’s labor force participation rate is among the nation’s lowest. Only 58% of working-age adults reported they were actively working or looking for jobs as of November 2024. Our state also has nearly 100,000 more job openings than workers available to fill them. Yet 31% of Alabama job seekers cite transportation issues as the reason they are unemployed or underemployed, according to a study commissioned by the governor’s office.

Unfortunately, Alabama is one of only three states that has no state funding set aside to support public transportation. Alabama Arise will advocate for that to change during this legislative session.

READ MORE – Fund public transportation to improve life for all Alabamians

Expand voting rights to right past wrongs and safeguard democracy in Alabama

Voting rights are the foundation of our democracy, and we should do everything we can to protect them. However, since the U.S. Supreme Court stripped away federal preclearance of voting law changes in 2013, the Legislature has passed several harmful laws to create unnecessary barriers to voting rights in Alabama. This included 2024’s SB 1, which created a chilling effect for people trying in good faith to help Alabamians with absentee voting. Arise will advocate instead for positive steps to support voting rights, including passage of the Alabama Voting Rights Act, which would protect absentee voting and clarify voting procedures. Additionally, lawmakers will introduce bills to remove barriers to voting rights restoration for citizens released from incarceration.

READ MORE – Expand voting rights to right past wrongs and safeguard democracy in Alabama

It’s time for Alabama to prove we care about mothers and children

Healthy parents and healthy children mean a healthier future for Alabama. Comprehensive maternal and infant health care investments are crucial to ensure the health and safety of both infants and Alabamians of child-bearing age, especially postpartum mothers, pregnant women and future mothers. Lawmakers have numerous policy options to increase the number of health care providers and extend health coverage to more parents.

READ MORE – The Alabama Maternal Health Toolkit

School breakfast for all: What Alabama can do to help feed all of our kids

School breakfast for all would help reduce child hunger in Alabama, and it would go a long way toward the goal of guaranteeing a morning meal for every child in our state. School breakfast’s benefits are wide-ranging: It helps address chronic absenteeism, improves adolescent mental health, alleviates behavioral problems and improves test scores. Alabama Arise is pushing for a $16 million appropriation from the Education Trust Fund to ensure every district can pull down the maximum federal funding, and to give local schools the opportunity to offer no-cost breakfast for all Alabama children.

READ MORE – School breakfast for all: What Alabama can do to help feed all of our kids

Alabama’s death penalty practices remain unjust and unusually cruel

Americans increasingly oppose the death penalty. Gallup found that opposition to the death penalty more than doubled in the past 25 years. This may result from disturbingly high error rates in the system. For every 10 people executed since 1976, one innocent person on death row has been set free.

Alabama took an important step toward death penalty reform in 2017 by banning judicial overrides of juries’ sentencing decisions, and we will aim to work this session to make that ban retroactive. But the state’s death penalty scheme also remains broken in many other ways.

READ MORE – Alabama’s death penalty practices remain unjust and unusually cruel

Alabama’s parole system is still broken. How can we fix it?

The state’s parole system is a failure in both its design and in application of its own rules. We need to increase parole board oversight and eliminate racial disparities in parole. People also deserve to be able to attend their own parole hearings.

Arise’s suggested changes would be an important step in the direction of a more just Alabama, and they would mitigate some of the problems plaguing our state’s prison system overall.

READ MORE – Alabama’s parole system is still broken. How can we fix it?

Paid parental leave improves life for Alabama workers

Like any employer, our state should ensure its workers have jobs that support their ability to care for their families. The teachers, social workers and many other state employees who help look after our children and who build up Alabama for all the families in the state should be able to create and grow their own families without scrambling to pay the bills.

Paid parental leave is a common-sense policy that helps workers care for their families while maintaining their careers and financial well-being. State officials often have said Alabama is pro-family. Ensuring that teachers and state employees have paid parental leave is an important step to prove it.

READ MORE – Paid parental leave improves life for Alabama workers

Alabama’s death penalty system remains unusually cruel

By Dev Wakeley

Overview

Alabama took an important step toward death penalty reform in 2017, but the state’s system remains broken. That year, Alabama finally outlawed judicial override in capital cases. That means judges no longer can impose the death penalty when a jury recommends life without parole. But the ban was not retroactive, and dozens of people sentenced that way remain on death row. Overall, Alabama has more people on death row per capita than any other state.

