Maternal, infant health care debuts as an Arise priority

By Whitney Washington, communications associate

Alabama Arise reached a new milestone in October when more than 500 members voted to determine Arise’s 2024 legislative priorities after our Annual Meeting. Nearly 100 members attended the meeting in person at the Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Institute in Montgomery, while almost 250 attended virtually. Outgoing board president Kathy Vincent led the meeting, which featured presentations from Arise staff and member group representatives.

Six of the seven priorities are returning from our 2023 agenda. Read our news release for more information about each.

A notable newcomer to our roster is a comprehensive approach to maternal and infant health care, which was proposed by ACLU of Alabama. This priority certainly aligns with our ongoing work to expand Medicaid and close Alabama’s health coverage gap. And our members decided it was critical for this to become a named priority in its own right. We are starting off strong by hiring a maternal health fellow to support our work to protect coverage during the Medicaid unwinding period.

Advocates have a long road ahead on this issue. Alabama has the highest maternal mortality rate in the nation. And according to the March of Dimes, more than one-third of Alabama’s counties are “maternal care deserts.”

A safer Alabama for mothers will include access to high-quality maternal health care where patients live, removal of criminal penalties for doctors providing necessary care, and more freestanding maternal care centers across the state.

Alabama’s mothers and babies deserve so much better. Arise is committed to creating a safer and healthier state that will give parents, children and every Alabamian the chance to thrive and achieve their full potential.

Alabama Arise’s 2024 priorities

By Matt Okarmus, communications associate

Alabama Arise is proud to announce our 2024 legislative priorities. Read our news release for more information about each.

• Fully untaxing groceries
• Expanding Medicaid
• Voting rights
• Criminal justice reform
• Comprehensive maternal and infant health care
• Dedicated funding for public transportation
• Death penalty reform

“Arise believes in dignity, equity and justice for everyone,” Arise executive director Robyn Hyden said. “Our 2024 legislative priorities reflect our members’ embrace of those values, and they underscore the need to enact policies that empower Alabamians of every race, income and background to reach their full potential. Together, we’re working to build a healthier, more just and more inclusive Alabama for all.”

Email Arise organizing director Presdelane Harris at pres@alarise.org to set up an issue preview event in your area ahead of the Legislature’s 2024 regular session.

Three strategies to boost Alabama’s workforce

By Robyn Hyden, executive director

Alabama’s labor force participation rate is among the nation’s lowest. Only 57% of working-age adults reported they were actively working or looking for jobs as of September 2023.

Alabama Arise worker policy advocate Dev Wakeley participated in a recent discussion with lawmakers about barriers to workforce entry. He shared Arise’s prescription to address this issue, based on clear feedback we’ve heard from workers. (Read more on our blog.)

Fund the Public Transportation Trust Fund to help workers get to jobs.

Multiple survey groups cited transit access as their top barrier. Alabama must join the rest of our Southeastern neighbors by boosting public transportation investments.

Stop incentivizing employers that fail to deliver on promises to provide good-paying jobs.

Lawmakers this year strengthened some reporting requirements for large economic tax incentives. Those enhancements were critical, but our state must do more. Alabama still ranks among the least transparent states when it comes to corporate tax subsidies. We must ensure that incentives are tied to good-paying jobs with benefits and are evaluated for effectiveness.

Expand Medicaid to keep working-age adults healthy.

Investing in Alabama’s health care infrastructure is not just an avenue to create more jobs. It’s also a way to keep workers healthy and in the workforce.

Medicaid ‘unwinding’ hits halfway mark in Alabama

By Jennifer Harris, senior health policy advocate

In April, Medicaid ended a continuous coverage eligibility period brought on by the public health emergency during the COVID-19 pandemic. What followed was a return to traditional eligibility requirements. This return to normal rules is called “unwinding.” Coverage losses have begun, and tens of thousands of Alabamians likely will lose their Medicaid coverage by June 2024.

These losses are especially harsh for those who still may be eligible for coverage. When coverage loss occurs for procedural reasons, enrollees may need to submit further information to keep or maintain coverage. To prevent unnecessary coverage loss, please return any application materials to Alabama Medicaid, even if you do not think you are eligible.

If you feel Medicaid terminated your coverage in error, call our partners at ADAP at 800-826-1675 for help.

For more information, please check out Alabama Arise’s Alabama Medicaid unwinding toolkit.

Arise, worker advocates celebrate progress

By Dev Wakeley, worker policy advocate

Alabama Arise is working on multiple fronts to improve life for working Alabamians. As part of our ongoing Worker Power Project, we held an Oct. 26 convening in Montgomery with around 20 worker advocacy groups and organized labor partners from across the state. Attendees met to discuss building and implementing a state agenda to build the policy power of working-class Alabamians.

Unions highlighted organizing campaigns at various stages, including the United Mine Workers of America strike and United Auto Workers actions nationwide and in Alabama. They also discussed efforts to empower workers through the recent community benefits agreement at New Flyer, an electric bus manufacturer in Anniston.

Arise previewed this year’s forthcoming State of Working Alabama report, which will focus on job quality in the auto industry. Attendees also discussed ways to advance worker-centered policies and defend against anti-worker bills in 2024. And advocates planned how to build and strengthen long-term, strong interorganizational relationships and power for worker organizations throughout Alabama to support growing the collective power of organized labor.

Join us in this season of gratitude

By Jacob Smith, advancement and operations director

In this season of gratitude, I’m thankful for you – our members.

You lead our work by sharing your vision for building a better Alabama. And then you join Alabama Arise in getting to work by taking action and by giving financially.

More than 10% of our financial support comes from members like you. And your giving is important because it gives Arise the flexibility needed to focus on the issues you care about, like access to health care for all and a tax structure that promotes the common good.

Will you join us in this season of generosity? Join or renew your membership with a gift! There are so many ways to give:

• A one-time or monthly gift online.
• A check mailed to P.O. Box 1188, Montgomery, AL 36101.
• A gift of stock.
• A gift from an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-deferred savings account.

Once you’ve given, invite your friends, family and network to join you in making a difference! Be sure to share your vision for a better Alabama and how Arise works to make it a reality.

If you have any questions about membership giving or would like more information, please reach out to me at jacob@alarise.org. Thank you for your generosity in this end-of-year season.

Welcome, LaTrell, Malee and Natalie!

LaTrell Clifford Wood joined Arise in November as the hunger policy advocate. In this role, she works at the helm of the Hunger Free Alabama coalition. LaTrell is the youngest daughter and granddaughter of a teacher and three generations of civil rights activists with roots in both west and east Alabama. LaTrell earned her bachelor’s degree in history with a minor in fine arts from Stillman College. As a student, LaTrell co-founded Stillman College’s Sustainable Healthy Food Initiative Task Force. She went on to serve as chairwoman of the task force and project lead for the Community Garden Project. In 2021, LaTrell made her way to Washington, D.C., with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, where she served Alabama’s 7th Congressional District as a congressional intern.

Malee Galloway joined Arise in November as the finance and operations associate. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Samford University and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is passionate about using her skills in finance and human resources administration to serve Arise’s mission. Malee resides in Hoover, and in her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, fiance and fur baby, Lincoln.

Natalie Bishnoi joined Arise in November as a development associate. For almost a decade, she has been in coalition-building and fundraising spaces for nonprofits and grassroots organizers in Alabama. She is an accomplished relationship builder with expertise in strategic planning, sales and grant management. Prior to joining Arise, Natalie’s work was focused on statewide and regional food systems, local agriculture and food access. Natalie resides in Huntsville, and in her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her children and volunteering in her community. She participates in many grassroots campaigns to demand public accountability and serves on several committees that are focused on community organizing, advocating for criminal justice reform and promoting housing equity.

Arise lifts up health advocates’ stories

Through our storytelling work, Alabama Arise is elevating the voices of people living in our state’s health coverage gap. Two Arise storytellers – Sumiton hairstylist Eryn Mullins and Arise board member Kenneth Tyrone King – joined our Cover Alabama storyteller Whit Sides to speak Oct. 10 at a UAB panel on the human side of Medicaid expansion. Kenneth also spoke at a Nov. 6 event at WorkPlay in Birmingham highlighting the benefits of closing Alabama’s coverage gap.

If you or someone you know would like to share your health care story, email Whit Sides at whit@alarise.org.

Alabama’s grocery tax reduction now in effect

By Chris Sanders, communications director

Alabama has taken an important first step toward untaxing groceries. HB 479 took effect Sept. 1, reducing the state sales tax on groceries from 4% to 3%. The law will reduce the tax by another percentage point as soon as September 2024, as long as Education Trust Fund (ETF) revenues grow by at least 3.5% over the previous year. This policy change will help families keep food on the table and ease financial strain for Alabamians with low incomes.

The law’s enactment came after decades of persistent advocacy by Alabama Arise members. Several Arise staff members celebrated at a ceremonial bill signing July 20 at the State Capitol in Montgomery. Numerous legislative champions also attended the event, including Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Centre; Reps. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, and Penni McClammy, D-Montgomery; and former Rep. John Knight, D-Montgomery.

Arise remains committed to eliminating the rest of the state grocery tax responsibly and sustainably. Those efforts will include working with policymakers to protect ETF funding by closing tax loopholes skewed in favor of wealthy households and highly profitable corporations.

Annual meeting to chart Arise’s course for 2024

By Matt Okarmus, communications associate

Grassroots democracy will be on display when Alabama Arise members choose our 2024 legislative priorities at our Annual Meeting on Saturday, Sept. 30. There will be options to meet both in person and online via Zoom.

As a member, you have the power to select the legislative priorities we will pursue in 2024. Two new proposals will compete with five current priorities for five slots on next year’s policy agenda.

Below, you’ll find more information on the Annual Meeting, including a new location this year. You’ll also see member groups’ summaries of the new policy proposals and our policy staff’s overviews of the current legislative priorities. And you’ll see updates on our two permanent priorities: adequate state budgets and tax reform.

We hope to see you in September as we gather to renew our shared commitment to building a better Alabama for all! 

Things to know for our Annual Meeting

When:

Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023
10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Where:

This is a hybrid event with options to attend in person as well as remotely via Zoom. The in-person meeting will be at The Legacy Annex, 115 Coosa St., Montgomery, AL 36104. This is the former site of the Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Museum. You can find more details and registration information at alarise.org/annualmeeting2023. There is no cost to attend, though donations are welcome.

Voting rules:

Member groups may cast up to 42 votes for legislative priorities. Before the Annual Meeting, groups may designate up to six representatives to get seven votes each. Individual members get five votes each. (A person can vote as an individual or as a member group’s representative, but not both.)

Groups must be current on dues to vote. Individual members must have given between July 1, 2022, and Aug. 31, 2023, to be eligible.

Voting for legislative priorities will be conducted online. Members will present policy proposals during the meeting. Eligible voters will receive a link and instructions after the meeting. If Arise doesn’t have your email, you will receive a postcard with voting information.

For more information:

If you have questions or need to update your contact info or group voters, call 334-832-9060 or email info@alarise.org.

An Arise tradition: the member-led agenda

By Robyn Hyden, executive director

Something interesting is happening in the world of policy organizations. After years of many think tanks working behind the scenes to set their policy agendas with little transparency or buy-in from regular people, many of our peer organizations are now realizing the best policies are those informed by the people closest to the problems.

Research and data analysis have important roles to play in any new policy formulation or advocacy campaign. But they alone can’t tell us what needs to happen to improve conditions on the ground.

Thankfully, Alabama Arise is ahead of the curve. Thirty-five years ago, Arise’s founders knew we couldn’t truly work to advance people-centered policies in Montgomery without actually working with and talking to, well, regular people. That is why we are unique among many of our peers in having a policy agenda driven and guided by our membership and directly impacted people across our state.

Driven and guided by the people

I’m proud that with your support, we’ve invested over the years in listening, fostering community conversations and seeking answers to address economic and social justice from everyday Alabamians. Our Annual Meeting and voting process are an important part of this tradition.

Public policy should not be only the purview of the wealthy, white, well-connected or well-heeled. That kind of thinking has created the problems and inequities we are fighting. Instead, the best policies to address economic hardship and poverty are those driven and guided by the people who are struggling just to get by, and by those working on the front lines to advance justice. Every year we invite you, our members, to vote on our annual legislative agenda to ensure our policy goals align with those of everyday Alabamians.

If you have not yet joined us in this process, I hope you will. Join our 2023 Annual Meeting on Sept. 30 to hear from volunteers and leaders across our state. Then participate in voting to select our 2024 legislative agenda!

Tax reform

Alabama legislators made huge strides toward eliminating the 4% state sales tax on groceries during the 2023 regular session.

This has been a longstanding priority for Alabama Arise. Thanks to the passage of HB 479 and HJR 243, Alabama will:

• Reduce the state grocery tax by 1 cent this September.
• Reduce the tax to 2% as soon as September 2024, assuming projected Education Trust Fund (ETF) revenues grow by at least 3.5% next year.
• Create a commission to study ways to eliminate the final 2 cents while protecting ETF revenue. Ultimately, this change will improve life for Alabamians who are struggling to make ends meet.

In 2023, the Legislature also:

• Passed legislation to give Alabama families a tax refund check of $150 per individual and $300 per family in December 2023.
• Passed legislation to exempt overtime pay from income taxes for the 2024 tax year.
• Phased out some existing tax incentives and required a bi-annual review of incentives.
• Took a step forward toward increasing transparency related to corporate tax incentives.

In addition, Arise was happy to see movement on SB 196, aimed at strengthening the state’s Open Records Act. This bill would have established procedures to request public records and improved public access to them. SB 196 passed the Senate and cleared a House committee, but the House unfortunately did not vote on it. Arise member group Jobs to Move America has urged us to continue advocating for transparency, particularly related to the terms of corporate tax incentive agreements.

