May 10, 2024

We've reached the end of this year's state Legislative session. And don't look for a special session, at least not one one gambling, which fell one vote short of landing on a statewide ballot.

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The Alabama Legislative session is over. And it didn't last anywhere near midnight.

The Alabama Senate adjourned a few minutes after 6 p.m. Thursday. The breeze you felt around that time was so many people who stopped holding their breath wondering whether a lottery/casinos bill might get a re-vote and a chance to get onto a statewide ballot.

The one additional vote the Senate needed to cross the three-fifths threshold for a proposed constitutional amendment did not materialize. It did get enough attention Thursday that it held up a few other bills, including the Education Fund budget.

It's an effort that comes up short every year, but this is the closest it's come to passing in more than two decades. Asked whether she might consider calling a special session to try to get gambling on the ballot, Gov. Kay Ivey said “Why would I do that? They cannot come to a consensus among themselves. Why would I spend the time and effort and money on a special session?”

The education budget passed at $9.3 billion plus $1.7 billion in additional spending.

That's $11 billion total, for the honors math students among us.

It includes a 2% raise for state education employees and $10 million in EBT benefits for summer 2025. And $5 million that was in the supplemental budget for a retirement fund for educators was reallocated to community college capital projects, historical and arts grants and a principal leadership program.

In Washington, U.S. Sen. Katie Britt is co-sponsoring the More Opportunities for Moms to Succeed (MOMS) Act, reports AL.com's Amy Yurkanin.

It does a few things. First, it requires child support to begin with pregnancy instead of birth. It creates a clearinghouse of adoption and anti-abortion pregnancy crisis centers. And it introduces grants for telehealth care, something targeting places such as Alabama's rural areas where healthcare facilities have closed.

Others argue that Medicaid expansion would be more helpful than supporting pregnancy crisis centers.

Alabama A&M University has offered $52 million to purchase Birmingham-Southern College, reports AL.com's Howard Koplowitz.

Birmingham-Southern, of course, is the private college that's ceasing operations at the end of the month over financial troubles. Alabama A&M is a historically black university in Huntsville.

A&M has said it plans to keep BSC's credentialed faculty and staff and operate the school as a standalone campus under A&M's umbrella.

Many Birmingham folks already have personal connections to Alabama A&M besides the obvious cultural phenomenon that is the annual Magic City Classic football game in Birmingham between A&M and Alabama State. A&M VP of Government Relations and External Affairs Shannon Reeves said 10 percent of the school's students are from Birmingham and that Jefferson County is home to more A&M alumni than any other.

BSC officials say they've had communications with several potential buyers. Earlier this month state Sen. Merika Coleman said Birmingham's private HBCU, Miles College, was trying to organize other HBCUs in the state to consider buying the campus.

There's another leg to the Rush Propst saga at Pell City High School.

AL.com's Ben Thomas reports that the accomplished yet controversial football coach's surprising resignation, which came days after an effort to fire him failed, also came the week that his wages were supposed to begin being garnished over spousal support a court said he owed to his ex-wife.

The total amount of unpaid support and legal fees owed, according to a Jefferson County circuit court judge, is $123,875. The judge ordered that $2,000 per month be withheld from Propst's income from Pell City Schools.

Propst said the timing of his resignation wasn't related to the garnishment.

The court order, which came on April 16, eight days before the effort to oust Propst, included a threat to issue a writ of arrest and order to serve 310 days in jail for criminal contempt, but it's not clear whether that has been pursued.

“This city will be lit. That’s from the Urban Dictionary, but the city will be so lit it will probably be even bigger than ever before.”

State Rep. Juandalynn Givan, on the Magic City Classic should Alabama A&M be able to purchase the Birmingham-Southern College campus.

16

That's how many gambling machines say they seized, along with $16,000 cash, while executing three search warrants on suspected illegal gambling facilities inside the city limits of Enterprise.

In 1940, the late singer-songwriter Arthur Alexander of Sheffield.

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