Death penalty opposition more than doubled nationally in the past 30 years, Gallup found. This may result partly from high error rates. For every 10 people executed since 1976, one innocent person has been set free. More states are ending capital punishment, with Virginia becoming the first Southern state to do so in 2021.

Alabama’s death penalty laws do not align with multiple U.S. Supreme Court rulings. Racial disparities also plague the state’s system. People convicted of killing a white person in Alabama are more than four times more likely to get a death sentence than people convicted of killing someone who is not white, the Equal Justice Initiative found in 2011.

How lawmakers can help

Alabama should enact these changes to reduce injustices in its death penalty system:

  • Make the judicial override ban retroactive.
  • Require unanimous agreement from the jury to sentence people to death.
  • Require prosecutors to prove a defendant was 18 or older at the time of the crime.
  • Forbid executions of people with serious cognitive impairments.
  • Stop using particularly cruel and painful methods of execution.
  • Impose a moratorium to study and end racially biased death penalty practices.
  • Provide increased transparency.
  • Ultimately eliminate capital punishment.

Bottom line

Our state should reduce and eliminate unequal, unfair practices in its death penalty scheme. Alabamians deserve a fair, unbiased justice system, and these reforms would be steps toward a more just state.

Former Arise senior policy analyst Mike Nicholson contributed to this fact sheet.

Alabama’s parole system is still broken. How can we fix it?

By Dev Wakeley

Overview

Alabama’s parole system has fallen far short of even its own standards for success over the last five years. These failures have worsened the shortcomings in our criminal justice system. Alabama’s three-member parole board granted parole in only 26% of cases in 2024, even though its own guidelines recommended parole in 81%.

Alabama has the lowest parole approval rate of all 50 states, analysis of 2022 data shows. This low rate is accompanied by one of the highest incarceration rates in the country.

Keeping people imprisoned against release guidelines contributes to overcrowding and violence in prisons, as the opportunity for parole is an important incentive for good behavior. And these conditions are why Alabama is facing a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice for failure to protect people the state incarcerates. 

How lawmakers can help

Fixing the parole system won’t be easy, but Alabama lawmakers have several reasonable solutions available to improve it.

  • HB 40, sponsored by Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, would allow appeals of parole board decisions to circuit court. This would help remedy the board’s stubborn refusal to follow its guidelines. 
  • Alabama doesn’t allow people to attend their own parole hearings. That needs to change. People deserve to be present at the proceedings that determine whether they will remain imprisoned.
  • Our state needs to address the significant racial disparities in its parole system. Black men were 25% less likely to be granted parole than white men in 2023.

Bottom line

Alabama’s parole system needs to follow its own rules. We need to eliminate racial disparities and increase parole board oversight, and we need to ensure people can attend their own parole hearings. These changes would be an important step to improve our state’s criminal justice system and build a more just Alabama.

Former Arise senior policy analyst Mike Nicholson contributed to this fact sheet.

Las prioridades legislativas de Alabama Arise para 2025

By Alabama Arise

Más de 150 grupos miembros de Alabama Arise y más de 1,500 miembros individuales eligen todos los años nuestras prioridades legislativas. Este proceso garantiza que los habitantes de Alabama más afectados por la pobreza participen de las decisiones. A continuación se enumeran las prioridades que nuestros miembros eligieron para 2025.

Para obtener una versión de este documento en PDF, haga clic aquí o en el botón de “Descargar” (Download) arriba.

Reforma impositiva – Un sistema impositivo más equitativo puede ayudar a la gente con problemas a llegar a fin de mes. Alabama debería quitar el impuesto a los alimentos y asegurar financiación justa y sostenible para servicios esenciales. 

Presupuestos estatales adecuados – Los servicios públicos fuertes amplían las oportunidades para todos. Alabama debe ampliar Medicaid y proteger los fondos para las escuelas públicas. También debe reducir el hambre y las dificultades respaldando el desayuno gratuito universal en las escuelas públicas.

Derecho al voto – Todos merecen su voz en nuestra democracia. Alabama debe aprobar el voto temprano sin excusas y eliminar barreras para la restauración del derecho al voto para quienes no lo tienen. 

