Register for Arise's 2022 Legislative Day!

Make plans now to speak up for a better Alabama by participating in Arise's 2022 Legislative Day on Tuesday, Feb. 15, from 10 a.m. to noon. The event will be held on Zoom, so you can join us virtually from wherever you are. Due to ongoing concerns about the community spread of COVID-19, we have canceled our in-person event, but we are planning a rally later in March to support efforts to untax groceries, so stay tuned. Click the button below to register for Legislative Day!

Valley Labor Report: Ending the grocery tax

Arise's Carol Gundlach talked to the Valley Labor Report about the legislative opportunities to end Alabama's harsh and unfair grocery tax. Listen to her discussion of how Alabama can untax groceries and protect funding for public schools.

Reckon South: New moms are quickly cut off Medicaid in much of the South. Why it matters that some states are considering a change

Extending Medicaid coverage for new moms would save lives. Reckon has a new report on the struggles women in Alabama and across the South face when their access to health care stops at an especially vulnerable time. 

Cover Alabama: Collecting postpartum stories

Arise's Cover Alabama campaign is collecting stories from Alabama mothers about their obstacles when becoming a new mom. Our goal is to gather these stories and highlight the ways that lawmakers can make life easier for new parents, including but not limited to increasing health care coverage and access to providers statewide. Please consider sharing your story with our story collector Whit Sides, especially if you had Medicaid coverage or could have benefited from it. Feel free to provide as much or as little detail as you're comfortable sharing.

Montgomery Advertiser: Alabama Senate committee approves bill that could move public school money to private tuition

A new bill by Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston, could take away more than $500 million from the state's Education Trust Fund to give to parents to use for private school tuition. Arise believes our local public schools need more support from the Legislature, not less. SB 140 would hurt schoolchildren and communities across our state, and it would worsen the problems that students and teachers have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alabama Arise: LIVE BLOG: Alabama’s 2022 legislative session

Stay up to date with the 2022 legislative session. Our website has a live feed of Alabama Arise’s Twitter account, which will display information related to our 2022 issue priorities as well the latest news from our staff and members of the media.

Bills we're watching

• HB 2 by Rep. Allen Treadaway, R-Morris, is an anti-protest bill that could have a chilling effect on Alabamians’ First Amendment rights. The bill would create minimum holding periods for people accused of the crimes of rioting or interfering with traffic. The House Judiciary Committee will consider HB 2 on Wednesday. Arise opposes HB 2. 
• HB 52 by Rep. Jim Hill, R-Odenville, would allow judges to use discretion in the length of sentence if probation is revoked. The House Judiciary Committee will consider HB 52 on Wednesday. Arise supports HB 52.
• HB 57 by Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, would create a Criminal Justice Policy Development Council and require the Board of Pardons and Parole to use parole release guidelines. The House Judiciary Committee will consider HB 57 on Wednesday. Arise supports HB 57.
• HB 167 by Rep. Laura Hall, D-Huntsville, would allow inmate identification cards to be used as valid ID for voting. The House Constitution, Campaigns and Elections Committee will consider HB 167 on Wednesday. Arise supports HB 167.
• HB 200 by Rep. Merika Coleman, D-Birmingham, and SB 117 by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Montgomery, would end driver’s license suspensions for failure to pay fines and fees. The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved SB 117, and the House Judiciary Committee will consider HB 200 on Wednesday. Arise supports HB 200 and SB 117.
• SB 43 by Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Centre, would eliminate the state sales tax on groceries and replace the revenue by capping the state income tax deduction for federal income taxes. SB 43 is in the Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee. Arise supports SB 43.
• SB 53 and SB 54 by Sen. Gerald Allen, R-Tuscaloosa, would make damaging public monuments a felony and would increase the fines for public entities that replace or change a memorial, respectively. The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee will consider these bills on Tuesday. Arise opposes SB 53 and SB 54.
• SB 140 by Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston, would allow hundreds of millions of dollars of state funds for public schools to be diverted to private schools and home schooling. The Senate Education Policy Committee has approved SB 140. Arise opposes SB 140.
• SB 156 by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, would require both custodial and non-custodial parents to cooperate with child support enforcement to qualify for SNAP food assistance. The Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee will consider SB 156 on Tuesday, February 8. Arise opposes SB 156.