1. Landfill bill passes

• The Alabama House of Representatives on Thursday approved legislation that clarifies landfills’ ability to use materials other than dirt to cover new garbage each day. Previously approved “alternative cover” materials have included shredded vehicle components from scrapped cars, contaminated soil and coal ash.
• The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) said Thursday that it no longer allows the use of coal ash as cover and while a Walker County landfill still has a permit to use it, it soon will not.
• Sponsor Rep. Alan Baker, R-Brewton, said House Bill 140 is needed to codify what ADEM has allowed for about three decades.
• “It would be up to ADEM to decide in permits what covers are allowed,” Baker said on the House floor.
• Federal Environmental Protection Agency regulations say landfill operators must cover disposed solid waste with six inches of earthen material at the end of each operating day for safety and health reasons.
• House Bill 140 now allows for alternative coverings besides just compacted earth on the landfills.
• It was approved by the House 102-0 on Thursday and now moves to the Senate.
• Read more from ADN’s Mary Sell HERE.

2. Port dreams becoming reality

• Alabama State Port Authority Director and CEO James K. “Jimmy” Lyons wanted to do a few things before he decided to retire. He wanted to deepen the channel, build a freezer facility and start work on an automotive terminal.
• Now, as he prepares for his retirement at the end of the year, he can look back on his work and know all three projects were accomplished, and that he helped leave the state in a better position to expand industry.
• Last year, MTC Logistics broke ground on a $58 million, 12-million-cubic-foot refrigerated container facility at the Alabama State Port Authority. The project will attract exporters of poultry and seafood who need the blast freezing capabilities and also allow imported goods to be refrigerated. Alabama’s port had recently lost business to New Orleans and Savannah for such shipping.
• Beginning in 2021, the port will open a new automotive terminal that will allow for the exporting and importing of vehicles.
• And earlier this month, Sen. Richard Shelby announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has allocated $274.3 million for the Port of Mobile.
• Read more from ADN’s Will Whatley HERE.

3. School board change on the ballot

• It’s not just the hotly-contested primary races that will be on the ballot when Alabama votes on March 3.
• We’ll be voting on a constitutional amendment that would shift the way the state governs education.
• Amendment One on your Republican and Democratic primary ballots would change the state Board of Education to the Alabama Commission on Elementary and Secondary Education.
• Instead of being elected like board members are now, commissioners would be appointed by the governor and confirmed by the State Senate.
• The measure passed overwhelmingly in the Legislature last year after several years of frustration with the state school board. Gov. Kay Ivey, Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh and others have pointed to the school board’s internal squabbling as a contributing factor to Alabama’s slide to near dead last in the latest education rankings.
• Still, the vote is not a sure thing. People generally don’t like to cede their ability to vote on things, even if most Alabamians couldn’t name their state school board member.
• It’s worth studying up on before the vote, and AL.com’s Trish Crain has a couple of stories that are helpful in that regard.
• Read her story answering several questions about the amendment and what it would do HERE.
• And read her data-driven dive into what other states do with school governance and how changing our system could impact test scores HERE.

4. Ed Castile: the Workforce Superhighway

• New this morning is an op-ed from Ed Castille, Alabama’s deputy secretary of commerce and the longtime director of AIDT.
• His job isn’t an easy one. When industries locate in Alabama – like the massive Mazda-Toyota project in Huntsville – it’s Castile’s responsibility to see that the workers are trained. And his team has a big role to play in meeting Gov. Kay Ivey’s lofty goal of adding 500,000 credentialed workers to Alabama’s workforce by 2025.
• Castile writes that Alabama’s workforce is like a superhighway, complete with on ramps and the occasional hazard. Navigating it correctly can make all the difference.
• Here’s an excerpt:

• Read the full column HERE.

5. News Briefs

Alabama school system cancels classes due to flu, strep

• CHATOM, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama school district is closing due to an outbreak of flu and strep throat.
• Washington County Schools, in a Facebook post, said they will be closed Friday as a result of the illnesses, Al.com reported.
• “Absences due to flu and strep are at an all-time high,” the system wrote in the post. “We ask that you use this extra-long holiday break to implement as many precautionary steps as you can. Wash all school clothing and backpacks in hot water. Please avoid anyone (outside the family) with flu symptoms, and do not send your children back to school if they present any signs of the infection.”
• The system already was scheduled to be closed Feb. 24 and Feb. 25 for the Mardi Gras holiday.
• According to the Alabama Department of Public Health, significant flu activity has been reported in every part of Alabama except Mobile. The state has had five flu-related deaths so far in 2020, but no pediatric fatalities.

Police: Alabama man dies in motorcycle crash during chase

• SHEFFIELD, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama man died after losing control of his motorcycle while being chased by authorities Thursday morning.
• Tab Kennedy Waddell, 32, was driving a 1998 Harley Davidson motorcycle when he crashed into a guardrail on US-43, news outlets reported.
• Florence Police Deputy Chief Mike Holt said an officer saw Waddell run a red light on his motorcycle and attempted to pull Waddell over. Waddell didn’t stop when the office turned on his lights and sirens, so a chase ensued, Holt said.
• Waddell later crashed into a guardrail and was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
• “It’s an unfortunate ending to a police chase,” Holt said. “We never want them to end that way.”
• Holt said it appears the officer followed department policy. The officer’s name wasn’t immediately released. State troopers are investigating the crash. Further details on the crash weren’t immediately released.

New coal mine in Alabama receives $26M in tax abatements

• TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — A new coal mine is planned in west Alabama after a county approved more than $26 million in tax breaks for the project, officials said.
• The Tuscaloosa County Industrial Development Authority provided the abatements Wednesday for Warrior Met Coal Inc., which is planning a $500 million project that will create about 350 jobs in the area.
• A statement from the authority said work is supposed to begin on March 1, with production set to start in early 2025. Average starting salaries for miners will be around $85,000 annually, the authority said.
• The company will get about $18 million in tax breaks during construction and another $8.5 million in abatements over a decade, according to a breakdown provided by the agency. The company is still expected to pay some $61 million in taxes over 20 years.
• Located in Brookwood, Warrior uses underground, long-wall mining to extract coal used in steel production in Europe, South America and Asia.

Alabama judge quits amid ethics case over son’s appointment

• CULLMAN, Ala. (AP) — A long-serving Alabama judge is stepping down after being accused of violating judicial ethics rules by appointing his son to handle cases.
• Cullman County District Judge Kim Chaney announced his retirement this week after serving almost 30 years, media outlets reported. He was in his fifth term in office.
• Chaney’s departure came as the Judicial Inquiry Commission released a complaint Tuesday accusing him of violating judicial canons by appointing his son to represent indigent defendants in more than 200 cases from 2015 to 2017 and then presiding in some of the cases.
• The younger man was paid $105,000 for the appointments, the charges said.
• Court records show Chaney has waived his right to respond to the charges, and a hearing is set for Monday before the Alabama Court of the Judiciary to resolve the allegations.
• The Cullman Times reported the Alabama Ethics Commission found probable cause to refer an ethics complaint against Chaney to the state attorney general’s office in 2017. The complaint alleged Chaney violated state ethics law by allegedly appointing his son, Cullman attorney Alex Chaney, to represent indigent people on the court docket.

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