Reforma de justicia penal – Nuestro sistema de justicia debe asegurar la justicia y la equidad para todos. Alabama debe mejorar el sistema de libertad condicional, reformar las leyes de sentencias punitivas y reducir la dependencia de multas y tarifas como fuente de ingresos. 

Atención médica maternoinfantil – La salud y seguridad de las familias es de suma importancia. Alabama debe mejorar el acceso a atención médica de alta calidad, asegurar que no se criminalice la atención vital durante el embarazo y extender la licencia prenatal para empleados y maestros en el estado.

Transporte público – La conexión comunitaria es esencial. Alabama debe financiar el Fondo Fiduciario de Transporte Público para que todos puedan llegar al trabajo, la escuela, la atención médica y más.

Reforma de pena de muerte – Todos en Alabama merecen la misma justicia según la ley. Un paso clave en esta dirección sería aplicar la prohibición de Alabama de anulación judicial de veredictos de jurado de manera retroactiva, para aplicarla a personas sentenciadas bajo esta política, ahora ilegal.

Alabama Arise 2025 legislative priorities

By Alabama Arise

More than 150 Alabama Arise member groups and more than 1,500 individual members choose our legislative priorities each year. This process ensures that Alabamians most impacted by poverty have a seat at the table. Below are the priorities that our members selected for 2025.

For a PDF version of this document, click here or click the “Download” button above.

Image of a flyer listing Alabama Arise's 2025 legislative priorities: Our policy roadmap to a better, more equitable Alabama. The priorities are tax reform, adequate state budgets, voting rights, criminal justice reform, maternal and infant health care, public transportation and death penalty reform.

Tax reform – A more equitable tax system can help struggling people make ends meet. Alabama should untax groceries and ensure fair, sustainable funding for vital services.

Adequate state budgets – Strong public services broaden opportunity for all. Alabama must expand Medicaid and protect funding for public schools. Our state also should reduce hunger and hardship by supporting universal free breakfast in public schools.

Voting rights – Everyone deserves a say in our democracy. Alabama should pass no-excuse early voting and lift barriers to voting rights restoration for disenfranchised people.

Criminal justice reform – Our justice system must ensure fairness and justice for all. Alabama should improve its parole system, reform punitive sentencing laws and reduce reliance on fines and fees as a revenue source.

Maternal and infant health – The health and safety of families is paramount. Alabama should improve access to high-quality health care, ensure life-saving pregnancy care is not criminalized and extend paid parental leave for state employees and teachers.

Public transportation – Community connection is vital. Alabama should fund the Public Transportation Trust Fund so everyone can get to work, school, medical care and more.

Death penalty reform – All Alabamians deserve equal justice under the law. A key step in this direction would be to apply Alabama’s ban on judicial overrides of jury sentencing verdicts retroactively to people sentenced under this now-illegal policy.

Alabama Arise unveils 2025 roadmap for change in Alabama

By Chris Sanders

Expanding Medicaid and ending the state sales tax on groceries will remain top goals on Alabama Arise’s 2025 legislative agenda. The organization also will advocate for state funds to help public schools provide free breakfast to every student.

More than 450 members voted in the last week to affirm Arise’s legislative priorities. The seven priorities chosen were:

  • Adequate budgets for human services, including expanding Medicaid to make health coverage affordable for all Alabamians, supporting universal free breakfast in public schools and ensuring equitable public education funding for all students.
  • Tax reform to build a more just and sustainable revenue system, including eliminating the rest of Alabama’s state sales tax on groceries and replacing the revenue equitably.
  • Voting rights, including no-excuse early voting, removal of barriers to voting rights restoration for disenfranchised Alabamians, and other policies to protect and expand multiracial democracy.
  • Criminal justice reform, including legislation to improve Alabama’s parole system and efforts to reduce overreliance on exorbitant fines and fees as a revenue source.
  • Maternal and infant health investments to advance the health and safety of Alabama families, including legislation to ensure paid parental leave for state employees and teachers.
  • Public transportation to empower Alabamians with low incomes to stay connected to work, school, health care and their communities.
  • Death penalty reform, including a law to apply Alabama’s ban on judicial overrides of jury sentencing verdicts retroactively to people sentenced to death row under this now-illegal policy.

