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Alabama Arise unveils members’ 2022 roadmap for change
Sentencing reform and voting rights expansion are two key goals on Alabama Arise’s 2022 legislative agenda. Members voted for Arise’s issue priorities this week after nearly 300 people attended the organization’s online annual meeting Saturday. The seven issues chosen were: Tax reform, including untaxing groceries and ending the state’s upside-down deduction for federal income taxes, [...]
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Alabama Arise keeps listening. Here’s what we heard in 2021!
Listening is a core value of Alabama Arise. We deeply value the input we get from our members, our allies and most importantly, those directly affected by the work we do together. We depend on what we hear to help guide our issue work and our strategies. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continued to challenge us [...]
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Special session(s) ahead in Alabama? How Arise is preparing
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 expected special sessions. Alabama’s [...]
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Redistricting in Alabama: How you can speak out
Alabama legislators likely will return to Montgomery for a special session on redistricting later this year. Before then, the Joint Reapportionment Committee will hold a series of public hearings across the state beginning Sept. 1. These events are an opportunity for Alabamians to share their thoughts and concerns about the redistricting process. Alabama Arise urges [...]
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Voting rights reforms face uphill climb, anti-democratic political sentiments
All Alabamians should be able to exercise the right to vote without facing suppression, administrative hurdles, or manipulation by elected officials. But the infrastructure of democracy in Alabama falls short of that standard. Efforts to protect and expand voting rights for Alabamians in the past session took place amid a national atmosphere of outlandish conspiracy [...]
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The dark road not taken in the 2021 regular session
Predicting actions and outcomes of a legislative session is never an easy bet. When the Alabama Legislature opened its 2021 regular session in February, our crystal ball was even cloudier than usual. Strong currents of anxiety were sweeping the country amid fear and frustration over COVID-19 and precautionary measures, conflicting beliefs about racial justice and [...]
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Arise legislative recap: May 27, 2021
Arise's Robyn Hyden recaps the Alabama Legislature's 2021 regular session. She discusses several policy wins that Arise members should celebrate, including the defeat of legislation that would limit the right to protest and passage of a bill to promote equitable access to broadband.
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Money matters: Budgets top priority for session; lawmakers also discussing Medicaid expansion, criminal justice reform, voting rights this year
As the Alabama Legislature approaches the 2021 regular session's final days, both state budgets are halfway to passage. The Education Trust Fund (ETF) budget has passed in the Senate and is in the House’s education budget committee. The General Fund (GF) budget, which funds all non-education services, has cleared the House and awaits Senate committee [...]
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Arise legislative recap: March 19, 2021
As the Alabama Legislature reaches the midpoint of this year’s regular session, Arise’s Celida Soto Garcia brings us up to date with the session so far. Lawmakers sadly have neglected many key needs while advancing numerous bills that would infringe on the civil rights of Alabamians. We need you to speak out for a better [...]
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Arise legislative recap: March 5, 2021
Arise's Dev Wakeley provides an update on recent setbacks and successes on voting rights bills at the Alabama Legislature. He also discusses the U.S. House's passage of the For the People Act, which would enact automatic voter registration and other changes to strengthen voters' access to the ballot. Voting rights is one of Arise's 2021 [...]