Good morning!

Don’t forget: all Alabamians over the age of 16 become eligible for COVID-19 vaccines TODAY.

Here’s your Daily News for Monday, April 5.

 

1. Marsh makes open enrollment push

• When Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston, stepped down from the Pro Tem position at the beginning of this session, he said he wanted to focus on a few select issues: fixing the gambling policy situation and education reform.
• His gambling bill dominated State House news last month and is likely to come back at some point.
• On the education front, his new open enrollment bill filed late last week could generate a whole new conversation about the future of schools.
• Senate Bill 365 would allow K-12 students enroll in any school in the state — for a fee. It says that starting in the 2022-2023 school year, students from outside a system can enroll in its schools. A student enrolling in a school outside of his or her district of residence “shall pay the enrolling school district an amount that is equal to the per student share of the net local tax revenue” as determined by the State Department of Education.
• Local school boards would be required to adopt application processes and “shall consider” giving low-performing students from failing schools, as determined by the Alabama Accountability Act, enrollment priority.
• Marsh filed the bill, called the Open Schools Act, on Thursday. It’s been assigned to the Senate Education Policy Committee and a public hearing is set for 10:45 a.m.Tuesday.
• Marsh has been hinting at an open enrollment push for the better part of ten years and this looks like the big one.
• Read more from Mary Sell HERE.

 

 

2. Bill increases tax credits for Accountability Act donors

• Legislation in the Alabama State House would increase the allowable tax credit for individuals and corporations that donate to private school scholarships through the Alabama Accountability Act.
• The 2013 law allows for tax credit-funded scholarships for families leaving the state’s lowest-performing public schools. There also is a separate $30 million-per-year scholarship fund for private school tuition. Businesses and individuals who donate to the fund receive income tax credits — money that would otherwise go to the state education budget. Scholarship granting organizations, or SGOs, collect and distribute the money to low-income families. Those students are not required to come from failing schools.
• House Bill 559 by Rep. Charlotte Meadows, R-Montgomery, does not change that $30 million cap but expands the allowable credit from 50% of an individual’s tax burden to 75%, capped at $75,000.
• Corporations also could pledge up to 75% of their income tax liability to scholarships, up from 50% now.
• Read more from Mary Sell HERE.

 

 

3. Amtrak plan would link Alabama cities

• Amtrak says new routes in its long-range plans would connect cities in the south, including Alabama.
• Amtrak’s proposed new routes include ones that would connect Montgomery to Atlanta and Birmingham to Charlotte.
• The routes are among several nationwide proposed by Amtrak after President Joe Biden announced his sweeping plan to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure.
• Nationwide, Amtrak’s 2035 vision plan would add at least 30 new routes and add more trips to at least 20 existing routes.
• Amtrak officials are hoping Congress will provide the $80 billion designated for rail in Biden’s American Jobs Plan announced Wednesday.
• Read more and see the map HERE.

 

 

4. Latest on the Capitol attack

• The man who rammed a car into two officers at a barricade outside the U.S. Capitol, killing one of them before he was shot to death by police, had been suffering from delusions, paranoia and suicidal thoughts, a U.S. official told The Associated Press on Saturday. Investigators believe it was an isolated incident from a disturbed young man.
• Video of the Friday afternoon attack shows the driver emerging from the crashed car with a knife in his hand and starting to run at the pair of officers, Capitol Police acting Chief Yogananda Pittman told reporters. Police shot the suspect, 25-year-old Noah Green, who died at a hospital.
• In online posts since removed, Green described being under government thought control and said he was being watched. He described himself as a follower of the Nation of Islam and its longtime leader, Louis Farrakhan, and spoke of going through a difficult time when he leaned on his faith.
• It was the second line-of-duty death this year for the U.S. Capitol Police, still struggling to heal from the Jan. 6 insurrection. The attack underscored that the building and campus — and the officers charged with protecting them — remain potential targets for violence.
• Read more HERE.

 

5. Georgia governor vows to fight back

• News of Major League Baseball’s decision to pull this summer’s All-Star Game from Georgia over its sweeping new voting law reverberated among fans over the weekend, while Gov. Brian Kemp vowed to defend the measure, saying “free and fair elections” are worth any threats, boycotts or lawsuits.
• The Republican governor said at a news conference that MLB “caved to fear and lies from liberal activists” when it yanked the July 13 game from Atlanta’s Truist Park. He added the decision will hurt working people in the state and have long-term consequences on the economy.
• “I want to be clear: I will not be backing down from this fight. We will not be intimidated, and we will also not be silenced,” Kemp said.
• “Major League Baseball, Coca-Cola and Delta may be scared of Stacey Abrams, Joe Biden and the left, but I am not,” he said, referring to companies that have also criticized the new law.
• Critics say the law will disproportionately affect communities of color. Georgia Republicans say the changes were needed to maintain voter confidence in the election system, and the governor insists opponents have mischaracterized what the law does.
• Read more HERE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A message from

Cover Alabama

• Nearly 70% of Alabamians support expanding Medicaid, including 63% of Republicans.

• Medicaid expansion would create jobs, save rural hospitals and support families.

• Cover Alabama is a non-partisan alliance of 109 organizations advocating for Alabama leaders to provide quality, affordable health coverage for Alabamians.

• Sign up for updates from Cover Alabama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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