“Alabama Arise believes in dignity, equity and justice for everyone,” Alabama Arise executive director Robyn Hyden said. “Our 2025 legislative priorities would empower Alabamians of every race, income and background to reach their full potential. And they reflect our members’ commitment to building a healthier, more just and more inclusive Alabama for all.”

Graphic listing Alabama Arise's 2025 legislative priorities: Arise's roadmap to a better Alabama. The priorities are untaxing groceries, Medicaid expansion, voting rights, criminal justice reform, maternal and infant health, public transportation and death penalty reform.

Alabama urgently needs to close the health coverage gap

An essential step toward a healthier future for Alabama is to ensure everyone can afford the health care they need. Arise members believe Medicaid expansion is a policy path to that destination, and research provides strong support for that position.

Expanding Medicaid to cover adults with low incomes would reduce racial health disparities and remove financial barriers to health care for nearly 200,000 Alabamians. It would support thousands of new jobs across the state. And most importantly, it would save hundreds of lives every year.

The need to close Alabama’s coverage gap is growing by the day. Thomasville Regional Medical Center in Clarke County last month became the state’s most recent rural hospital to close. About two dozen other rural hospitals in Alabama are at immediate risk of closure, and four labor and delivery units have shut down in the last year. These closures have reduced care options in a state that already has one of the nation’s worst maternal mortality rates.

Alabama is one of only 10 states yet to expand Medicaid. Medicaid expansion would ensure health coverage for nearly 200,000 Alabamians caught in a coverage gap. Most of these residents earn too much to qualify for the state’s bare-bones Medicaid program but too little to afford private plans.

“Medicaid expansion would boost our economy, protect rural hospitals and improve life for people across Alabama,” Hyden said. “Closing the coverage gap also would improve access to mental health treatment and life-saving health care for mothers and babies. Our policymakers need to step up and to make this life-saving and job-creating investment in the people of our state.”

Universal school breakfast would help Alabama children learn and thrive

Another key step toward a healthier Alabama is to ensure every public school can offer free breakfast to every student. Hundreds of Alabama schools are providing free meals to all of their students through the Community Eligibility Provision, but some schools cannot participate in the program.

Arise will advocate for a state appropriation that local districts can use to match federal funds to offer free breakfasts. This funding would position Alabama to build on the success of Summer EBT, which will provide $40 in food benefits per summer month for more than 500,000 children starting in 2025. Legislators approved the necessary administrative funding for Summer EBT this year after determined advocacy by Arise members and partners.

Children and communities across Alabama would enjoy both immediate and long-term benefits from universal free breakfast in public schools. Universal school breakfast would reduce child hunger in a state where nearly 1 in 4 children face food insecurity. Extending the reach of school breakfast programs would help reduce behavioral problems and improve attendance and test scores. Reducing food insecurity for children also can help improve their mental health and overall health as teenagers and adults.

“It’s hard for children to focus in school when they’re hungry,” Hyden said. “Lawmakers can help ensure that every student across Alabama can start the day with a good meal and be ready to succeed both in the classroom and throughout their lives.”

Finish the job: Alabama needs to remove the rest of the state grocery tax

Arise members also renewed their decades-long commitment to another policy to reduce hunger: ending Alabama’s state grocery tax. That advocacy got results last year when legislators reduced the state sales tax on groceries by half. The law reduced the tax from 4 cents to 3 cents in 2023, but another 1-cent reduction did not happen this year because education revenues grew by less than 3.5%. That reduction will occur in the next year when revenues increase by that amount.

Ending the state grocery tax remains a core Arise priority because the tax makes it harder for people with low incomes to make ends meet. The tax adds hundreds of dollars a year to the cost of a basic necessity for families. And most states have abandoned it: Alabama is one of only 12 states that still tax groceries.

Lawmakers have options to remove the other half of the state grocery tax while protecting funding for public schools. Arise will continue to support legislation to untax groceries and replace the revenue by capping or eliminating the state income tax deduction for federal income taxes. This deduction is a tax break that overwhelmingly benefits the richest households. Arise also will support efforts to give local governments increased flexibility to decrease local grocery taxes if they determine it is feasible.

“Reducing the state grocery tax was an important step toward repairing Alabama’s upside-down tax system,” Hyden said. “By untaxing groceries and limiting the federal income tax deduction, legislators can help families keep food on the table while protecting funding for our children’s public schools. Alabama lawmakers should embrace this path to end the state grocery tax forever.”