Adequate state budgets

Thanks to federal relief funds, healthy sales and income tax collections, and rapid growth in internet sales tax revenue, Alabama went into 2023 with significant revenue increases despite high inflation and other lingering effects of the COVID-19 recession.

This healthy revenue growth allowed the Legislature to increase education funding and provide educators with a 2% raise. The state likely will have enough money to continue to cover basic needs in its 2025 budgets. Arise will keep calling on policymakers to strengthen investments in vital services. Mental health care is a longtime funding priority that Arise member group Grace Presbyterian Church in Tuscaloosa has urged us to underscore in our ongoing advocacy.

Importantly, lawmakers this year also held a committee hearing to discuss facts about the health coverage gap, and speakers cited Arise and Cover Alabama data. Also worth highlighting is the establishment of a Medicaid Emergency Reserve Fund within the General Fund budget. This reserve fund, capped for now at $100 million, could help Alabama cover more adults with low incomes by retaining savings to Medicaid from enhanced federal funding. Officials could use that money in future years if necessary to help fund increased Medicaid costs.

Advocates this year successfully blocked the PRICE Act, an enormous threat to public school funding. If passed, it could have allowed the diversion of hundreds of millions of dollars from the Education Trust Fund (ETF). The bill would have routed money away from public schools and into the coffers of private, at-home or other alternative education settings instead.

Though thankfully the PRICE Act did not pass this year, we anticipate it will return next year. Also causing quite a stir this session was the Legislature’s decision to allocate $100 million from the ETF to support ongoing prison construction.

In brighter news, the Legislature allocated an additional $10 million over the funding that normally would be provided for schools deemed to be “underperforming.” This money went toward the Turnaround School Initiative to help fund crucial services, including tutoring access and more auxiliary teachers.

Compiled by Akiesha Anderson, policy and advocacy director

New issue proposals

Fund the Alabama Housing Trust Fund

Submitted by Jay Williams, Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama (LIHCA)

As Alabama stands at a crossroads, legislation to fund the Alabama Housing Trust Fund (AHTF) presents an opportunity to address poverty in our state. This proposal aims to establish a dedicated funding source for the AHTF by increasing the mortgage record fee from 15 cents per $100 of indebtedness to 30 cents per $100.

This legislation would generate an estimated $44.8 million for the AHTF and would serve as a catalyst to bridge this gap. It would provide low-income households with affordable housing options. This would help reduce the risk of homelessness and break the cycle of poverty. Moreover, by targeting rural communities, we can work toward leveling the playing field and fostering equitable access to housing opportunities.

Families with low incomes, individuals experiencing homelessness, essential workers, veterans, seniors, and individuals with disabilities all would benefit from increased access to safe and affordable housing. By prioritizing the most vulnerable members of our communities, we can uplift individuals and promote inclusive, prosperous neighborhoods.

The timeline for bill passage depends on the political climate and legislative priorities. However, with dedicated advocacy efforts and effective collaboration, we can expedite the process. Through bipartisan consensus and highlighting the urgent need for affordable housing, we can strive for swift passage in 2024.

Alabama Arise has a crucial role to play in championing AHTF funding. By mobilizing our network of supporters, engaging in grassroots advocacy and fostering alliances with like-minded organizations, we can amplify our collective voice and ensure the successful passage of this legislation.

Now is the time to invest in affordable housing as a long-term solution to address poverty and racial inequality. Funding can be sourced through a combination of public-private partnerships, leveraging federal programs, redirecting existing resources or exploring innovative financing mechanisms. By increasing the mortgage record fee, allocating a portion of community reinvestment funds or exploring tax incentives, we can secure the necessary funding to support the Alabama Housing Trust Fund.

Comprehensive maternal and infant health care reform

Submitted by Courtney Andrews, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Alabama

Alabama is a dangerous place to be pregnant and to give birth, particularly for Black and low-resourced women. With the highest maternal mortality rate in the nation, the maternal health crisis is only worsening.

A person’s chance of dying during pregnancy, childbirth or the postpartum period is closely linked to racial identity, social and economic status and the geographic remoteness of the home. Additionally, Alabama has the third-highest mortality rate for cervical cancer. That is unacceptable, considering that cervical cancer is highly preventable, detectable and treatable.

Alabama Arise was successful in pushing policymakers to expand Medicaid for one year postpartum. Now is the time to capitalize on this progress by expanding Medicaid for the general population and introducing a comprehensive reproductive health bill that focuses on ensuring the health and safety of Alabama families more broadly and over the life course.

Such a bill, ideally introduced in the 2025 legislative session, must enshrine elective parenting (the right to choose if and when to have a child). It also should expand the scope of practice for midwives and provide a path to licensure for birth centers. And it should expand access to comprehensive prenatal, birth and postpartum care, including screenings and treatment for depression.

This bill should require a greater statewide investment in community-based organizations that assist pregnant and birthing people, as well as in housing, transportation and access to healthy food. It also should require public schools to provide comprehensive sexual health education and greater access to the HPV vaccine for school-age children. The bill also should include provisions for the care and safe birthing conditions of incarcerated people (i.e., not being shackled during birth).

Current legislative priorities

Criminal justice reform

Arise was happy to partner with Alabama Appleseed in achieving a major victory this year related to fines and fees. The Legislature passed SB 154, which limits the circumstances under which the state can suspend driver’s licenses. This new law will curb the practice of immediately suspending driver’s licenses when people are unable to afford to pay traffic tickets.

Other legislation also made significant progress through the Legislature before eventually falling short this session. That included HB 229, a “second chance” bill to reform the state’s Habitual Felony Offender Act, aka the “three-strikes” law. We were encouraged to see this legislation pass the House and make it out of the Senate Judiciary Committee this year. Arise expects to see and support similar legislation next year.

In addition to the above legislation, Arise member group Represent Justice has proposed expanding our scope of work in this area to include efforts to reform Alabama’s felony murder law. Under this law, a person can be convicted of first-degree murder even if they did not intend to or did not actually kill anyone. A disproportionate share of people convicted under felony murder laws are people of color, research from several states has found. Represent Justice urges support for legislation to clarify the circumstances under which felony murder may be charged and to make other related changes.

Death penalty reform

For the first time in years, lawmakers in 2023 debated legislation to address Alabama’s unjust death penalty laws. Alabama is one of only two states to permit the issuance of death sentences via non-unanimous jury sentencing decisions. Arise this year supported HB 14, which would have aligned the state with the national trend of requiring a unanimous jury verdict prior to imposing the death penalty.

This bill also would have applied the state’s 2017 ban on judicial override retroactively. This ban forbids judges from imposing a death sentence when the jury recommends a lesser sentence. Unfortunately, when passed in 2017, the law didn’t apply to people already on death row. That has left more than 30 people on Alabama’s death row who received a death sentence against their jury’s will.

The House Judiciary Committee heard HB 14 too late for it to have a chance to become law. But Arise was proud to see member groups like Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty give compelling and moving testimony during a public hearing in support of the bill. We hope to see this legislation reintroduced and considered earlier in the session next year. 

Payday and title lending reform

Every year, high-interest loans trap thousands of struggling Alabamians in a cycle of deep debt. Payday loans are short-term (usually two-week) loans charging high annual percentage rates (APRs), most commonly 456%. Auto title loans charge up to 300% APR and also carry the risk of repossession of the vehicle. Alabama also has no title loan database, leaving the extent of harm from these loans unknown.

These high-cost loans strip wealth from borrowers and hurt communities. As of this time last year, payday lenders were on track to pull approximately $1 billion in fees out of Alabama communities over the next decade, with most of that money flowing to out-of-state companies. Predatory lending practices continue to target people of color disproportionately. These practices exacerbate the economic challenges in many struggling rural and urban areas.

A House member introduced legislation this year in an effort to reduce the harms of high-cost payday lending. But the bill unfortunately did not come up in committee. If passed, this legislation effectively would cut the interest rates on payday loans in half by giving borrowers more time to pay them back. We anticipate that similar legislation will be introduced next year.

Public transportation

State leaders are finally starting to take note of the negative implications that a lack of access to reliable transportation has on advancing many statewide goals, including increasing workforce participation. Arise has long acknowledged that robust state investment into public transportation would improve the quality of life for many Alabamians. Transit availability affects people across geographies, incomes and races. Yet Alabama remains one of only a few states without state funding for public transportation.

The Legislature took steps to remedy this by creating the Public Transportation Trust Fund (PTTF) in 2018. However, the law did not provide an initial appropriation or dedicated funding source. If funded, the PTTF could jump-start increased federal investment that requires non-federal matching dollars.

Arise urged state leaders to invest $20 million of Alabama’s remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds into the PTTF. But those efforts came up short in the last year. Even so, Arise will continue to explore ways to convince lawmakers that investing in the PTTF will allow the state to improve quality of life for everyone. Our policy team plans to produce a report on the state of public transit in Alabama. And the Montgomery Transportation Coalition, an Arise member group, has urged support for a proposal to help fund public transit through a $1 assessment on license plates.

Voting rights

Arise and advocacy partners this year successfully blocked legislation that posed a threat to voting rights in Alabama. HB 209 would have criminalized many efforts to assist voters with absentee ballot applications or completed ballots. While we are happy this bill did not pass, we anticipate that it will be reintroduced next year.

This session, lawmakers considered legislation to make absentee voting easier. The bill would have eliminated the requirement to complete an affidavit when submitting an absentee ballot. Though this legislation ultimately did not make it out of the House Constitution, Campaigns and Elections Committee, it was significant that a bill to make voting access easier received committee discussion.

This year also saw continued efforts to improve the voting rights restoration process for people who previously lost their right to vote due to a felony conviction. A restoration bill passed the Senate and made it to the House Judiciary Committee. Unfortunately, the sponsors then had to make a strategic decision to table the bill due to alarming amendments and modifications during the legislative process. We look forward to working with the bill’s sponsors and other advocates to strategize ways to help get this legislation over the finish line next year.

Compiled by Akiesha Anderson, policy director; Carol Gundlach, senior policy analyst; Dev Wakeley, worker policy advocate; Mike Nicholson, senior policy analyst

Fresh opportunities to push for a better Alabama

By Akiesha Anderson, policy and advocacy director

The Alabama Legislature will welcome 37 new lawmakers to its halls when its 2023 regular session begins March 7. Alabama Arise sees this as an opportunity to educate new legislators and identify new allies on issues of importance to our members. We urge folks to join us in calling for change, including at Arise Legislative Day on April 11.

Eliminate the state grocery tax

In early February, 11% of Alabama households said they sometimes or often didn’t have enough food to eat. And those hunger challenges are even more severe in communities of color. More than 23% of Black Alabamians and 13.6% of Hispanic Alabamians said they sometimes or often didn’t have enough food.

Untaxing groceries would help families across Alabama keep food on the table. As we have for more than two decades, Arise once again will support bills this year to remove the state’s 4% sales tax on groceries. We also will support replacing the grocery tax revenue by limiting or ending a tax loophole for the wealthiest households. This legislation by Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Centre, and Rep. Penni McClammy, D-Montgomery, would empower Alabama to untax groceries while protecting funding for public schools.

Expand Medicaid to close the health coverage gap

For nearly 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. Alabama is one of just 11 states that has yet to expand Medicaid. And that inaction has left more than 220,000 Alabamians in a health coverage gap.

Fifteen rural hospitals in Alabama are at imminent risk of closing this year if state leaders don’t act soon to protect health care access. Gov. Kay Ivey should act swiftly to expand Medicaid herself, but the Legislature’s support also will be vital. Arise will keep working to educate lawmakers and the public on the economic, budgetary and humanitarian benefits of Medicaid expansion.

Take bold steps to reform our criminal justice system

Legislators have an opportunity and an obligation to make strides in solving the many problems within Alabama’s criminal justice system. This issue has added urgency as Alabama faces a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit alleging unconstitutional prison conditions.

Many avenues for progress exist. Arise will urge lawmakers to end the practice of suspending driver’s licenses for debt-based reasons. We will advocate for reform of the state “three-strikes” law, known as the Habitual Felony Offender Act. And we will support a bill to require the jury to be unanimous before imposing the death penalty.

Address housing and transportation needs

State House insiders expect the Legislature to go into a special session this spring to decide how to use remaining federal funds under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). From the start, Arise has taken the position that Alabama should use some of its ARPA funds to jump-start public transportation and help thousands find an affordable place to call home. During the probable special session, we will continue to uplift the need for these investments in the people of Alabama. Click here to learn more.

Arise Legislative Day is Tuesday, April 11!

Your voice matters! Make plans now to speak up with us for a better Alabama for all.

Join us at Arise’s 2023 Legislative Day on Tuesday, April 11, at the RSA Plaza in Montgomery. 

Legislative Day is an annual opportunity for Arise supporters to meet their lawmakers and make the case for policy changes to improve life for everyday Alabamians. We expect this year’s advocacy to focus on expanding Medicaid, untaxing groceries and funding public transit.

Registration will begin at 9:30 a.m. on the sixth floor of the RSA Plaza Building. The event will begin at 10 a.m. with an issue briefing and lunch at the RSA Plaza, followed by a news conference at 12:15 p.m. on the steps of the Alabama State House. Then we will visit with lawmakers before returning to the RSA Plaza at 2:30 p.m. for a membership meeting.

Click here to register. Please register by April 3 as seating is limited. There is no cost to register, but a $15 donation for lunch is suggested.

Please note: Health and safety precautions will be observed. Attendees are asked to wear a mask during the event.

We look forward to seeing you!

Budget priorities for the people

By Robyn Hyden, executive director

Two weeks before the Alabama Legislature’s 2023 regular session, lawmakers, lobbyists and advocates packed into the State House in late February for the annual joint legislative budget hearings. One might call it the Super Bowl for budget nerds.

