Dear John,

One week ago today, more than 120 Arise members and partners gathered together at the State House on April 11 to speak out for a better Alabama during our annual Legislative Day. Our supporters urged legislators to support efforts to untax groceries, expand Medicaid and end debt-based driver’s license suspensions (SB 154 / HB 264). 

"This was my first Legislative Day and I have learned so much...the process of allowing my voice to be heard."

- Arise member

Will you donate today to keep up our momentum from Alabama Arise Action's Legislative Day? We need your support to build a better Alabama!

And it was a huge success! On April 12, the day after our Legislative Day, a Senate committee approved SB 154 to rein in debt-based driver’s license suspensions. The bill will go to the full Senate for a vote soon. And because of members like you, our state senators just heard from their constituents about why they should vote “yes” when the time comes.

Will you donate to Alabama Arise Action today so we can continue educating and advocating to our senators as this bill moves to the floor? 

Legislative Day was a big success in many other ways, too. Here are a few examples:

• Direct advocacy about the issues you care about most. More than 120 people engaged their state senators and representatives at Legislative Day, and dozens more joined us from home by making calls.
• Bipartisan legislative support on untaxing groceries. Members heard directly from Sens. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove, and Andrew Jones, R-Centre, and Rep. Penni McClammy, D-Montgomery, at Legislative Day this year about the importance of removing the state’s punitive sales tax on groceries.
• Statewide support for untaxing groceries. Seven in 10 Alabamians support ending the state grocery tax, according to a poll released last week. And nearly three in five Alabamians support removing the state grocery tax while protecting education funding, according to a poll commissioned by Alabama Arise last year.
• Overwhelming media attention about the need to untax groceries. Arise’s news conference at Legislative Day generated more than 30 news stories that appeared in more than 100 media outlets across Alabama and nationwide. We received favorable coverage online, in print, on radio and on television, with multiple stories in every major media market in Alabama.

Alabamians shouldn’t have to wait any longer. This is the year to untax groceries. As Rep. McClammy said on Tuesday:

“I hope and I pray that next year, when we come back here again, it’s not Groundhog Day. A change has got to come.”

Your support makes a difference for families with low incomes in Alabama. Will you donate today to make our shared vision of an equitable state come to life?

Thank you again for showing your support and helping make our vision a reality. 

In solidarity,

Presdelane Harris, organizing director

PS – Legislative Day and our sustained advocacy at the State House are fueled by members like you. Will you support our progress and give a gift to Alabama Arise Action? Click here to donate!