Here’s what Alabama Arise heard in 2024!

By Presdelane Harris

Alabama Arise listens because we deeply value the input we get from members, partners and most importantly, those directly affected by the work we do together. We depend on what we hear to help guide our issue work and our strategies.

We held two virtual statewide Town Hall Tuesdays this summer, and each featured three to four listening session breakouts. Arise staff either facilitated or were part of 20 additional listening sessions, both online and in person around the state. We engaged more than 500 people in a total of 27 listening opportunities.

Following are direct notes from the town halls and highlights from the other sessions. These notes and highlights are listed under the names of the Arise organizers who heard them.

Town Hall Tuesdays

A better Alabama is possible, July 16

We had four breakout rooms during this session. We asked folks in each group to discuss their thoughts on current issues and to share other priorities they had. Here’s what our organizers heard from participants:

Pres Harris:

  • Death penalty reform. We need to consider the impact that potential new appointees to the U.S. Supreme Court might have on this issue at the state level.
  • Concern about new school choice laws that divert funding from public education. There is special concern in rural areas where there are either no or very limited options to public education for children. Many participants said this is a way to take more money from funding public education. Several participants agreed with the education concern.
  • A sight-impaired participant lifted up education, voting rights and public transportation as key issues impacting people living with disabilities. There is a disparity in education among low-vision students. The disabilities community has been advocating for electronic voting so that sight-impaired people can vote with privacy. And lack of public transportation is a barrier to voting and other quality-of-life activities.
  • Concern about the maternal health crisis and subsequent infant health care needs. We need to improve access to maternal care and health care overall. We need to expand Medicaid.
  • One participant raised the need for people to have legal representation in civil issues like family issues, bankruptcy, school issues, etc. Another participant said the Alabama State Bar might be an ally in advancing such an issue.
  • Public transportation was highlighted again as a need and a quality-of-life issue.
  • In the main session, a participant raised the need to address a variety of veterans’ issues, with emphasis on veteran housing availability.

Stan Johnson:

  • More funding for education programs for children ages 0-3. For a better Alabama, we need to focus on early education. Alabama has a home visitation program called First Teachers, designed to support families at risk for poor developmental outcomes. They use a variety of models, including Parents as Teachers and First Family Partnership. They go and visit families with children 0-3 years of age. Alabama is not putting additional money into 0-3 education. A participant noted that the state budget has included such funding in the past, and he wants to ensure it stays there. We have appropriated a couple million dollars, but Alabama receives more from the federal government than what the state puts in for this service. Minnesota puts 10 times as much money into their program as Alabama. Missouri has universal access to 0-3 education.
  • Kids need to master their social and emotional milestones, and the ability to have a two-way productive interpersonal relationship. They need the ability to modulate their emotions appropriately in a group setting, to have a sense of curiosity and to have a sense of who they are. If they do not get the basic scaffolding in the first three years of life, then all the remediation in the world will not help them get through high school. Efficacy-based programs exist and have proved effective. Alabama is not doing enough about it.
  • A participant said she is a retired teacher and could tell the difference between kids who were read to, loved and cuddled. The first three years make a world of difference. She said this does not need to be a named Arise priority, but it should be addressed.
  • We have picked up momentum with Medicaid, but not nearly enough. Many participants said this needs to continue to be the No. 1 issue. Adequate health care is important for a better Alabama.
  • Participants said they want to help with Medicaid expansion. They understand all it would take is for the governor to sign it and it would be a done deal. They do not understand why people would say they do not want money from the feds. For every dollar we send, we get back $2.17.
  • Participants opposed turning back federal infrastructure money and ARPA money. The argument has no logic.
  • Rural hospitals and departments closed this year, including in Thomasville, Monroe County and Union Springs. What are the governor’s plans to help those areas? Some voters in those areas do not realize that state policies have caused them to lose their health care. We have been saying for years that lack of Medicaid expansion would cause hospitals to close.
  • Some women are now having to drive as far as 90 minutes away to get to an OB-GYN. We can see the harm that elected officials are causing to their constituents.
  • Unfortunately, people do not realize when they vote that they sometimes are voting for representatives who do not seem to have their best interest in mind. We have already lost $7 billion in funding by not expanding Medicaid.
  • One participant said the new teacher certification test is an issue for young or new teachers. What are some alternate ways toward certificates?
  • A participant said Congress should have passed a Medicaid expansion bill, the Save Rural Hospitals Act. This would have helped rural areas to reopen hospitals. The state chose to enhance the port in Mobile instead of providing funding to rural hospitals. The hospitals would have provided jobs and training for RNs, LPNs, CANs and other hospital staff, as well as other jobs once the hospitals opened.
  • We have to educate our decision-makers about looking at cost holistically and not just as a one-time investment. We are losing people due to not investing and not expanding Medicaid.