After years of scarcity, both Alabama budgets are starting out with a revenue surplus. There’s $351 million in “excess” revenue for the General Fund, and $2.7 billion for the Education Trust Fund. That’s not even counting the remaining $1.1 billion in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds still awaiting allocation.

What we heard at this year’s budget hearings was not surprising. Public services like education, health care, mental health and supportive services need more resources after years of underinvestment. State agencies are struggling with worker shortages and the consequences of underfunding – and understaffing – critical programs. It’s no surprise that lawmakers heard a long, detailed list of opportunities to meet these needs. Most agency heads were clear that new funding can’t fix all of the problems – but it’s a start.

Some lawmakers have floated the idea that this one-time surplus is a sign we need a tax rebate. If that proposal materializes, Arise will be front and center advocating for funds to go directly to low- and moderate-income households bearing the brunt of higher costs. But Arise’s proposal, which comes directly from listening to our members, is a longer-term solution to our upside-down tax code. Our bill to untax groceries would help families keep food on the table while also protecting funding for public schools. It’s a solution that goes beyond just one year to create more foundational and sustainable change.

One concern you may have heard is that nobody has enough workers. Too many Alabamians are still disconnected from the workforce due to missing critical infrastructure investments in child care, public transportation, health care and affordable housing. This year, we’ll be pushing for investments in these supports to help people get and keep work, and to build the healthy and educated workforce Alabama needs.

Our 2023 policy proposals provide that roadmap for change. Expand Medicaid to ensure nobody has to die for lack of preventive care or live in poverty because they have a chronic health condition. Invest in infrastructure to support workers, including child care, housing, public transportation and education. Stop funding public services with punitive fines and fees, and start ensuring the wealthiest Alabamians pay their fair share.

We look forward to seeing you all at our Legislative Day this April. If we continue to stand and work together, we will make significant progress for Alabama.

The workforce benefits of Medicaid expansion

By Mike Nicholson, policy analyst

For nearly a decade, Alabama has been outside looking in on a good deal. While hundreds of thousands of Alabamians struggle without health insurance, state leaders have failed to expand Medicaid to cover adults with low incomes. A few loud voices have politicized an issue that shouldn’t be political. And our state has paid the price in lost dollars, lost jobs and lost lives.

Reliable access to health care keeps people healthier and empowers them to work. That’s one reason 39 states and the District of Columbia have embraced Medicaid expansion. Alabama is one of 11 states that has yet to expand Medicaid. That inaction has left more than 220,000 Alabamians in a health coverage gap. Parents in a family of three making more than $4,475 a year don’t qualify for Alabama Medicaid. But unless they make at least $24,860 a year, they also don’t qualify for Marketplace subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. Adults without children or a disability are ineligible for Alabama Medicaid, no matter how low their incomes.

It’s time to end this injustice and close the coverage gap. Medicaid expansion is the single best solution available for lawmakers to make Alabama healthier. And it is one of the best solutions to help cure our state’s workforce woes.

Medicaid expansion would help Alabamians stay employed

Alabama’s labor force participation rate is lower than that of neighboring states. Fortunately, Medicaid expansion is a proven, pro-work policy. States that have expanded Medicaid have seen a greater increase in labor force participation among people with disabilities and among people with incomes below 138% of the poverty line than non-expansion states. These are the very people Medicaid expansion would benefit most.

It’s impossible to separate health care policy from workforce policy, because health care policy is workforce policy. Why would a family move to Alabama for job opportunities instead of a state that invests more in workers’ health? And how long will businesses keep relocating to Alabama if our workforce isn’t healthy enough to fill vacancies?

Alabamians work hard every day to provide for themselves and their families. But hundreds of thousands aren’t paid enough to afford health coverage. Fast food workers, cashiers, carpenters and hotel clerks are among the many folks who work hard at low-paying but essential jobs that often don’t provide health insurance. They are among the Alabamians who would benefit most from Medicaid expansion.

Read the full blog here.

End of emergency SNAP allotments will increase hunger in Alabama

By Carol Gundlach, senior policy analyst

Temporary increases to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits helped ease suffering for families across Alabama and nationwide. But those boosts expired in February. SNAP participants now face a benefit decrease that will cut their food assistance significantly.

Nearly 400,000 Alabama households will see average cuts to their SNAP benefits of around $170 a month. Particularly hard hit will be older adults and people with disabilities who live alone. Before the pandemic, SNAP benefits for these households were often minimal and could be as low as $16 per month. Emergency allotments boosted these folks’ benefits to the maximum of $281 per month for an individual. But with these increases ending, these participants will see their food budgets decline, possibly to as little as the current minimum of $23 per month.

The loss of SNAP emergency allotments almost certainly will increase hunger, both in Alabama and nationwide. But individuals have a few options to help reduce the pain:

• SNAP benefits don’t have to be spent in the month in which they are received. Emergency SNAP allotments will roll over on Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards as long as the card is used at least once a month. This will allow participants to stretch their emergency dollars as far as possible.
• Older adults or people with disabilities are eligible to deduct medical costs, including transportation to the doctor or pharmacy, before calculating SNAP benefits. Updating medical costs may result in more assistance than people are receiving.
• All households participating in SNAP can deduct the cost of housing and dependent care. Updating housing costs and the cost of child care or care for adults with disabilities could increase SNAP benefits.
• Some grocery stores and farmers markets offer extra fruits and vegetables for SNAP participants. Find out where you can get these Double Up Food Bucks.

What policymakers can do to help

Hunger is a systemic problem that requires systemic solutions. Federal, state and local officials all have roles to play in helping to reduce hunger in Alabama and the nation. Below are a few of the many policy options available.

Untax groceries: Alabama is one of only three states with no tax break on groceries. Removing the state sales tax from food would allow everyone to afford an extra two weeks’ worth of groceries. 

Expand free school meals: Many local schools and districts provide free school meals for all their students. Universal free meals improve students’ health and education. They also reduce the financial burden on families struggling to make ends meet.

Provide state funding for Double Up Food Bucks: The Double Up Food Bucks program offers extra fruit and vegetables for SNAP participants. This program promotes better health for SNAP participants and more money for Alabama’s farmers. But the absence of state dollars limits the number of stores where these extra benefits are available.

Strengthen SNAP in the Farm Bill: Congress must reauthorize the Farm Bill, which includes SNAP, next year. Many advocates are calling for Congress to make the emergency allotment amounts permanent, either in the Farm Bill or through other legislation.

How Alabama can protect health coverage during the Medicaid ‘unwinding’ period

By Jennifer Harris, health policy advocate

As the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) approaches, tens of thousands of Alabamians will start paying more for critical medical care – or simply be unable to afford it – unless our state lawmakers take action. About 61,000 Alabamians are expected to lose Medicaid coverage by June 2024 due to this change, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Urban Institute. These coverage losses would leave many Alabamians with no realistic option for affordable coverage because our state still has not expanded Medicaid to cover adults with low incomes.

Medicaid expansion is the single best step Alabama could take to preserve health coverage and reduce costs for people who cannot afford a private plan and otherwise would be uninsured. In the meantime, state officials should be proactive in communicating with enrollees and facilitating transitions to Marketplace coverage where possible.

Medicaid received additional federal funding to keep current and new enrollees eligible until the PHE’s end. Under this maintenance of effort (MOE) requirement, traditional eligibility criteria were relaxed.

The relaxed criteria led to continuous coverage eligibility. That meant Medicaid enrollees would not lose eligibility unless they requested in writing to be removed, moved out of state or died. It also meant changes in income or family size no longer caused removal from Medicaid during the PHE.

But with the MOE requirement about to end, Alabama Medicaid will begin reviewing people for eligibility again starting April 1. This return to normal rules is called “unwinding.” State officials say they will take one year to complete the unwinding process.

Take action to maintain coverage

The Alabama Unwinding Task Force, which Alabama Arise chairs, is working with Medicaid to support outreach and communication efforts. This task force is ensuring support is available for current eligible enrollees to maintain their coverage. It also is working to ensure people who no longer meet Alabama Medicaid’s eligibility criteria know their available coverage options. To get involved with the task force, email me at jennifer@alarise.org.

Individuals who remain eligible for Medicaid could be at risk of losing coverage during unwinding due to administrative barriers. To ensure they maintain coverage, eligible enrollees first should verify their current contact information. They also can sign up online to receive text messages from Medicaid with vital information.

If an enrollee is no longer eligible for coverage through Alabama Medicaid, they should contact Enroll Alabama to discuss options that may be available on the Health Insurance Marketplace. They also can dial 211 to connect with an Enroll Alabama navigator who can assist in finding coverage.

See the Gap: How Medicaid expansion would help hairstylists and barbers

Hairstylists and barbers often work six or seven days a week, with little fanfare and long hours on their feet. But most don’t get health insurance through their employers. And those who are self-employed often don’t make enough to afford private coverage.

In her “See the Gap” series, Alabama Arise storyteller Whit Sides spotlights a few of the thousands of Alabama personal care professionals who would benefit from Medicaid expansion. Click here to read this ongoing series.

A membership base that looks like Alabama

By Jacob Smith, development director

At Alabama Arise, people are our power. As a member, you are part of a network that drives our shared vision of a state where all people have resources to reach their potential. Collectively, you vote on our policy priorities, stay informed through our Daily News Digest and legislative updates, and advocate for fair public policies.

Because members like you are important to our mission, we work to diversify and expand our membership. We want to be reflective of Alabama and representative of people living paycheck to paycheck.

We have set long-term goals to recruit more members of color, members under age 30, and members with low incomes. And we’ve been making progress. In 2022, we grew our BIPOC membership to 17% and our membership of young adults to 3%. Through our gift membership program, we grew our membership of people with low incomes to 23%.

This data only reflects members who completed our survey. For Arise to be successful, it is critical that we understand more about you and your values. If you haven’t already, will you complete our survey? It can be found by visiting this link.

No matter your identity or background, completing this survey will help us understand the change you want to see in Alabama.

Welcome, Akiesha!

Akiesha Anderson joined Arise as our new policy and advocacy director in November 2022. In this role, she leads a team of policy advocates and analysts committed to improving the lives of Alabamians who are marginalized by poverty.

Akiesha has more than a decade of experience working in the public sector and nonprofit realms and striving to make society more equitable for marginalized groups. Akiesha grew up in Montgomery and is a graduate of Alabama State University, Auburn University at Montgomery and the University of Alabama School of Law. She has a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in business management; a master’s degree in public administration; and a law degree with a certificate in governmental affairs.

OTHER STAFF MOVES

Arise also recently had two other staff changes. Debbie Smith is now the Cover Alabama campaign director after serving as a northeast Alabama organizer since 2018. And Celida Soto Garcia is leaving Arise after working as a hunger policy advocate since 2019. We thank Celida for her great work and wish her well!

Online and off: Arise advocates all over!

Alabama Arise is providing a mix of in-person and virtual meetings to help keep advocacy accessible to all. 

Arise urges ‘Yes’ vote on recompiled constitution

By Mike Nicholson, policy analyst

Alabama Arise is committed to recognizing, teaching about and repairing the damage that state lawmakers perpetrated for generations through codifying racism and racist practices. Racist language and the harmful provisions flowing from it have no place in our state’s most important legal document.

Alabamians will decide on Nov. 8 whether to remove racist language from the state constitution by adopting a recompiled constitution. Examples of deleted language include references to separate schools for Black and white children and prohibition of interracial marriages. Arise recommends voting “Yes” on the recompilation, which will appear on the ballot as the Constitution of Alabama of 2022.

The changes in the recompilation wouldn’t address all of the problems with Alabama’s constitution, including harmful limits related to tax policy and local governance. But they still would move Alabama, and our constitution, in the right direction. Arise urges Alabamians to vote “Yes” to help move our state forward.

For more information on the recompilation, see our fact sheet.

Alabama Arise’s 2023 policy priorities

By Chris Sanders, communications director

More than 400 Alabama Arise members selected our 2023 legislative agenda following our Annual Meeting on Sept. 24. The seven priorities chosen were:

• Tax reform
• Adequate budgets for human services
• Voting rights
• Criminal justice reform
• Death penalty reform
• Public transportation
• Payday and title lending reform

“Our 2023 policy priorities reflect the need to work together to break down policy barriers that keep people in poverty,” Arise executive director Robyn Hyden said. “We must build a healthier, more just and more inclusive future for our state.”

See our news release for more on our priorities. And email Arise organizing director Presdelane Harris at pres@alarise.org to set up an issue preview event in your area ahead of the Legislature’s 2023 regular session.

Annual Meeting 2022

Alabama Arise held our first hybrid Annual Meeting on Sept. 24, both in person at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Montgomery and virtually on Zoom. We thank the hundreds of members who joined us across both spaces.

First photo above: Arise board president Kathy Vincent embraces outgoing board member Roger McCullough. Second above: Former executive director Kimble Forrister (right) and other members listen to issue presentations. Third above: Arise senior policy analyst Carol Gundlach gives an update on budgets and tax reform. Fourth above: A member asks a clarifying question as Arise development director Jacob Smith listens.

Click here to see more pictures from our in-person event!

A sincere thank you

By Robyn Hyden, executive director

As I reflect on our 2022 Annual Meeting and dive into planning for our 2023 agenda, I simply want to say thank you for your generous contributions, advocacy and support.

This July marked the beginning of my fifth year as executive director, and next year will mark 35 years since Alabama Arise was founded. The COVID-19 years have stretched us to adapt in new ways. I couldn’t be more grateful for the ways our dynamic staff, supporters and board leaders have navigated these changes as we continue learning, growing and doing new things together.

