Presented by

the Alabama Accountability Act Coalition

 

 

1. Tobacco law now in effect

• What started out as a correction has turned into breaking news.
• The nation’s new law raising the legal age for buying tobacco products won’t go into effect on Jan. 1, as I wrote yesterday.
• It’s in effect now.
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that, “It is now illegal for a retailer to sell any tobacco product – including cigarettes, cigars and e-cigarettes – to anyone under 21.”
• The now-enacted law actually gave the FDA flexibility in how and when it wanted to go about enforcement, and the agency said it will be working to produce more details later.
• The biggest issue might be for retailers who don’t want to run afoul of the law. On its website, the FDA has guidance for retailers with an update at the top of the page noting the change.
• But, yeah, it’s now against the law to buy tobacco products if you’re under 21.
• So, tough luck for the 19-year-old who was waiting until the weekend to buy that next can of long cut, I guess.
• Mary Sell had it right all along, and she has a new story to reflect the FDA’s announcement. Read that HERE.

 

 

2. Police shootings bring gun issue into focus

• Six Alabama law enforcement officers were shot and killed in 2019, the highest number in more than three decades, according to state statistics.
• Only three states — Texas, New York and California — had more deaths than Alabama.
• The attorney general’s office provided statistics dating back to 1987 on officers that were feloniously killed in the line of duty.
• “This has been a horrific year for law enforcement as it relates to what we have faced,” Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said.
• Another chilling statistic: Five of the six slain officers were killed with stolen guns, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
• Expect that to be talked about more as officials on the lawmaking and enforcement side search for answers in light of this disturbing trend.
• Read more HERE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A message from

the Alabama Accountability Act Coalition

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. ‘Widow’s tax’ repeal long sought

• Amid all the sound and fury of last week’s impeachment and appropriations extravaganza in Washington, somewhat overlooked was the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act, which sets spending levels and policy for the Department of Defense.
• Included in this year’s NDAA was a provision long-sought by military family advocates: the repeal of the so-called “Military Widow’s Tax.”
• There are two types of survivor payouts for military families: the Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) fund, which awards about $15,000 a year to families of those killed of service-related causes; and the Survivor Benefit Plan, which is a life insurance policy of sorts that pays families up to 55 percent of a veteran’s retirement benefits after they die.
• Previously, military widows and widowers who qualify for the DIC were required to take a dollar-for-dollar offset from the SBP, even though their retired spouses elected to pay into the program. That could cost families as much as $11,000 a year.
• Changing the law was a big win for Alabama Democratic Sen. Doug Jones, who sponsored the bill along with Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine.
• Read more about the change and what it means from ADN’s Caroline Beck HERE.

 

 

4. States on front line of election security

• It’s no secret that foreign governments have tried to infiltrate American election systems, including in 2016. Though the Russians were apparently unsuccessful in hacking state election systems the last go around, there are some who are concerned that they came way too close.
• That’s why state election managers from around the country are training their teams to be on the lookout for hacking attempts and to defend American democracy by ensuring fair elections.
• The federal government will be on high alert, gathering intelligence and scanning systems for suspicious cyber activity as they look to defend the nation’s elections.
• Meanwhile, it will be the state and county officials who will be on the ground charged with identifying and dealing with any hostile acts. And they’ve developed a playbook.
• Read more HERE.

 

 

5. RIP Dan Ireland

• Sad news to report today: Dr. D.L. “Dan” Ireland has died at the age of 89.
• Alabama politicos knew Dr. Ireland for his longtime work for the Alabama Citizens Action Program (ALCAP), which pooled the resources of state churches and religious organizations to advocate on issues important to them.
• Even when working on extremely divisive issues, Ireland had a kind and gentlemanly demeanor that earned him respect in the halls of state government.
• Joe Godfrey, who now runs ALCAP, remembered Ireland a “a great mentor and friend to me personally. His work at ALCAP for 30 years and then assisting me for another 9 years as a volunteer made a lasting impact on the state of Alabama and, especially, the churches of this state.”
• Read more in the Alabama Baptist HERE.

 

 

 

News Briefs

3 teens killed in Christmas night crash in Geneva

• GENEVA, Ala. (AP) — Three 16-year-olds were killed and a fourth was seriously injured when a vehicle left a road and ran into trees on Christmas night in south Alabama, authorities said Thursday.
• The dead were all cheerleaders at Geneva High School, said Geneva County Coroner Donny Adkinson.
• The police chief posted on social media asking for prayers, and a church opened its sanctuary to the grieving community.
• “It’s just awful,” said Adkinson.
• Geneva, a town of about 4,400 people, is located near the Florida line more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Montgomery.
• Adkinson said Addyson Martin, Emilee Fain, Cassidy Dunn and two other friends had been together for Christmas at someone’s home and were headed elsewhere in small sport-utility vehicle that left a road and crashed into trees.
• Full story HERE.

Man held in Christmas Eve slaying of parents

• ADDISON, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama man was arrested in his parents’ deaths after phoning authorities on Christmas Eve to report he had killed them, police said Thursday.
• Allen Privett, 30, was being held in the Winston County jail in the killings of Frank Privett, 71, and Rita Privett, 63, said Chief Deputy Bryan Kirkpatrick.
• The exact charges weren’t immediately available, and it wasn’t clear whether Privett had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
• Addison Police Chief Mitchell Woodard told al.com his department received a call at 6:10 p.m. Tuesday from a sheriff’s office dispatcher who said a caller was on the line claiming to have killed his parents.
• Two officers arrived to find Allen Privett standing in the front yard, still on the call with the dispatcher. Officers found both victims dead inside the house.
• “We took him into custody without incident,” the chief said.
• The son told officers a fight with his parent led to a shooting.

Judge orders Alabama city to pay legal fees in school fight

• BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A mostly white Alabama city that tried to form its own school system must pay nearly $850,000 to attorneys representing black people who successfully fought the move, a federal judge ruled.
• U.S. District Court Judge Madeline Haikala ruled Monday that the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and attorney U.W. Clemon were due legal fees and expenses from Gardendale, which she said “acted in bad faith” when it attempted the split, al.com reported.
• Located north of Birmingham, Gardendale had not filed a response to the decision by Thursday, and an attorney for the city’s school board did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
• With about 14,000 residents, Gardendale is more than 80% white. It is located in Jefferson County, which is about 50% white.
• The city formed its own school board and hired a superintendent in 2014 in an attempt to break away from Jefferson County’s school system. The Legal Defense Fund and Clemon, a former federal judge, claimed the move was an illegal attempt to preserve a white majority in the city’s schools.
• Gardendale denied that race was a factor, but Haikala and the 11th U.S. Court of Appeals disagreed. Haikala also ruled that Gardendale demonstrated bad faith when it tried to end federal court oversight of Jefferson County schools under a 1971 desegregation agreement.
• Haikala ordered the city to pay nearly $740,000 in legal fees to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Clemon and another $106,400 in expenses.
• Story link.

 

 

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