Adam Keller:

  • It’s hard to begin, because all of the issues are so interrelated and important.
  • Public transportation is so important to access to food and work. Several participants weighed in on public transportation.
  • One participant said crime is out of control and expressed concern about gun safety. They are concerned about gun violence and how Gov. Kay Ivey and lawmakers have loosened restrictions. They emphasized the need for citizen participation.
  • There are false narratives around crime. We need more community-based public safety.
  • A participant brought up the lack of Medicaid expansion, closing of rural hospitals and lack of OB-GYNs. She had a medical incident and only survived because she had immediate attention.
  • A participant said the secretary of state’s salary should be tied to voter registration. They also brought up bicycles as a help for transportation, as well as university bike share programs and bike grants. They said the state needs to grant more paroles and shouldn’t require people to pay a bunch of fees before voting rights are restored.

Formeeca Tripp:

  • It’s important to know the history of Alabama so we can understand the past and where we are going.
  • A longtime Alabama Arise member is eager to keep learning more. He believes the issues proposed are good, and we need to keep focusing on them.
  • One big supporter of Medicaid expansion believes it needs to keep being addressed in the legislative sessions. He also supports the end to the state grocery tax but is lost on “what else can we do?” He also has concerns with gun violence, along with other participants.
  • Another longtime member is a big supporter of Medicaid expansion and believes we need to keep working on the current list of priorities for the next legislative session.
  • Another participant believes payday and predatory lending should be addressed and a priority issue. Transportation, specifically for disabled veterans, is important and needs to be addressed, not just grouped under the general transportation umbrella. She also would like to see gun violence reduction as a priority issue and has a movement called “SWAG – Safer Without A Gun,” to buy back real and toy guns as well as educate on gun safety, conflict resolution and problem-solving skills, especially in underserved communities.
  • Medicaid expansion, transportation and gun violence were the dominant topics in our breakout room.

Building toward a better Alabama, Aug. 6

We had three breakout rooms during this session. We asked folks in each group to discuss what motivates them to act on issues and how Arise supports their actions. And we asked them to indicate their priority issues. Here’s what our organizers heard from participants:

Pres Harris:

  • Participants shared consensus about the need to expand Medicaid to address several health care concerns. These included rural hospital closures, maternal mortality rates in Alabama and support for mental health care needs.
  • Concern for the survival of our democracy with attacks on voting rights was expressed. Public education, affordable housing and public transportation also were highlighted. Several said it is hard to prioritize the current Arise issues, as they are all critical.
  • Participants shared what motivates them to action: hearing the stories of those directly impacted, knowing they are coming together with others to advocate, and the feeling of confidence they get because Arise has helped equip them with information and tools to act.

Stan Johnson:

  • We heard consensus that all the issues are important, and it is difficult to pinpoint which is a priority over another.
  • Jobs to Move America supports everything Arise does and wants to see a clawback of incentives to companies that violate child labor laws (e.g., Hyundai’s supply chain). We want to raise that up for consideration. These kids come from impoverished backgrounds in Mexico/Central America, and they send money back to their families. Sen. Merika Coleman and Rep. Neil Rafferty had a bill last year, and it passed in the Senate and House committee unanimously; we just ran out of time. We need to send these car manufacturers a message. They are working on a strategic direction proposal to submit.
  • We need to continue to grow the communication network throughout the state.
  • Alabama Arise is the most respected organization in the State House.
  • We need to make serious reforms to the state budgets and appropriations so we can take care of the people of Alabama, instead of Mercedes, etc. We do not have money to fund social programs, but corporations are receiving gigantic tax breaks. These are billions of dollars that could have helped the citizens of Alabama.
  • One organization is working on criminal legal reform in Alabama, especially looking at the death penalty.
  • A participant was very upset that Alabama does not participate in programs, and then the same government comes and says we do not have any money.
  • Several participants said transportation needs to improve in Alabama, which also helps people have access to jobs. Transportation is a big topic for people with disabilities. One participant said some of her clients are not able to get to appointments at UAB because of a lack of public transportation. Some transportation directors, on the other hand, do not see the need and want to make further cuts because of low ridership on the buses. Her clients are losing their jobs because of unreliable transportation. Decatur has Ride on Demand, where you must call in to request a ride. It can be a two-hour wait time. There are bus stops on busy roads, so it is dangerous for individuals in wheelchairs as well as able-bodied individuals. These are some of the reasons people do not use Decatur’s transportation system.
  • Another participant from Mobile said she has been working on Medicaid expansion and is glad we were able to get an extension on the coverage for postpartum maternity care. She is pushing health care as the main issue, along with the social determinants associated with health.