As we look ahead to fall and winter, we’re doubling down on hybrid opportunities to engage members and grassroots constituents. We’re looking at how we engage the broadest base possible to achieve our goals. And we’re striving to meet the needs and goals identified by you, our members.

Thank you for charting our agenda and joining us to continue our forward momentum. When we push together, change is on the horizon.

Together, our members make a difference!

By Jacob Smith, development director

There’s something about the approaching winter holidays that brings out the generous nature in all of us. We all want to do our part and work together to build community and a better Alabama.

At Arise, we’re grateful for your giving. Almost 13% of our financial support comes from members like you. When you give, we have the flexibility needed to focus on you and your priorities. We believe people from every community must be engaged in the state and federal policymaking process to effect real and lasting change.

Will you help us grow our membership? If you haven’t already, join or renew your membership with a gift. There are so many ways to give:

• A one-time or monthly gift online at alarise.org.
• A check mailed to P.O. Box 1188, Montgomery, AL 36101.
• A gift of stock.
• A gift from an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-deferred savings account.

Once you’ve given, invite your friends, family and network to join you in making a difference! Or invite a group you’re in to join as a member group! Share why you’re a part of Arise and how you partner with us.

If you would like more information, please email me at jacob@alarise.org. Thank you for your generosity in this end-of-year season.

Arise helps strengthen fight against cervical cancer

By Whitney Washington, communications associate

Six Black women from Alabama’s Black Belt region assembled In a meeting room at downtown Birmingham’s Westin Hotel on Aug. 26-28 for a weekend of intense and insightful advocacy training. The weekend served as this cohort’s introduction to both each other and the material they’ll be learning. And Alabama Arise had the privilege of being part of the event.

Arise health policy advocate Jennifer Harris will spend the next few months guiding these incredible women through various training sessions through a partnership with the Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative for Economic and Social Justice (SRBWI) and Human Rights Watch. These women have been tasked with reducing rates of cervical cancer in their communities, and they are up to the challenge.

The scope of the challenge

Why the focus on cervical cancer? Consider these sobering statistics:

• Black women die of cervical cancer at 1.5 times the rate of white women in the United States.
• In Alabama, Black women die of cervical cancer at nearly twice the rate of white women.
• With the HPV vaccine, cervical cancer is nearly entirely preventable.
• The Black Belt region is especially hard hit due to lack of access to health care.

“Research is clear on the best possible outcomes in ideal situations. But the reality is far from ideal for many women in rural Alabama,” Harris said. “Less access to health care, the need for more preventive education, and barriers such as a lack of transportation increase these health disparities for too many families.

I was lucky to meet these women and work with my colleagues in creating a helpful curriculum for the weekend. Arise executive director Robyn Hyden charged right into advocacy training at the event. Her sessions described the role of advocates, how to talk to legislators and how to get bills passed.

The SRBWI conference and the Black Belt cohort training were an incredible opportunity to see some of the often invisible organizing and community-building work happening across Alabama. People long neglected by institutions and lawmakers are finding creative ways to take care of themselves and their communities. And Arise is committed to working alongside them to amplify their voices and lift policy barriers standing in their way.

Read more about this powerful weekend on our blog.

Child Tax Credit boost cuts child poverty to record low

By Chris Sanders, communications director

People-friendly policies like the Child Tax Credit (CTC) can and do reduce poverty. The 2021 U.S. Census data released last month delivered eye-opening proof of that fact, revealing a dramatic nationwide reduction in child poverty fueled largely by a temporary CTC expansion.

By itself, the CTC expansion kept 5.3 million Americans above the poverty line, data showed. The one-year improvement, enacted as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), made the full credit available to children living in families with low or no earnings. It increased the maximum credit to $3,000 per child and $3,600 per child under age 6. And it extended the credit to 17-year-olds.

CTC expansion helped reduce disparities for Black and Hispanic children. It also drove the U.S. child poverty rate to a record low of 5.2% under the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM). Unlike the traditional poverty measure, the SPM reflects the poverty-reducing effects of tax credits and non-cash benefits like food assistance.

The CTC expansion expired in 2022 after Congress failed to renew it. But federal lawmakers will have an opportunity to revisit that decision when they return to Washington later this fall.

“The success of the Child Tax Credit expansion was undeniable,” Alabama Arise executive director Robyn Hyden said. “This policy slashed child poverty and helped families make ends meet across our state and our country. Congress needs to renew the Child Tax Credit expansion and make it permanent. And our state lawmakers should do their part to help Alabama families keep food on the table by ending the state grocery tax and replacing the revenue in a responsible way.”

Inflation Reduction Act will make Alabama healthier

By Robyn Hyden, executive director

The Inflation Reduction Act will help build a healthier future for people across Alabama. This plan will make health coverage more affordable for hundreds of thousands of Alabamians and millions of Americans. It will improve air quality by investing in clean energy and reducing emissions that fuel climate change. And it will pay for these investments by closing tax loopholes that subsidize profitable corporations and wealthy households.

This plan will save money for patients and the federal government by allowing Medicare to negotiate certain prescription drug prices. It will cap the cost of insulin and other out-of-pocket drug expenses for Medicare enrollees. And it will extend enhanced subsidies that make health coverage more affordable for many of the 219,000 Alabamians with marketplace plans through the Affordable Care Act.

We’re happy that Congress passed this important legislation and that President Joe Biden signed it into law on Aug. 16. But we also know much work remains to empower all Alabamians to achieve their full potential.

We will continue advocating for state lawmakers to untax groceries and make other needed investments in families and communities. We’ll keep working for additional funding to make child care, housing and public transportation more affordable and available across Alabama. And we’ll continue pushing for Medicaid expansion to help more than 340,000 Alabamians who are uninsured or struggling to afford health insurance.

These policy choices are essential to improve Alabamians’ quality of life and to boost our state’s economic prosperity. We’re determined to see each and every one of them across the finish line. And with your support and energy – at the annual meeting and throughout the coming years – we’ll make it happen together.

Annual meeting to chart Arise’s course for 2023

By Chris Sanders, communications director

Grassroots democracy will be on display in a new way when Alabama Arise members choose our 2023 issue priorities at our annual meeting Saturday, Sept. 24. For the first time, we will meet both in person and online via Zoom.

As a member, you have the power to select the legislative priorities we will pursue in 2023. One new proposal will compete with five current priorities for five slots on next year’s issue roster.

Below, you’ll find more information on the annual meeting, along with member groups’ summaries of the new issue proposal. You’ll also find our policy staff’s overviews of the current issue priorities and updates on our two permanent priorities: adequate state budgets and tax reform.

We hope to see you in September as we gather to renew our shared commitment to building a better Alabama for all!

Things to know for our annual meeting

When:

Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022

10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Where:

This is a hybrid event with options to attend in person as well as remotely via Zoom. To register, visit alarise.org/annualmeeting2022. There is no cost to attend, though donations are welcome.

Voting rules:

Member groups may cast up to 42 votes for issue priorities. Before the annual meeting, groups may designate up to six representatives to get seven votes each. Individual members get five votes each. (A person can vote as an individual or as a member group’s representative, but not both.)

Groups must be current on dues to be eligible to vote. Individual members must have given between July 1, 2021, and Aug. 25, 2022, to be eligible.

Voting for issue priorities will be conducted online. Members will present issue proposals during the meeting. Eligible voters will receive a link and instructions after the meeting. If Arise doesn’t have your email, you will receive a postcard with voting information.

For more information:

If you have questions or need to update your contact info or group voters, call 334-832-9060 or email info@alarise.org.

Permanent issue priorities

Tax reform

Alabama legislators made minimal improvements to the state’s broken tax system during the 2022 regular session. As is common in an election year, they passed tax breaks for businesses, local nonprofits and retirees. On a more progressive note, lawmakers excluded the federal Child Tax Credit from state taxation. They also approved an income tax cut for Alabamians with low incomes through small but meaningful improvements to the standard deduction and dependent exemption.

Still, despite a bipartisan push and strong public support, legislators again failed to take the state sales tax off groceries. To improve life for everyday Alabamians of all backgrounds and strengthen public services that benefit us all, the Legislature should:

• Eliminate the state sales tax on groceries and replace that revenue through progressive income tax changes. Alabama is one of three states with no grocery tax break.
• Eliminate the regressive state income tax deduction for federal income taxes. Nearly 90% of the deduction’s benefits go to the top 20% of households.
• Reject future corporate tax cuts and adopt combined reporting to prevent corporate tax avoidance.
• Increase property taxes on large landowners and raise taxes on items like tobacco and vaping products.

Compiled by Carol Gundlach, senior policy analyst

Adequate state budgets

Thanks in part to federal relief funds, Alabama went into 2022 with significant revenue increases despite the COVID-19 recession. This allowed the Legislature to pass 2023 budgets with record expenditures, including salary increases for state employees and teachers. Revenues have remained healthy, and the state likely will have enough money to cover basic needs in its 2024 budgets.

This rare surplus could allow legislators to consider how to address Alabama’s long-term investment needs. The Legislature should take advantage of this opportunity to:

• Close the Medicaid gap and provide life-saving health coverage to more than 300,000 Alabamians.
• Replace the state sales tax on groceries by increasing income taxes on the top 1%.
• Increase spending for mental health care, substance use treatment and public health services.
• Fund alternatives to incarceration such as drug treatment, mental health treatment, job training and community correction services.
• Expand pre-K education and child day care services.
• Invest for the first time in the state Housing Trust Fund and Public Transportation Trust Fund.

Pathways for Medicaid expansion

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) includes a provision that would allow Alabama to access an estimated $619.4 million in additional federal funds. This would make Medicaid expansion more affordable and sustainable than it has been since expansion first became available in 2014. This additional money, on top of the generous and permanent 90/10 federal match of state Medicaid expansion funds, could result in the federal government covering $397 million in annual expenses now paid by the state.

Alabama Medicaid thus far has not used those additional funds to increase services. However, the Legislature this year did provide additional General Fund money to extend Medicaid postpartum coverage from 60 days to 12 months after childbirth starting this October.

Compiled by Carol Gundlach, senior policy analyst

New issue proposal

Universal broadband access

Submitted by Anna Pritchett, AARP Alabama, and Benard Simelton, Sr., Alabama Chapter of the NAACP

High-speed internet access, affordability and training are essential. High-speed internet enables all Alabamians to benefit fully from technologies that improve quality of life. Broadband can facilitate access to education, health care, career services and more. To have these options, high-speed networks must be available, affordable and support bandwidth-intensive applications for a rapidly growing user base.

Last year, the Legislature created the Alabama Digital Expansion Division within the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) to oversee and advise the statewide connectivity plan. This move came just as federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are flowing into the state. This is a welcome start, but much work remains to ensure transparency, accountability, equity and affordability.

Roughly 19% of Alabama homes do not have adequate broadband coverage, according to the Alabama Connectivity Plan. For areas with coverage, approximately 20% of Alabama households do not subscribe to high-speed internet services due to the costs.

For the upcoming year, Alabama Arise can advocate for the Legislature and ADECA to:

• Eliminate the barriers to adoption of high-speed internet using strategies such as creating a task force to ensure the Alabama Digital Expansion Division is adequately working to connect the 19% of Alabama households without broadband services.
• Support the adoption of state and local digital equity policies and programs.
• Promote informed decision making by requiring the state and localities to utilize data-driven policymaking like improving broadband data collection, analysis and reporting to target intervention effectively to those most likely to be left out.
• Develop a multipronged public outreach campaign to connect consumers to federal subsidy programs.

Current issue priorities

Criminal justice reform

Court fees and fines impose heavy burdens on many struggling families. Driver’s license suspensions over unpaid fines can cause Alabamians with low incomes to lose their jobs. Draconian sentences keep many people in prison far beyond any bounds of proportionality or purpose. Cash bail for minor offenses can imperil families’ economic security. And multiple fees can stack up, making it impossible to move on from a conviction because consequences never end. In Alabama, people are subject to 63 separate fees in the criminal justice system – including a $1 fee for paying fee installments.

Arise supporters achieved a major victory this year with passage of HB 95, which created a 180-day grace period for formerly incarcerated people to begin payments on their fines and fees. HB 200, which would have limited the circumstances under which driver’s license suspensions could be issued, also made significant progress through the Legislature before eventually falling short. This bill will be a top priority for our criminal justice advocacy in the upcoming session.

The state’s sentencing scheme still needs systemic overhaul. Broad coalition efforts to reform the state’s sentencing structure, decouple financial payments from voting rights restoration, and institute other reforms that allow Alabamians to rebuild their lives after convictions continue. Arise has the opportunity to advance our core mission by pushing these reforms forward.

Death penalty reform

Alabama’s capital punishment system is unjust, unreliable and often used in a racially biased manner. Our state executes at nearly double the national average. We’re the only state that doesn’t fund legal aid to death row prisoners. And state laws offer insufficient safeguards against executing people who are mentally incapable of understanding their actions.

People’s lives shouldn’t depend on which administration is in power or whether state judges face election that year. Arbitrariness in death sentences is a longstanding and shameful failure of the criminal justice system.

Alabama is the only state that permits death sentences to be issued via non-unanimous jury sentencing decisions. Arise has supported a bill to remedy that injustice. We’ve also supported bills to create an execution moratorium and increase transparency in lethal injection procedures. And we support legislation to make the 2017 ban on judicial override apply retroactively. That law forbade judges from imposing a death sentence when the jury recommends life imprisonment without parole. But the law didn’t apply to people already on death row.

Alabama’s death penalty practices reflect deep racial inequities. Before judicial override ended, judges imposed death against a jury’s determination more often in cases where victims were white. And the state argued as recently as 2016 that it should be able to kill a prisoner even when a judge explicitly cited race at the sentencing hearing. Much work remains to modernize Alabama’s justice system and prevent unjust executions.

