Arise 2026: How we're working to build a better Alabama

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

Below, we'll share some details of that vision as the Alabama Legislature’s regular session begins today. This email, which you also can read on our blog, focuses on the crucial legislative priorities on our 2026 roadmap to change.

If you’re not already a member of Alabama Arise, join us! Members will receive an exclusive version of our weekly Legislative Updates throughout the session. These emails include a weekly video update from Arise staff members on what’s happening at the State House, as well as details about upcoming legislation and links to additional resources.

Executive Director Robyn Hyden welcomes us to the 2026 session

Arise's Robyn Hyden welcomes everyone to the Alabama Legislature's 2026 regular session. Watch to see what to expect this year and to learn more about our advocacy on school breakfast, protecting funding for public schools and other member-selected legislative priorities. 

Strong investments in schools, housing and transit improve life for all Alabamians

Strong funding for public services like education and public health broadens opportunity for everyone, especially for Alabamians with low incomes. Arise members for decades have urged robust and secure state funding for these services. Our top adequate state budget priorities include protecting funding for public schools and securing state support for affordable housing and public transportation.

Closing the health coverage gap: Alabama must enact policies to save lives

As Alabama enters the 2026 legislative session, Medicaid expansion and maternal health will be central to the state’s health equity conversations. Recent federal policy changes have made these conversations more urgent and more complex. Our top health equity priorities are Medicaid expansion and investments in comprehensive maternal health care.

Federal SNAP cuts underscore Alabama’s need to protect and increase food access

Alabama’s food insecurity rates are among the worst in the country. More than 1 in 6 people in our state (17%) face food insecurity, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health. And that share is even larger for children: Nearly 1 in 4 Alabama children (23%) live in households with food insecurity. Our top hunger relief priorities are increasing the availability of no-cost school meals, protecting SNAP food assistance and continuing the successful SUN Bucks summer nutrition program.

An inclusive democracy is vital to building a better Alabama for all

Alabama was central to the struggle for democracy and voting rights in the United States during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. And the need for our state to do more to build a more inclusive democracy continues today. That is especially true after recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions affecting the rights of people nationwide to have their say in who represents them at the local, state and federal levels. Our top inclusive democracy priorities include no-excuse absentee voting, early voting and removal of barriers to voting rights restoration.

Alabama’s justice system should focus on rehabilitation, not cruelty

Alabama’s criminal justice system too often prioritizes punishment over evidence-based interventions. This cruel orientation has fueled heavy-handed sentencing policies and a broken parole system. And it has led to a death penalty system where state officials continue to kill prisoners against the recommendation of the juries that convicted them. Our justice reform priorities include reforms to Alabama’s sentencing and parole practices and legislation to make the state’s ban on judicial override in death penalty cases retroactive. 

Alabama’s tax system is upside down and needs real reform

Alabama’s tax structure is among the nation’s most unfair and unjust. The state is heavily reliant on regressive sales taxes on consumer goods that account for a larger share of spending for households with low incomes. Our state continues to tax groceries, though at a lower rate than other goods after grocery tax reductions in 2023 and 2025. And Alabama does not tax numerous services that people with higher incomes more often purchase. Our tax reform priorities include untaxing groceries, reining in income tax breaks for wealthy households and opposing further diversion of public school funding to private schools and homeschooling.

Empower workers to build an economy that works for all Alabamians

Alabama has a history of anti-worker policies that prioritize the interests of wealthy corporations over those of working people. This top-down structure has led to our state falling behind in measurable standards of well-being. Our worker power priorities include increased accountability for child labor law violators, expansion of paid leave and stronger protections for temp workers.

Alabama Arise

P.O. Box 1188, Montgomery, Alabama 36101

(334) 832-9060  ·  [email protected]

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