Adam Keller:

  • We need more mental health services, which will help reduce prison overcrowding and crime.
  • Alabama needs prison reform, including addressing the prison labor situation.
  • We heard affirmation of our current agenda, including specifically voting rights and Medicaid expansion.
  • We heard discussion of burnout and the importance of persistence (with the grocery tax as an example).
  • Some members shared that they wouldn’t be involved if it wasn’t for our help and said Arise gives them more hope for the state.

Additional listening sessions

This section highlights participants’ input from the 19 additional sessions recorded by the Arise organizing team. In general, all participants strongly affirmed Arise’s work on current legislative priorities. Many thought that Arise should continue to build on momentum it has around some of the current issues. Many also said we need to see more change in the existing priorities. Members seemed to affirm these sentiments, as no new issues were proposed for 2025. These notes lift up the other issues of concern that participants highlighted as we listened.

Pres Harris – Baldwin, Elmore and Mobile counties

Participants in these meetings affirmed the current Arise priorities, acknowledging that our issues are long-haul issues.

Other issues raised:

  • The need to address gun violence.
  • The need for parole reform was proposed by a group of women from the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women who are sponsored by Arise member group Greater Birmingham Ministries. GBM submitted the issue as a strategic approach under the existing criminal justice reform issue.

Stan Johnson – Birmingham/Jefferson County and Tuscaloosa/West Alabama

Most of the participants in these meetings focused on the existing legislative priorities and discussed ways to continue the work toward progress.

A member group planned to submit a proposal for a strategic approach to getting more funding for the 988 mental health crisis hotline that connects folks to needed resources. This is not a new issue, but it would be part of Arise’s permanent priority of adequate state budgets.

Other issues raised: More needs to be done about payday loans, energy/solar power incentives and veterans in crisis.

Whit Sides, Arise’s Cover Alabama storyteller, participated in a session with disability advocates that involved listening to and sharing stories related to intellectual disabilities and neurodivergence/autism. Participants were interested in developing their stories for advocacy with policy and lawmakers.

Adam Keller – Northeast/Madison and Morgan counties

Most of the participants in these meetings strongly affirmed the current Arise priorities.

During further discussion, participants highlighted issues related to public education, child nutrition, paid parental leave and parole/probation reform.

Several conversations centered on how the work of Arise connected with labor and worker power.

Formeeca Tripp – Houston, Lee, Montgomery and Tallapoosa counties

Many participants in these meetings expressed appreciation for Arise’s work around our current issues, especially voting rights, health care and other safety net issues.

Other issues raised:

  • The lack of affordable housing that contributes to issues of homelessness.
  • Legislation that impacted the Black population historically and current laws and policies that lawmakers have passed.
  • Issues that negatively impact racial equity and inclusion.
  • The need to address gun violence and have programs for youth.

Arise legislative update: April 15, 2024

By Matt Okarmus

Arise’s Akiesha Anderson gives an update on where things stand in the Alabama Legislature as lawmakers begin to wind down the 2024 regular session. We still are keeping an eye on numerous bills, including the state budgets and legislation related to child care, death penalty reform and voting rights. Akiesha provides a rundown on some of the proposals we expect to see in committees or on the House or Senate floor this week. To stay up to date on bills we are watching, visit alarise.org and click on “Take Action.”

Full transcript below:

Hi there. Akiesha Anderson here, policy and advocacy director for Alabama Arise, and I am excited to be here today to give you yet another legislative update. So we are in the final stretch of the legislative session.