Payday and title lending reform

Every year, high-interest loans trap thousands of struggling Alabamians in a cycle of deep debt. Payday loans are short-term (usually two-week) loans charging high annual percentage rates (APRs), most commonly 456%. Auto title loans charge up to 300% APR and also carry the risk of repossession of the vehicle. Alabama also has no title loan database, leaving the extent of harm from these loans unknown.

These high-cost loans strip wealth from borrowers and hurt communities. Payday lenders are on track to pull approximately $1 billion in fees out of Alabama communities over the next decade, with most of that money flowing to out-of-state companies. Predatory lending practices disproportionately target people of color and exacerbate the economic challenges in struggling rural and urban areas.

Arise and partners have supported reforms for more than 15 years. Recent state-level efforts have run into well-financed lobbying to stall popular reforms, but the federal landscape has improved recently. In June 2021, the U.S. House voted to roll back a rule allowing payday lenders to use federal bank rules to avoid state interest caps. And in the U.S. Senate, the Veterans and Consumers Fair Credit Act would extend the Military Lending Act’s 36% rate cap to other consumers.

Public transportation

Robust state investment into public transportation would improve the quality of life for many Alabamians. Transit availability affects a wide range of Alabamians of diverse geographies, incomes and races. Many people, whether transit-dependent or not, have witnessed or experienced barriers posed by the state’s inadequate transit services.

For seniors, workers with low incomes and individuals with disabilities, the lack of reliable and affordable transportation is a barrier to daily living. The lack of vehicles, drivers and funding means many Alabamians cannot get to work, school or the doctor’s office in a reasonable time. The COVID-19 pandemic only worsened the harm resulting from lack of state support of transportation. Limited funding has forced some local transit systems to curtail specialized services for riders with disabilities or serious health conditions.

Alabama is one of only three states that provide no state funding for public transportation. The Legislature took steps to remedy this failing by creating the Public Transportation Trust Fund (PTTF) in 2018. However, the law did not provide an initial appropriation or a dedicated funding source. If funded, the PTTF could allow for increased federal investment that requires non-federal matching dollars.

Next year, Alabama has an opportunity to advance public transportation by investing $20 million from its remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds into the PTTF. This move would empower the state to improve quality of life for everyone through expanded, reliable public transportation.

Voting rights

One shameful legacy of Alabama’s white supremacist history is a voting rights structure hostile to democratic participation, especially for people of color. Our state still creates and preserves barriers that prevent otherwise qualified citizens from voting. One example was Alabama’s 2015 attempt to close driver’s license offices in the Black Belt soon after passage of a strict photo ID voting requirement.

Arise seeks to remove systematic barriers to democracy by creating automatic voter registration (AVR) and ending the modern poll tax of forcing some formerly incarcerated people to pay all fines and fees before regaining voting rights. AVR would save the state millions of dollars and would likely increase turnout rates significantly. For example, Georgia’s turnout rate increased more than 10% after implementing AVR.

The 2022 regular session saw some modest progress toward greater voter access. A bill improving the voting rights restoration process passed the Senate but not the House.

But alarmingly, lawmakers also introduced many bills that threatened to limit voting rights and voter participation. Unfortunately, one of them (HB 194) became law over fierce opposition. This act, still unclear in its application, could chill get-out-the-vote efforts by nonprofits and community groups. We expect to see more bills next year, fueled by false narratives about the 2020 election, that would harm many Alabamians’ ability to vote.

Compiled by Rebecca Howard, policy and advocacy director, and Mike Nicholson, policy analyst

Welcome to Arise, Jacob!

Jacob Smith joined Arise in May as the development director. In his role, he ensures the

organization’s financial stability by overseeing corporate and foundation relationship management and individual giving and membership. Jacob has more than a decade of nonprofit experience in fundraising and program management. Jacob previously served as the senior director, philanthropy and research at Women’s Foundation of Alabama and as assistant director of development at YWCA Central Alabama.

We’re hiring!

Arise policy and advocacy director Rebecca Howard has accepted a staff position in the U.S. Senate. We’re seeking a new policy and advocacy director to continue our work for dignity, equity and justice for Alabamians who are marginalized by poverty.

The ideal candidate will be an experienced manager and public policy advocate who is passionate about justice, opportunity and racial equity. Visit alarise.org/about/employment for more details on the position and information on how to apply. Applications will be accepted until Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, at 11:59 p.m. CDT.

Highs and lows: Alabama Arise’s look back at the 2022 regular session

By Rebecca Howard, policy and advocacy director

The Alabama Legislature’s 2022 regular session adjourned sine die on April 7. Lawmakers capped off the session’s last week with intense debates and late nights, with the final gavel dropping just before midnight.

Alabama Arise is grateful for the many positive outcomes that came out of the State House this year. We also were glad to play a role in stopping several misguided pieces of legislation from becoming law. These wins wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Arise’s determined members and various coalition partners.

We were not able to get every good bill across the finish line or stop every harmful legislative effort from happening. But Arise saw real progress on several important issue priorities this year. Keep reading for recaps on some of the key bills we supported or opposed in 2022. Then visit our Bills of Interest page for updates on all of the legislation we tracked.

Adequate state budgets

Alabama’s fiscal year 2023 General Fund and Education Trust Fund budgets are both among the largest in state history. The General Fund budget of $2.7 billion includes a provision to extend Medicaid postpartum coverage from 60 days to 12 months, which will help reduce maternal mortality and improve health outcomes for more than 30,000 women. Rep. Laura Hall, D-Huntsville, has been a longtime legislative champion for postpartum Medicaid extension.

The Education Trust Fund budget of $8.2 billion will provide a major boost in teacher pay. The increases will range from 4% all the way to 21% depending on seniority.

SB 140, sponsored by Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston, did not pass this session. The bill would have allowed the diversion of hundreds of millions of dollars from public schools to private schools. Arise opposed this effort.

SB 261, sponsored by Sen. Dan Roberts, R-Mountain Brook, passed out of both chambers. This bill will increase the income tax credit filers can claim for contributions to scholarship granting organizations for private schools. Arise opposed this effort.

Tax reform

HB 163 and SB 19, sponsored by Rep. Lynn Greer, R-Rogersville, and Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, passed out of both chambers. This legislation will increase the standard deduction and dependent exemption. That change will provide a small but significant income tax cut for low- and moderate-income Alabamians. Arise supported this effort.

SB 43, sponsored by Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Centre, did not pass this session. The bills would have repealed the state’s 4% grocery tax and capped the state deduction for federal income taxes. Despite strong bipartisan leadership from Jones and Rep. Penni McClammy, D-Montgomery, the plan did not come up for committee consideration.

Arise strongly supported efforts to end the state grocery tax. This included dozens of members gathering for an Untax Groceries Rally at the State House in Montgomery on March 15. The rally was Arise’s first major in-person event since February 2020.

Voting rights

HB 53 and SB 6, sponsored by Rep. Laura Hall, D-Huntsville, and Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, passed the Senate but did not advance to the House floor. The bills would have eliminated application requirements for voting rights restoration. They also would have restored the right to vote for many indigent individuals. Arise supported this effort.

HB 63, sponsored by Rep. Debbie Wood, R-Valley, did not pass this session. The bill would have criminalized the prefilling of any voter application or absentee ballot application. Arise opposed this effort.

Hall’s HB 167 failed to pass this session. This legislation would allow inmate identification cards to be used as valid ID for voting. Arise supported this effort.

HB 194, introduced by Rep. Wes Allen, R-Troy, passed out of both chambers. The bill will prohibit state and local election officials from soliciting, accepting or using donations for election-related expenses. Arise opposed this effort.

Criminal justice reform

HB 52, sponsored by Rep. Jim Hill, R-Moody, passed out of both chambers. This bill will allow judges to use discretion in the length of someone’s sentence if their probation is revoked. Arise supported this effort.

HB 95, sponsored by Rep. Jeremy Gray, D-Opelika, passed out of both chambers. The bill will create a 180-day grace period for people to repay court-imposed fines and fees following release from incarceration. Arise supported this effort.

SB 203, sponsored by Orr, passed out of both chambers. This bill will require the Administrative Office of Courts to establish a database of municipal fines and fees. Arise supported this effort.

HB 230, sponsored by Rep. Rolanda Hollis, D-Birmingham, passed out of both chambers. This bill will ban the routine shackling of incarcerated individuals during pregnancy, delivery and immediate postpartum time. Arise supported this effort.

HB 200 and SB 117, sponsored by Rep. Merika Coleman, D-Birmingham, and Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Montgomery, failed to pass this session. The bills would have ended driver’s license suspensions for failure to pay fines and fees. Arise supported this effort.

SB 220, sponsored by Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, failed to pass this session. The bill would have required that time served awaiting a hearing for parole violation be applied retroactively. Arise supported this effort.

HB 2, sponsored by Rep. Allen Treadaway, R-Morris, did not pass this session. This anti-protest bill would have created minimum holding periods for people accused of the crimes of rioting or interfering with traffic. It also would have penalized certain local jurisdictions that reduce funding for law enforcement. Arise opposed this effort.

Hill’s HB 55 failed to pass this session. The bill would have required every judicial circuit to establish a community corrections program. Arise supported this effort.

Unemployment insurance benefits

Orr’s SB 224 passed out of both chambers. This bill will impose additional job search requirements as a condition of eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits.

Specifically, the bill will require individuals to show a “reasonable and active effort” to find work by providing proof every week that they have contacted at least three prospective employers. Unless a new job notice has been posted, a job seeker cannot apply for or seek work at an employer where they already made contact. Arise opposed this effort.

Food security

Orr’s SB 156 did not pass this session. The bill would have required both custodial and non-custodial parents to cooperate with child support enforcement to qualify for SNAP food assistance. Arise opposed this effort.

‘Divisive concepts’

HB 312 and SB 292, sponsored by Rep. Ed Oliver, R-Dadeville, and Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Montgomery, did not pass this session. The bills would have prohibited the teaching of “divisive concepts” related to race, religion and sex in public K-12 schools, colleges, universities and certain state training programs. Arise opposed this effort.

Join us online for Town Hall Tuesdays!

By Presdelane Harris, organizing director

Listening is key to shaping and advancing public policies that matter most to those marginalized by bad policies. Alabama Arise depends on what we hear to help guide our work toward our vision of a better Alabama for all.

Our online Town Hall Tuesdays will return once again this year. These events are a chance to hear issue updates and share your vision for our 2023 priorities.

Please join us this summer to help identify emerging issues and inform our actions. Visit al-arise.local/2022townhalltuesdays to register (required) for any or all of the sessions. These virtual events will begin at 6 p.m. on July 12, July 26 and Aug. 9.

Annual meeting: Save the date

Mark your calendars for the Arise annual meeting on Saturday, Sept. 24.

Member groups can submit 2023 issue proposals by Aug. 5. More details about the meeting and issue proposal process are coming soon.

Summer food service programs need to be preserved

By Carol Gundlach, senior policy analyst, and Celida Soto Garcia, hunger policy advocate

The COVID-19 pandemic added to the hunger challenges already facing many Alabamians. In response came a wave of federal flexibilities and waivers for the nation’s programs that feed children. As a result, many Alabama students have received nutritious, often free meals with fewer administrative barriers.

However, many of these child nutrition waivers could be coming to an end soon ‒ unless state officials and concerned Alabamians act quickly.

For the past two summers, the Summer Food Service Program’s flexibilities have included permitting non-congregate meal service. This allows parents, guardians or children to take meals from the pickup site. It also allows meal provision for multiple days at once.

But unless the Alabama State Department of Education requests an extension, these flexibilities will end June 30. That would be in the middle of summer food service, causing undue stress and confusion to students, educators and families. Alabama Arise and other partners in the Hunger-Free Alabama coalition sent a letter to state school Superintendent Eric Mackey urging him to ask the U.S. Department of Agriculture for an extension for the rest of summer. Read the full letter at al-arise.local/summerfoodletter.

The continued push for community eligibility

As we continue pushing for extended flexibility, it is important to keep building support for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). This option allows more than 450 high-poverty schools across Alabama to offer breakfast and lunch at no charge to all students. Arise members should contact their local school superintendents and urge them to opt into CEP if they haven’t already. Parents and guardians can take an extra step by submitting their school meal application to the appropriate school district.

Food insecurity is a challenge for 16.1% of Alabamians, including 20.4% of Alabama’s children, according to 2021 projections from Feeding America. These numbers are unacceptable and should not increase further because of preventable deadlines. Arise will continue to work proactively with local, state and national partners to expand food access across the state.

A life-saving move: Alabama extends postpartum Medicaid coverage

By Jane Adams, Cover Alabama campaign director

Alabama is on its way to reducing maternal mortality and improving health for families across the state ‒ but we can’t stop here.

Lawmakers and Gov. Kay Ivey last month enacted a budget that extends postpartum Medicaid coverage to a full year after childbirth. That is up from the previous cutoff of only 60 days after birth. Alabama Arise and other members of the Cover Alabama Coalition will continue to work with the governor’s administration and legislators to ensure this program is sustainable and permanent.

Alabama has the nation’s third-worst maternal death rate. Each year, nearly 40 new mothers in the state die within one year after delivery. The toll on Black mothers is nearly three times that of white moms.

Research shows that outcomes improve when moms have access to high-quality, equitable and uninterrupted care. Extending the Medicaid postpartum coverage period is a big step to save lives and improve the health and well-being of families, communities and the entire state.

The work that remains

This is an exciting win, but we know that one year of coverage is, ultimately, not enough. And we know the solution: The most effective way to reduce maternal deaths is to make sure people giving birth have access to care before, during and after pregnancy. We need full Medicaid expansion, and we won’t stop until we get it.

Medicaid restrictions are not affecting only new parents. More than 220,000 Alabamians are caught in our health coverage gap, earning too much to qualify for Medicaid and too little to afford private insurance. And another 120,000 are stretching to pay for coverage they cannot afford. Expanding Medicaid would give these Alabamians the health care that they need to survive and deserve to thrive.

By working together, postpartum Medicaid extension will be only the first of many wins toward creating a more equitable state health care system. It’s been a long fight, but I know we can do this.

Community-driven ideas can improve health outcomes

By Presdelane Harris, organizing director

Imagine a world where the people most harmed by hunger and food insecurity exercise their power to propose their own solutions to address this social determinant of health.

What might happen if health care systems were responsive to those solutions? And what if a group of dedicated community leaders, organizations and civic groups rallied together to implement those solutions? That’s what Alabama Arise and our partners resolved to find out near the Gulf Coast.

In Mobile and Baldwin counties, 55% of people live in food deserts. These are defined as Census tracts with low or no access to healthy foods. So after convening more than 100 community members and their families for a series of listening sessions, our grassroots partners from Mobile’s Trinity Gardens neighborhood proposed launching a “produce prescription” project to benefit regional Medicaid participants. Thanks to community organizing, mobilization and partnership, their dream is becoming a reality.

Once a month, participants receive a box of fresh produce as part of a Produce Prescription Program developed by our partners at the American Heart Association and staffed by community partners and volunteers. The Heart Association’s data has shown that where this program has been implemented, participants experience measurable health improvements. Organizing and advocacy for community-based solutions improves health outcomes.

Arise continues to work with community leaders and partners to urge Medicaid to fund more community-led projects. When we facilitate getting resources to communities, they become hubs for equity and innovation. Community-driven ideas can help shape programs that improve overall health outcomes.

To learn more about this program and how you can help, email me at pres@alarise.org.

Alabama needs to invest in its people

By Robyn Hyden, executive director

Do you know how hard it is to pass just one bill in the Alabama Legislature? We often measure progress on our issue priorities over periods of four-year quadrenniums, or even decades. So it’s remarkable that during the 2022 regular session, Arise members helped pass numerous priority bills on everything from equitable tax reforms and adequate state budgets to criminal justice reforms.

Still, many of our lawmakers do not share our vision for a truly inclusive economic recovery. When it comes to spending the remaining $1 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funds to build a lifeboat for all Alabamians hit hard by COVID-19, it’s our job to help them see the vision. As we look ahead to another special session on ARPA funds, we’re working to tell lawmakers what you all know to be true: Investments in our people, our most valuable resource, are what matter most.

Check out our ARPA advocacy resources at al-arise.local/arpatoolkit. And tell your lawmakers now that you expect them to use this opportunity to address longstanding human needs.

Donate today to keep momentum going!

By McKenzie Burton, development associate

Because of your support, we made some important gains during this legislative session that will benefit Alabamians with low incomes. But we know we still have a long way to go. Will you donate today to keep up this momentum toward a more equitable Alabama?

Over the course of the session, we built more bipartisan support for untaxing groceries than ever before. We successfully extended postpartum Medicaid coverage from 60 days to a full year. And we stopped harmful legislation that would have made it more difficult for single parents to receive SNAP food assistance.

We know that with continued, concerted effort, we can expand SNAP benefits for people who need it. We can end the tax on groceries once and for all to make food more affordable for all Alabamians. And we can finally expand Medicaid statewide.

Will you join Alabama Arise or renew your membership to support our year-round advocacy and organizing efforts? Together, we can make a difference in the lives of people with low incomes across our state. You can donate online today, or send a check to P.O. Box 1188, Montgomery, AL 36101.

Welcome, Formeeca and Jennifer!

Alabama Arise continued to expand its staff this year, and we are happy to welcome both Formeeca Tripp and Jennifer Harris to the team!

Formeeca Tripp joined Arise as our southeast Alabama organizer in April. She has served as a community health worker addressing health disparities and providing free COVID-19 testing and vaccine sign-ups at mobile sites and clinics throughout southeast and east-central Alabama. She also served as an intervention/behavior specialist for the Alabama Council on Human Relations, advocating for children, families and education staff.

Formeeca is originally from Syracuse, N.Y., and has lived in Auburn for more than 12 years. She is a single mother of two children, one of whom has autism. Formeeca is pursuing her undergraduate degree in social work at Auburn University. She is set to graduate in December 2022 and will be the first in her family ever to receive an undergraduate degree.

Jennifer Harris joined Arise in April as our health policy advocate. Born and raised in Alabama, she is a two-time graduate of the University of Alabama, where she earned her J.D. and B.S.W. Jennifer has worked her entire career in advocacy and nonprofit administration.

Most recently, she was the executive director of the Sickle Cell Association – West Alabama Chapter Inc. Jennifer previously worked as a social worker trainer/recruiter for prospective foster and adoptive parents and was the executive director of Shoals CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) in Florence.

Other staff moves

Arise also recently had two other staff members take on new and expanded roles. Dev Wakeley is now Arise’s worker policy advocate, after serving as a policy analyst since 2018. Mike Nicholson is now a policy analyst after serving as our southeast Alabama organizer since 2018.

Speaking out at our Untax Groceries Rally

Alabama Arise held a rally at the Alabama State House on March 15 to urge lawmakers to untax groceries. We were grateful that more than 50 Arise supporters came to Montgomery to speak out. We also appreciated hearing from two legislative champions of untaxing groceries: Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Centre, and Rep. Penni McClammy, D-Montgomery.

Photo captions: Rep. Penni McClammy, D-Montgomery, and Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Centre, spoke on the importance of removing the state sales tax on groceries in Alabama. And Arise members brought a variety of creative signs to show their support for untaxing groceries. Thank you to Jill Friedman for taking photos during the rally!

Grocery tax, health care key Arise focuses this year

By Chris Sanders, communications director

Untax groceries. Expand health coverage. Make the criminal justice system more just. Those are a few of Alabama Arise’s major priorities during the Legislature’s 2022 regular session. And we’re making real progress toward turning those goals into realities.

Untaxing groceries

Ending the state’s regressive sales tax on groceries has been a longtime Arise priority. It was the centerpiece of Alabama Arise Action’s online Legislative Day on Feb. 15, which attracted nearly 200 advocates from across the state. It also will be the focus of a March 15 rally in Montgomery.

Legislative Day attendees heard from two lawmakers working to untax groceries: Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Centre, and Rep. Penni McClammy, D-Montgomery. Jones’ and McClammy’s bills reflect growing support for untaxing groceries while protecting funding for public schools.

McClammy said the grocery tax is a policy concern that transcends political lines. “It’s important that we stand together united as one and show the citizens that we all care about what’s going on in our homes,” she said.

Jones expressed optimism that lawmakers are nearing a breakthrough on the grocery tax. “This is not a partisan issue,” he said. “Montgomery is not Washington, D.C., so we get a lot of bipartisan work done here.”

Expanding health coverage

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored a cruel fact: Hundreds of thousands of Alabamians can’t afford the health care they need. Gov. Kay Ivey can remove that financial barrier by expanding Medicaid to cover nearly 300,000 adults with low incomes. Arise and our Cover Alabama campaign are working hard to make that happen.

Public support for Medicaid expansion is strong and growing. More than seven in 10 Alabamians support expansion, according to a statewide Arise poll conducted in January. Expansion would create more than 20,000 jobs and save the state almost $400 million annually, a recent report estimated.

Extending Alabama Medicaid’s postpartum coverage to one year (up from the current 60 days) is another key goal this year. Nearly 70% of Alabama’s maternal deaths in 2016 were preventable, one study found. That’s why Arise is working hard to ensure legislators fund this life-saving coverage extension in the General Fund budget.

Advancing justice

Numerous reforms of Alabama’s criminal justice system are moving in the Legislature this year. Arise supports two bills – HB 200 by Rep. Merika Coleman, D-Birmingham, and SB 117 by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Montgomery – to end driver’s license suspensions for failure to pay fines and fees. Arise also backs HB 57 by Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, and SB 215 by Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, which would increase transparency in parole decisions.

Together, we can make a difference. Subscribe to our email list for timely alerts on these bills and others. And visit the Bills of Interest page to track legislation throughout the year.

Join us for the Untax Groceries Rally on March 15!

By Matt Okarmus, communications associate

Join Arise in Montgomery to tell lawmakers that now is the time to untax groceries! We can’t miss this opportunity to help families make ends meet.

The Untax Groceries Rally will be from noon to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15. We will gather outside the State House steps. In the case of inclement weather, we have a backup plan for those who feel safe to gather inside.

Visit untaxgroceries.org today to register for the event. Please note that we will observe COVID-19 safety precautions should we gather indoors. Masks will be required for rally participation.

We see you, Alabama, and we’re with you

By Robyn Hyden, executive director

As I think about each of you receiving and reading these updates, in the midst of a hectic and uncertain time, I’m amazed by the strength and resilience of the people like you who make up Arise’s membership and our community.

The single parent who has been holding it together during COVID-19 child care closures and home schooling, all while trying to keep their family safe.

The college student who isn’t sure what the future holds but just wants to make the world a better place.

The full-time essential worker who goes home and works a second shift as a community organizer, caregiver or volunteer, keeping the threads of society woven together.

The person living with disability or mental illness, struggling to find dignity, care and inclusion.

I see you. Alabamians. United in our belief that our state can be better. We’ll make it happen together.

Untaxing groceries is the right path for Alabama

By Carol Gundlach, senior policy analyst

Alabama’s sales tax on groceries is a cruel tax on survival, particularly in times of economic insecurity. It increases hunger rates and drives struggling Alabamians deeper into poverty.

Three bills in the 2022 regular session – SB 43 by Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Centre; HB 173 by Rep. Mike Holmes, R-Wetumpka; and a forthcoming bill by Rep. Penni McClammy, D-Montgomery – would end the state grocery tax while protecting funding for public schools.

Why and how to end the state grocery tax in Alabama

Alabama lawmakers have a real opportunity this year to untax groceries responsibly. Here’s why it needs to happen this year – and how the state can do it:

• Alabama is one of only three states with no tax break on groceries.
• The state grocery tax is 4%, equal to two weeks’ worth of groceries each year.
• Alabama can untax groceries and protect education funding by limiting its state income tax deduction for federal income taxes (FIT). The FIT deduction is a skewed tax loophole that overwhelmingly benefits rich households.

All three bills would end the state grocery tax and protect education funding by capping the FIT deduction for individuals. McClammy’s bill also would remove the state sales tax on over-the-counter medicines. All of the bills would require voter approval of a constitutional amendment. The graph below shows how millions of Alabamians would benefit.

Under SB 43 and HB 173, the FIT deduction cap for Alabamians who file as single, head of household or married filing separately would be $4,000 annually. For married couples filing jointly, the limit would be $8,000 a year. Under McClammy’s bill, those annual caps would be $3,500 and $7,000, respectively.

Both sales tax revenue and individual income tax revenue go to the Education Trust Fund. By capping the FIT deduction, these bills would allow Alabama to untax groceries without cutting school funding. This plan would be a significant tax cut for nearly all Alabamians, and the largest benefit would go to people with low and middle incomes who need it most. The Legislature should pass this proposal this year and send it to voters for final approval.

Bottom line

Untaxing groceries quickly and responsibly would boost economic and food security for all Alabamians. By ending the state grocery tax and capping the FIT loophole, lawmakers could protect funding for public schools and make life better for families across our state.

You are the strong force behind Arise’s advocacy

By McKenzie Burton, development associate

Your support holds lawmakers accountable during this legislative session. Will you donate to Alabama Arise today?

Right now in Montgomery, elected officials from across Alabama are proposing laws that would infringe on our constitutional right to protest, limit our children’s access to a quality, well-rounded education and increase barriers to receiving unemployment insurance benefits, even as the pandemic rages on.

There is so much at stake. But our members are the strong force behind our sustained advocacy at the State House – and we are already seeing progress. Lawmakers are willing to hear our concerns, and we need your help to ensure they listen. Your donation will strengthen our calls to stop this harmful legislation and pass laws that ensure all Alabamians have the opportunity to live happy and productive lives.

Will you join or renew your Arise membership today to demand our elected officials promote fair policies to alleviate poverty?

Together, we can make a difference in the lives of our children and neighbors. You can donate online at al-arise.local/donate, or send a check to P.O. Box 1188, Montgomery, AL 36101.

Welcome, Rebecca!

Rebecca Howard joined Arise as our new policy and advocacy director in January. She is an Alabama native who grew up in Alexander City. She earned a B.A. in political science from the University of Alabama and an M.A. in European public policy from King’s College London. Before joining Arise, Rebecca worked for former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, serving as his legislative policy adviser on education and agriculture policy, among other issues. She most recently worked as a federal policy adviser at the Learning Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., where she worked on teacher shortages, early childhood education and school discipline issues.

Special sessions set stage for fast-paced 2022 regular session

By Dev Wakeley, policy analyst

The Alabama Legislature’s two special sessions this fall brought mixed results on Alabama Arise issue priorities. Lawmakers improved the state’s post-incarceration reentry policies in the first special session in September. And in the second session, which ended in November, they allocated $80 million of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for costs related to COVID-19. Hospitals and nursing homes will split that amount.

But the first session ended with a misguided appropriation of $400 million – nearly a fifth of Alabama’s ARPA money – toward prison construction. And the second session saw a rush to pass bills that will slow COVID-19 vaccinations in a state with one of the nation’s lowest vaccination rates.

The second session’s primary purpose was to draw new districts for the Legislature, U.S. House and state school board. Lawmakers approved maps after little debate, in part because they understand litigation is nearly certain. Concerns about diluting Black voters’ power will be a major aspect of those suits.