So as of this week, when legislators go in for legislative session this week, they will begin the week on the 22nd legislative day. So that means that as of this recording, we officially have only nine days left — nine working days left in the legislative session. That is not nine calendar days. The Legislature, you know, could be in session into May. Most likely they will be. However, in terms of the number of days that they can be on the chamber floor voting bills out to the next chamber, there are only nine of those days left.

And so last week wasn’t extremely eventful. There was some conversation and deliberation about budgets. The General Fund did pass out of the Senate and should be making its way over to the House. However, the House did not pass the Education Trust Fund yet, and so we anticipate that that budget will be deliberated in the House and will pass out of the House hopefully this week and make its way over to the Senate.

However, a few other bills that we are watching in addition to the budgets do include bills related to child care, elections, immigration and more. So I’ll just go through a list of bills that I hope you can keep on your radar along with us this week.

On Tuesday at 12:30 p.m., [House] Ways and Means Education will be meeting, and one of the bills that is on the agenda for that day is HB 358. This is a bill introduced by Rep. Daniels, House minority leader, and this piece of legislation, if passed, would provide a child care– or would provide a tax credit for companies and nonprofits and other entities that provide child care for their workers. And so that is a piece of legislation that likely would help a lot of mothers, a lot of families, etc.

Also happening Tuesday afternoon at 1 p.m., the Senate County and Municipal Government Committee is meeting. They will be deliberating HB 86 among other bills. HB 86 was introduced by Rep. Pringle, and this bill essentially creates a process to where people can cure a ballot if their address has changed by the time they go to vote. And so that is a pretty straightforward bill, not something necessarily to be concerned about.

On the other hand, however, a piece of legislation that we are extremely concerned about will be heard at 9 a.m. in the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee meeting in the House. And so HB 376 by Rep. Yarbrough is an immigration bill that basically, in a nutshell, allows local law enforcement to become proxies or arms for ICE — so to enforce immigration laws that local law enforcement currently cannot enforce. And so that is a piece of legislation that we are fearful could lead to targeting, racial profiling and other things and just making life a little bit more complicated and unpleasant for some of our neighbors and partners and friends.

Also happening on Wednesday at 9 a.m. is a Constitution, Campaigns and Elections Committee meeting. At this meeting, there will be a bill, HB 448, by Rep. Daniels. This piece of legislation essentially would address some of the claims that you may have seen in the news related to the Democratic convention happening this year, where essentially the Democratic convention takes place after the date at which a candidate must qualify to be on the Alabama ballot for the general election. Which means that President Biden could not make it onto the Alabama ballot unless we change the deadline. And so that piece of legislation is introduced as a way to change that deadline to where President Biden or whoever the Democratic nominee is for president still is able to make it onto our ballot in the state of Alabama because the deadline has not passed.

A few other pieces of legislation: In the Education Policy Committee, which will be happening Wednesday afternoon, there is SB 165 by Sen. Smitherman, as well as HB 188 by Rep. Collins. Both of these pieces of legislation are due process bills, which basically make it to where K-12 students in public schools cannot be expelled or suspended without having some sort of due process rights. And those two pieces of legislation we’re excited about seeing hopefully make it through the process before time runs out. But we’re really grateful for how far they have made it so far this session. And then lastly, House Judiciary Committee will be meeting on Wednesday, and two pieces of legislation that we will be monitoring there include HB 299 by Rep. England, which is in a nutshell a parole reform bill, but then also HB 27, also by Rep. England, which would require a unanimous jury before the death penalty can be enforced or ascribed to anybody. And that’s a piece of legislation that not only are we supportive of, but is one of our priorities, and so we definitely are hopeful that that piece of legislation makes it all the way to the end this session.

Again, we are hopefully wrapping up the legislative session soon — again, only nine legislative days left at the start of this week. And so by the end of this week, it is very possible that we will be down to only six legislative days left, just depending on how many work days they utilize this week. But either way, we will be sure to keep you posted on what is happening at the State House in these final days. Take care.

Recent Alabama execution underscores ongoing need for death penalty reform

By Mike Nicholson

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.

Grocery tax, protecting voting rights among Arise priorities for 2024 session

By Akiesha Anderson

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.