Federal funds to be major topic in 2022 session

Next up is the 2022 regular session, beginning Jan. 11. One pressing issue the state faces is ensuring equitable, transformative use of federal funds. That includes remaining ARPA money, plus funds from the infrastructure package and potentially the Build Back Better (BBB) Act. The U.S. House passed BBB in November, and the Senate may vote on it later this month.

That money could advance several Arise issue priorities. Public transportation, Medicaid expansion and adequate emergency relief for people facing eviction are a few ways those funds could improve life for every Alabamian.

Alabama also faces a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit over atrocious conditions in the state’s broken prison system. Arise will advocate for expanded safe releases for older and severely ill people, alongside sentencing and death penalty reforms. And we will continue beating back attacks on voting and democratic participation.

Legislators’ desire to hit the campaign trail means this session likely will be fast-paced. Advocates must act quickly to move policy decisions toward an Alabama that works for everyone.

Arise unveils members’ 2022 roadmap for change

By Chris Sanders, communications director

Nearly 300 Alabama Arise members selected our 2022 legislative agenda following our online annual meeting on Sept. 25. The seven issues chosen were:

• Tax reform
• Adequate budgets for human services
• Voting rights
• Criminal justice reform
• Death penalty reform
• Payday and title lending reform
• Public transportation

Arise will work hard to advance positive change on these priorities throughout the Legislature’s 2022 regular session, which will begin Jan. 11. One key advocacy opportunity will be Arise Legislative Day on Feb. 15 at the State House in Montgomery. We plan to offer both in-person and virtual participation opportunities for our members. See the graphic below or click here for more on our 2022 agenda. And watch your email for further details on Legislative Day.

A year to strengthen our communities

By Robyn Hyden, executive director

We can’t even begin to summarize all the momentous federal policy advances realized in 2021 in one newsletter. This year brought passage of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the infrastructure package. It brought expansion of the Child Tax Credit. And we hope it will bring the forthcoming passage of the Build Back Better (BBB) Act. That means 2022 will be a year of working diligently to advocate for fair, equitable implementation of these new investments in Alabama.

ARPA provided millions of new dollars in incentive funding to support Medicaid expansion. It also provided $2.1 billion for state COVID-19 relief and $1.9 billion for local governments. Check out our ARPA toolkit for resources to ensure ARPA funding goes to the priorities we all share to strengthen our communities.

If the Senate passes BBB this month, we anticipate more than 220,000 Alabamians gaining immediate access to no-cost health insurance via healthcare.gov for the next three years. Then the work of enrollment will begin! It’s not a permanent solution to our state’s health care coverage gap, but it would be a major step forward for Alabamians with low incomes. Stay tuned for alerts and ways you can support – and celebrate! – when the time comes.

Arise keeps up advocacy to prevent evictions

By Dev Wakeley, policy analyst

Emergency rental assistance programs are falling short in Alabama even as tens of thousands of renters remain at risk of eviction. The Alabama Housing Finance Authority (AHFA) has received more than 70,000 applications for federal rental assistance. But fewer than 4,000 households had been helped as of Oct. 31. The AHFA has distributed only about 17% of the state’s federal rental aid dollars.

Horne LLP, the AHFA’s third-party application processor, stated on Sept. 24 that bank account verification was the only step necessary to bring Alabama’s number of assisted households from 3,300 to more than 10,000. But the delays have continued. Problems have plagued the state since the AHFA signed its no-bid contract with Horne. As of Sept. 24, the company had received more than $2 million for administration while paying out less than $20 million in assistance.

Alabama’s statewide payout rates lag significantly behind neighboring states. Alabama Arise and partner groups are building public and legislative pressure on the AHFA to speed fund distribution. We have driven news coverage on the issue, and we testified at a legislative oversight hearing in September.

Several local ERA programs have performed much better than the statewide program. Jefferson and Mobile counties have done particularly well, distributing more than 80% of their available funds. AHFA distribution also increased significantly in October after a troubling slowdown in September. These increases must continue to reduce the application backlog ‒ and to keep Alabamians housed during a pandemic winter.

Funding boosts bring opportunity to invest in Alabama’s future

By Carol Gundlach, policy analyst

Alabama’s broken tax system usually starves our state of money to fund basic responsibilities adequately. But 2022 may be different. Record tax revenues and a surge of federal recovery dollars could allow lawmakers to address longstanding state needs and inequities – if they have the political courage.

State revenues that pay for our schools, including income taxes earmarked for teacher salaries, went up 16% in 2021, according to the Legislative Services Agency. Internet sales taxes and other revenues for non-education programs grew more than 11% in 2021. Alabama also has received federal funds under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to aid recovery from the COVID-19 recession. Alabama has $580 million remaining in 2021 ARPA funds, plus another $1.06 billion coming in 2022.

Coming fast behind ARPA are federal infrastructure dollars for roads, bridges and public transportation. And if the U.S. Senate passes it, the Build Back Better Act will include new funds for child care, health care and senior services.

Transformative changes for a better Alabama

Legislators already have begun talking about how to spend this money. Alabama Arise believes wise use of these funds can make Alabama a better place for generations to come. Many of our recommendations are in our statement of principles for spending recovery dollars. A few key Arise recommendations include:

• Untax groceries. Tax cuts should help struggling Alabamians who already pay a disproportionate share of state taxes. Ending the state grocery tax is a good place to start.
• Expand Medicaid. Federal recovery dollars can help free up state money for Medicaid expansion. This would save hundreds of lives and ensure affordable health coverage for more than 340,000 Alabamians every year.
• Make the criminal justice system more just. Legislators just made a misguided decision to spend $400 million of ARPA money on new prison construction. They now should invest in meaningful policy changes like sentencing reform and other alternatives to incarceration.

Alabama lawmakers have a chance to make far-reaching and lasting changes in 2022. Arise and our members will work hard to ensure they seize this opportunity.

Join Alabama Arise today!

By Amber Haywood, development director

This year, Alabama Arise deepened our commitment to ensuring we center those most impacted by poverty as we forge a new path toward a more equitable Alabama. This means we must be intentional about expanding the demographics of our membership base to be more reflective of the populations we serve.

On Giving Tuesday (Nov. 30), we launched a gift membership campaign to realize this vision. We were blown away by our members’ generosity. Together, we raised more than 1,200 gift memberships to bring in more young people, people of color and people with low incomes.

As you know, so much is at stake for families with low incomes in Alabama. But these challenges are not insurmountable. When we come together across lines of difference to demand fair and just policies for all Alabamians, we can hold our lawmakers accountable. It means we can make a difference, together.

I hope you will consider renewing your membership today. Your contribution makes you eligible to vote during our annual meeting, where members choose our issue priorities. But more importantly, your gift allows us to sustain our efforts to promote better policies to alleviate poverty.

One of Arise’s generous partners will match all new or increased gifts, DOUBLING your impact this year. Please donate today to join or renew your membership!

Welcome to Arise, McKenzie!

McKenzie Burton joined Arise as a development associate in October. She has a background in electoral campaigns at many levels, where she worked to develop and implement grassroots field strategies. Before then, she worked in youth ministry and outreach in the Episcopal Church. McKenzie graduated high school in Birmingham and has a dual B.A. from the University of Georgia in history and women’s studies.

We’re still growing! Alabama Arise is preparing to hire both a health policy advocate and a Southeast Alabama organizer. Visit our employment page in the coming days to learn more and apply.

Veterans to Ivey: Cover Alabama!

Nearly 150 Alabama veterans wrote to Gov. Kay Ivey and legislators in November urging them to expand Medicaid. Closing the state’s coverage gap would ensure affordable health care for about 5,000 veterans and 8,000 family members. The joint letter is part of Alabama Arise’s Cover Alabama campaign. Read it at coveralabama.org/veterans-health.

Special session(s) ahead? How Arise is preparing

By Chris Sanders, communications director

Alabama Arise’s work for equity, justice and opportunity persisted after the Legislature’s regular session ended. We’ll renew our commitment to those principles when Arise members choose 2022 issue priorities after the Sept. 25 annual meeting. And we’ll keep up the drumbeat when lawmakers return later this year for one or more potential special sessions.

A decades-long humanitarian crisis, Alabama’s overcrowded and antiquated corrections system may prompt a special session this fall. Gov. Kay Ivey and many legislators hope to build and renovate multiple prisons. Alabama may seek federal permission to use COVID-19 relief money for those purposes.

Arise believes meaningful sentencing reforms should accompany any plan for new prisons. Repeal of the outdated Habitual Felony Offender Act would be one long-term step to reduce overcrowding. Parole reform and stronger investments in community corrections and reentry supports would help as well. Arise will advocate for these policy changes and others during any prison-related special session.

Redistricting is another likely focus of a special session. Legislators will use new Census data to draw new districts for the Legislature, state school board and U.S. House. Arise urges members to participate in public hearings that the Joint Reapportionment Committee will hold across Alabama this month. Click here for more information and a full schedule.

Arise will continue advocacy on federal funds, too. We’ll support efforts to make recent Child Tax Credit improvements permanent. We’ll urge legislators to use federal relief money for Medicaid expansion, public transportation and other long-term investments. And we’ll seek to build on an August federal rule change that permanently boosted Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

Big wins in the policy margins

By Robyn Hyden, executive director

Unlike legislative advocacy, administrative advocacy is an aspect of Alabama Arise’s work we don’t talk about often. Yet that’s where some of our biggest policy wins happen.

State agencies and leaders can accomplish some important policy changes via rule changes. Sometimes legislators pass policies with good intentions, but administrative barriers and red tape stop them from being fully effective. Our members and constituents often help identify barriers to remove.

Given the nature of Alabama politics, it’s strategically important at times to keep some changes under the radar. But in recent years, administrative action has led to big steps forward on some top Arise priorities:

• Streamlining the process to access Medicaid, SNAP food assistance and TANF income assistance.
• Creating more openings for Medicaid home- and community-based long-term care services.
• Expanding the emergency flexibility of Medicaid and SNAP to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic via emergency waivers, and expanding the types of support available to TANF participants.
• Stopping onerous Medicaid work penalty proposals.
• Advocating for transparency and equitable distribution of federal COVID-19 relief funding.

As we see new opportunities to expand and shore up the social safety net this year, a portion of our policy advocacy work will continue to be this type of behind-the-scenes administrative analysis and advocacy.

One example we’re working on now: pushing the Alabama Housing Finance Authority to distribute federal rental assistance more quickly. We’re also working with local advocates to streamline how city and county aid gets out into communities.

If you see a way programs aren’t being implemented effectively in your community, let us know! We’re continuing to expand our ability to track and support this type of advocacy. And we’re looking for new ways to engage more directly impacted people in our feedback to state agencies and decision-makers.

Things to know for our annual meeting

When:
Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, 9:30 a.m. to noon

Where:
Online via Zoom. There is no cost to attend, though donations are welcome. To get the link, register at al-arise.local/annualmeeting2021.

Voting rules:
Member groups may cast up to 42 votes for issue priorities. Before the annual meeting, groups may designate up to six representatives to get seven votes each. Individual members get five votes each. (A person can vote as an individual or as a member group’s representative, but not both.)

Groups must be current on dues to be eligible to vote. Individual members must have given between July 1, 2020, and Aug. 26, 2021, to be eligible.

Voting for issue priorities will be conducted online. Members will present issue proposals during the meeting. (See summaries of proposed issues below.) Eligible voters will receive a link and instructions after the meeting. If Arise doesn’t have your email, you will receive a postcard with voting information.

For more information:
If you have questions or need to update your contact info or group voters, call 334-832-9060 or email info@alarise.org.

Permanent issue priorities

Tax reform

Alabama legislators failed to improve the state’s broken tax system during the 2021 regular session. Instead, they handed out large tax breaks to the wealthy with tax exemptions, a restructured corporate income tax formula and tax breaks for companies that received federal recovery loans and grants. To improve life for everyday Alabamians of all backgrounds and strengthen public services that benefit us all, the Legislature should:

• Eliminate the regressive state income tax deduction for federal income taxes. About 80% of the deduction’s benefits go to the top 20% of households.
• Reject future corporate tax cuts and adopt combined reporting to prevent corporate tax avoidance.
• Eliminate the state sales tax on groceries and replace that revenue through progressive income tax changes. Alabama is one of three states with no grocery tax break.
• Increase property taxes on large landowners and raise taxes on items like tobacco and vaping products.

Compiled by Carol Gundlach, policy analyst

Adequate state budgets

Alabama dodged a revenue crisis last year thanks to a strong beginning balance before the COVID-19 recession and strong internet tax collections during the pandemic. As a result, both the 2022 education and General Fund (GF) budgets managed to squeak through with anemic increases. But yet again, Alabama’s chronically inadequate budgets failed to make key investments in our future that could have helped the state weather the pandemic and recession with much less human suffering and fewer unmet needs.

Now Alabama legislators have begun preparing for one or more special sessions and the 2022 regular session. In doing so, they face some major challenges. The governor’s proposed prison construction plan has collapsed, and legislators will need to find money to replace or repair aging prisons and to invest seriously in alternatives to imprisonment. One of the more dubious places they’re looking for prison construction money is the $4 billion in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, which the Legislature must appropriate. Use of ARPA money for prison construction would require approval from the U.S. Department of Treasury. At nearly twice the size of the annual GF budget, the ARPA relief could be transformational for Alabama — but only if legislators take a strategic rather than expedient approach.

New pathways for Medicaid expansion

Medicaid — a frequent focus of legislative concern in the GF — continues to benefit from a 6.2-percentage-point boost in federal match during the pandemic. Alabama’s increase meant an additional $570 million this year, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimated.

Alabama Medicaid thus far has not applied those additional funds toward program services. Instead, the agency reduced its 2022 budget request by part of that amount, plus some savings resulting from pandemic-related shutdowns. That margin would have more than paid for the first year of Medicaid expansion. In total, COVID-19 relief funding includes incentives that would cover expansion for more than four years.

Compiled by Carol Gundlach, policy analyst, and Jim Carnes, policy director

New issue proposals

Increase Alabama Literacy Act funding

Submitted by Joanne Compton, Church Women United, Montgomery

Starting this year, the 2019 Alabama Literacy Act requires teachers to test students for reading proficiency twice each year through third grade and provide remedial support as necessary. Students who read below grade level by the end of summer after third grade will not be promoted to the fourth.

Church Women United, Montgomery, proposes an amendment to the Alabama Literacy Act to increase funding for impoverished school systems. Increased funding should allow under-resourced school systems to implement the act fully by hiring additional reading coaches and intervention teachers, providing resource materials for schools and parents, and providing for the recruitment of teachers, including incentives for teachers who agree to teach in impoverished school districts. This amendment to the Literacy Act is necessary for the children in these districts to meet the requirements for promotion. It also would give the community a better chance to get out of poverty because they will have a more educated population. The entire state would benefit from this change for the poorest counties in Alabama.

Ensuring equitable implementation

The change that Church Women United proposes is necessary to ensure the Alabama Literacy Act will be equitably implemented across the state. Many counties lack sufficient resources to meet this law’s requirements. If the state provides adequate funding to buttress the efforts of the teaching communities, then it will raise the literacy rate and create a better future for children.

The possible byproduct also could be that the guardians of these children may make up any literacy/education deficiencies that they may be experiencing themselves as they help their children improve their reading and comprehension skills.

We hope the amended act will pass in the 2022 session because children who are entering the third grade this school year will be impacted by potential retention, even though the resources that would help them are not available.

The amendment to the Literacy Act would promote equity by ensuring the state is not looking out only for more affluent school districts that already have the resources to implement the law successfully. The amendment also would help disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline.

Public transportation

Submitted by Helen Rivas, Unitarian Universalist Church of Birmingham

Funding public transportation through the Public Transportation Trust Fund would improve the quality of life for many Alabamians. It also would expand opportunity and improve connectivity across the state. Transit availability affects a wide range of Alabamians of diverse geographies, incomes and races. Many people, whether transit-dependent or not, have witnessed or experienced barriers posed by the state’s inadequate transit service.

For seniors, workers with low incomes and people with disabilities, the transit gap is a barrier to daily living. Many folks can’t get to work, school or the doctor’s office in a reasonable time. And during the pandemic, activity restrictions and business closures have reduced fare revenues nationwide. This increases the utility of a state appropriation that could draw up to $4 in federal grants for each $1 the state invests.

The Legislature created the Public Transportation Trust Fund in 2018, but the law did not allocate state money for the fund through a dedicated funding source or initial appropriation. Each $1 million in funding would create 24 to 41 high-wage, full-time jobs. Those jobs would fuel economic recovery and improve quality of life in our communities.

In the next few years, Alabama has a unique opportunity to advance public transportation via federal funds to help mitigate COVID-19’s impacts. This would allow the state to use funds to improve quality of life for everyone in the state through expanded, reliable public transportation.

Current issue priorities

Criminal justice reform

Court fees and fines impose heavy burdens on many struggling families. Driver’s license suspensions over unpaid fines can cause Alabamians with low incomes to lose their jobs. Draconian sentences keep many people in prison far beyond any bounds of proportionality or purpose. Cash bail for minor offenses can imperil families’ economic security. And multiple fees can stack up, making it impossible to move on from a conviction because consequences never end. In Alabama, people are subject to 63 separate fees in the criminal justice system – including a $1 fee for paying fee installments.

This year, Arise emphasized reforming civil asset forfeiture under the umbrella of criminal justice debt. The people of Alabama won a significant reform to asset forfeiture laws with the passage of SB 210, which reined in some of the practice’s worst abuses. But further reform is still necessary. Law enforcement agencies continue to have incentive to use forfeiture because they are often able to keep much of the seized property for their own use.

The state’s sentencing scheme also still needs systemic overhaul. Broad coalition efforts to reform the state’s sentencing structure, decouple financial payments from voting rights restoration, and institute other reforms that allow Alabamians to rebuild their lives after convictions continue. Arise has the opportunity to advance our core mission by pushing these reforms forward.

Death penalty reform

Alabama’s capital punishment system is unjust, unreliable and often racist. Our state hands down death sentences at nearly double the average national rate. Alabama is the only state that doesn’t fund legal aid to death row prisoners. And state laws offer insufficient safeguards against executing people who are mentally incapable of understanding their actions.

The death penalty often is implemented for reasons that have nothing to do with justice. In January, federal officials rushed to kill three people before the incoming administration could reinstitute a moratorium on federal executions. Justice shouldn’t depend on which federal administration is in power or whether state judges face election that year. Arbitrariness in death sentences is a longstanding failure of the criminal justice system.

Alabama is the last state sentencing people to death via non-unanimous jury sentences. Arise has supported a bill to remedy that injustice, as well as bills to create an execution moratorium and increase transparency in lethal injection procedures. And we back legislation to make retroactive the 2017 ban on judges overriding a jury’s life sentence recommendation.

Alabama’s death penalty practices reflect deep racial inequities. Before the judicial override ban, judges imposed death against a jury’s determination more often when victims were white. The state argued as recently as 2016 that it should be able to kill a prisoner even when a judge explicitly cited race at the sentencing hearing. Much work remains to modernize Alabama’s justice system and prevent unjust executions.

Payday and title lending reform

Every year, high-interest loans trap thousands of struggling Alabamians in a cycle of deep debt. Payday loans are short-term (usually two-week) loans charging high annual percentage rates (APRs), most commonly 456%. Auto title loans charge up to 300% APR and also carry the risk of repossession of the vehicle. Alabama also has no title loan database, leaving the extent of harm from these loans unknown.

These high-cost loans strip wealth from borrowers and hurt communities. Payday lenders are on track to pull approximately $1 billion in fees out of Alabama communities over the next decade, with most of that money flowing to out-of-state companies. Predatory lending practices disproportionately target people of color and exacerbate the economic challenges in struggling rural and urban areas.

Arise and partners have supported reforms for more than 15 years. Recent state-level efforts have run into well-financed lobbying to stall popular reforms, but the federal landscape has improved recently. The U.S. House voted in June to roll back a rule allowing payday lenders to use federal bank rules to avoid state interest caps. And in the U.S. Senate, the Veterans and Consumers Fair Credit Act would extend the Military Lending Act’s 36% rate cap to other consumers. Strong advocate engagement remains vital to overcome the lenders’ deep pockets.

Universal broadband access

Advocates for universal broadband access saw a major victory this year with passage of the Connect Alabama Act. The law creates the Alabama Digital Expansion Authority to oversee expansion of affordable high-speed internet services across all regions. This move comes just as federal COVID-19 relief funds are arriving to help address inequities revealed by the sudden switch to remote learning and work during the pandemic. This is a welcome start, but much work remains to ensure transparency, affordability and community engagement.

Broadband is especially difficult to deploy in rural areas. And it is not always available in urban neighborhoods with high concentrations of people living in poverty. These realities have prompted a growing number of communities to seek other options, such as launching fiber-to-the-home networks. However, many major commercial internet providers oppose local government involvement.

They have persuaded at least 20 states to prevent or discourage cities or towns from owning or operating high-speed networks.

• Building on the momentum of the Connect Alabama Act, policymakers should:
• Ensure all communities maintain the right to own, operate or deploy their own broadband network and services. Those networks should be allowed to expand to new areas.
• Support targeted and transparent state or local tax credits to promote broadband to underserved populations.
• Make affordability a primary requirement for expanded broadband services.

Voting rights

One shameful legacy of Alabama’s history of white supremacist policies is a voting rights structure hostile to democratic participation. The state still creates and preserves barriers that prevent otherwise qualified citizens from voting. One recent example was Alabama’s attempt to close driver’s license offices in the Black Belt soon after creating a photo ID requirement for voting.

Arise seeks to remove systematic barriers to democracy by creating automatic voter registration (AVR) and ending the modern poll tax of ordering people convicted of certain crimes to pay all fines and fees before regaining voting rights. AVR would save the state millions of dollars compared to registration by hand and likely would increase turnout rates significantly. (Georgia’s turnout rate increased more than 10% after implementing AVR.)

The 2021 regular session saw modest progress, as a bill to improve the rights restoration process passed the Senate. But passage came only after removal of a provision to end the fine repayment requirement, and the bill did not pass the House.

Many bills to restrict voting rights have been introduced recently as well. Over fierce opposition, the Legislature this year passed a bill prohibiting curbside voting, a practice that eases voting barriers for people with disabilities and older Alabamians. Anti-democratic bills passed in other states may be introduced in Alabama ahead of the 2022 elections, requiring advocates to mount a strong defense.

Compiled by Dev Wakeley, policy analyst, and Jim Carnes, policy director

Supreme Court overturns eviction moratorium; thousands in state at risk of homelessness

By Dev Wakeley, policy analyst

Tens of thousands of Alabamians are at risk of losing their homes after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) eviction moratorium on Aug. 27. This moratorium — the latest in a series at the state and federal level — would have allowed renters harmed by the COVID-19 recession more time to apply for and receive federal rental assistance funds through local agencies.

The moratorium’s end has increased the urgency for Alabama to ramp up distribution of that money. The state had distributed less than 3% of its federal rental assistance funds as of Aug. 30, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC).

In Baldwin County, a COVID-19 hot spot, 86% of vetted applicants have been determined eligible for assistance. But only 5.8% of total applicants have received money. More than 1,000 households in that county alone now face eviction if their funds do not arrive before the eviction cases are heard. Removing the moratorium will fuel a harmful, avoidable increase in evictions leading into winter. This decision will put thousands of Alabamians at risk of homelessness or force people into already-crowded shelters while the delta variant rages through the state.

The full resumption of the eviction crisis magnifies the need for Gov. Kay Ivey to renew state-level eviction protections like those she instituted in April 2020. Alabama Arise also has asked courts to direct renters and landlords to available rental assistance when a landlord files for eviction. These steps could prevent many evictions even if Congress and state authorities continue their failure to protect renters.

Resources for immediate assistance

To seek help paying rent, check Arise’s rental assistance resource guide or the NLIHC’s website at nlihc.org/rental-assistance to find the local agency serving your area. If your landlord serves you an eviction notice, call Legal Services Alabama at 866-456-4995. If you become homeless due to eviction or another reason, call 2-1-1 for shelter referral and rehousing assistance.

Welcome to Arise, Jilisa!

Jilisa Milton joined Arise in August as a State Policy Fellow through the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Jilisa graduated from the University of Alabama as the first person to complete its J.D./M.S.W. joint degree program. She is passionate about using her interdisciplinary background to ensure that policy and laws are equitable and intersectional. Jilisa has nearly a decade of experience working on issues such as anti-racism, criminal justice reform, critical race and feminist theory, mental health advocacy and reproductive justice.

We’re hiring!

Policy director Jim Carnes will retire later this year after 18 great years at Arise. That’s why we’re seeking a full-time policy and advocacy director to ensure our research, analysis, advocacy and legislative engagement remain as impactful as possible. The ideal candidate is an experienced manager and public policy advocate who is passionate about justice, opportunity and racial equity. Visit al-arise.local/about/employment to learn more. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Good news: The expanded Child Tax Credit is here!

The American Rescue Plan Act made the Child Tax Credit fully refundable and boosted the maximum from $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child. The law also increased the maximum for children under age 6 to $3,600. Overall, about 94% of Alabama’s children will benefit. Most households will receive half of the money through monthly payments from July through December.

Click here to learn more about these improvements – and the need for Congress to take action and make them permanent.

Arise, 40+ other groups urge Ivey to drive transformative change in Alabama with federal COVID-19 relief funds

By Chris Sanders, communications director

Alabama should build a more equitable and inclusive future by using federal COVID-19 relief money for transformational investments in public health and economic opportunity, according to a letter that 42 churches and organizations across the state sent to Gov. Kay Ivey in July. Alabama Arise is among the groups that co-signed the letter.

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) will provide Alabama $2.3 billion of federal assistance for education and other vital services. Local governments across the state will receive another $1.7 billion.

Affordable housing, education, nutrition and public transportation are a few key areas of need identified in the letter. The letter urges Alabama to use ARPA funds to expand Medicaid, increase broadband internet access in underserved areas and increase funding for child care, early childhood education and mental health care, among other investments.

“New funding at this scale can be transformative for our state, but only if we take a transformative approach to how we spend it,” the letter says. “For too long, Alabama’s leaders … have settled for poor outcomes in health, education, community development and other measures of shared prosperity, because they thought we couldn’t tackle such deep problems. The pandemic is challenging us to reclaim – and redefine – the common good. ARPA funding gives us a rare opportunity to meet the challenge, if we’re willing.”

Principles for effective, transparent use of ARPA money

Arise and partners encourage state leaders to allocate ARPA funds using these six principles as a framework:

• Engage local communities at every step.
• Aim for equity in outcomes.
• Maximize well-being by addressing health in all policies.
• Invest in existing assets and capacities to help funds work faster, go further and avoid duplication.
• Think big and create a 21st-century infrastructure for the common good.
• Build public trust and engagement by following the highest standards of documentation, transparency and accessibility of information about funding awards and expenditures.

COVID-19 and its associated recession exacerbated preexisting racial, gender and regional disparities that prevent Alabama from reaching its full potential. Enduring recovery will require breaking away from a mindset of scarce resources and limited opportunities, the letter says. Read the full letter at al-arise.local/rescueplan.