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AlabamaWorks!

Good morning!

Here’s your Daily News for Thursday, November 4.

1. Legislature wraps redistricting work

• State lawmakers wrapped up their work on redistricting Wednesday, sending all four maps redrawn with Census 2020 data to Gov. Kay Ivey.
• The Senate gave final approval to the congressional district map as well as the one for the Alabama House of Representatives. Meanwhile, the House passed new district maps for the State Senate as well as the Alabama State Board of Education.
• Multiple alternative maps were proposed, some with large-scale changes and some with small.
• Ultimately, all alternative maps were set aside and the maps passed as written.
• Read more about the redistricting efforts HERE.

 

2. Vaccine mandate exemption bills up for final votes

• The Alabama Legislature could give final approval today to legislation supporters say protect workers and residents in the state who want exemptions from federal COVID-19 vaccine requirements.
• Senate Bill 9 and Senate Bill 15 are two of several bills the GOP-led legislature filed in this special session to push back against federal mandates and protect the unvaccinated. While the mandates for federal workers and contractors and large employers already allow for medical and religious exemptions, supporters of Senate Bill 9 say it creates an easy-to-use form for employees seeking those exemptions.
• Those reasons include a previous COVID-19 diagnosis in the past 12 months.
• “We’re trying to make this as easy as possible for the rank-and-file employees that don’t have a law degree or don’t want to go out and hire an attorney to be able to claim their exemption without an undue burden,” sponsor Sen. Chris Elliott, R-Daphne, told Alabama Daily News.
• Senate Bills 9 and 15 put GOP supporters at odds with the business community in the state which argues the legislation creates confusing, dueling mandates on employers.
• Business groups, including the Business Council of Alabama, have opposed SB9 saying it puts employers in a “no-win position” by forcing them to comply with conflicting state and federal laws. Robin Stone, the BCA’s interim executive director, spoke against SB9 at a public hearing Wednesday.
• “This legislation would prevent Alabama employers from making their own personnel decisions and place that authority in the hands of state government,” Stone said.
• The House Health Committee approved a substitute version of SB9, as well as Senate Bill 15, on voice votes Wednesday.
• Read more from Mary Sell HERE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A message from

AlabamaWorks!

• The 2022 Governor’s Survey of Employer Competencies is live!
• As Alabama moves forward with designing an education and workforce training system aligned to the demands of business and industry, obtaining a clear picture of the skills and credentials required by Alabama companies is essential.
• The survey will identify the competencies and credentials required for occupations that are critical to growth and a competitive landscape.
• It asks employers to provide information about high-demand occupations and occupations that are the most difficult to find qualified workers to fill. In addition, the survey seeks employers’ comments on education, licenses, credentials and competencies required.
• Take the survey HERE.

 

 

 

 

 

3. The OSHA vaccine mandate is here

• Tens of millions of Americans who work at companies with 100 or more employees will need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Jan. 4 or get tested for the virus weekly under government rules that took effect Thursday.
• The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said companies that fail to comply could face penalties of nearly $14,000 per violation.
• The new requirements, which were first previewed by President Joe Biden in September, will apply to about 84 million workers at medium and large businesses, although it is not clear how many of those employees are unvaccinated.
• Tougher rules will apply to another 17 million people who work in nursing homes, hospitals and other facilities that receive money from Medicare and Medicaid. Those workers will not have an option for testing and will need to be vaccinated.
• It was unclear how OSHA planned to enforce the rules. A senior administration official said the agency would target companies if it gets complaints.
• The administration will face an immediate challenge from Republican state officials who are eager to fight Biden in court. More than two dozen Republicans serving as state attorneys general, including Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, have indicated they plan to sue, arguing that only Congress can enact such sweeping requirements under emergency authority.
• Read more HERE.

 

 

4. Committee passes plan to strip racist language from state constitution

• The Alabama Constitution, written in 1901, still has language stating that schools should be segregated by race and people are to pay poll taxes to vote.
• The Committee on the Recompilation of the Constitution on Wednesday approved a plan to strip racist language from the state’s governing document. It also reorganizes the massive, sprawling document that has nearly 1,000 constitutional amendments to try to make it more user friendly.
• The committee’s proposal will be considered by lawmakers in the 2022 legislative session. If approved, it would go before voters in November of 2022.
• Read more from Kim Chandler HERE.

 

 

5. All eyes on vulnerable House Democrats after election losses

• For many House Democrats, 2021 is looking a lot like 2009, a year when a Republican elected governor in Virginia foreshadowed a dreadful blowout in the next year’s midterm elections.
• Republican Glenn Youngkin’s surge to victory in Virginia delivered the first blow, and then New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy was nearly defeated by a little known Republican, two results that led to one conclusion: Democrats are in grave danger of losing control of Congress.
• Mostly moderates, they helped deliver party control of the chamber in 2018 and keep it by a threadbare margin last year. Now, though, they are starting to closely resemble the same former Republican members many defeated four years ago.
• Their president, Joe Biden, is not popular, and their control of Congress has been seen by voters as divisive and not productive. Keeping their seats also may mean defying historical trends dictating that the party that wins the White House loses ground in Congress during the next election — traditional political headwinds that are now almost certainly intensified for Democrats by Tuesday’s election results.
• Biden’s approval ratings started falling with the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and have sunk lower amid an economy still marred by the coronavirus pandemic, inflation and a White House legislative agenda largely bogged down in Congress.
• Frontline House Democrats, meanwhile, have for months promoted legislation they see as most appealing to swing voters. That includes insisting the Democratically controlled Congress tackle a bipartisan public works bill at the same time it is working to advance a massive spending plan backed by the party’s more progressive wing.
• Read more HERE.

 

 

Headlines

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Legislature wraps redistricting work, sends maps to Ivey

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Vaccine mandate exemption bills move to final votes Thursday

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – US mandates vaccines or tests for big companies by Jan. 4

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Alabama seeks to purge racist language from Constitution

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – All eyes on vulnerable House Democrats after election losses

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Maps clear Senate, House committees, head to final votes

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Republicans advance bill for claiming vaccine exemptions

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Shipt announces start of alcohol delivery in Alabama

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – GOP sweep in Virgina jolts Democrats, tight race in NJ

 

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Hammerin’ Braves rout Astros to win 1st WS crown since 1995

 

AL.COM – BCA: Anti-vaccine mandate bills place Alabama employers in ‘no-win position’

 

AL.COM – Ethics complaint against retired Clarke County DA referred to Alabama AG

 

AL.COM – Tuberville says ‘downfall’ of education led to Democrats’ loss in Virginia

 

AL.COM – Columnist Dana Hall McCain: I’m pro-vaccine and anti-mandate

 

AL.COM – State inmate, 33, found dead in bed at Donaldson Correctional Facility

 

AL.COM – Kids’ turn arrives for COVID-19 vaccine shots in the U.S., Alabama

 

AL.COM – Columnist John Archibald: Will Alabama Legislature lay out a dystopian future?

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Social Security can help you start or return to work

 

Montgomery Advertiser – 779th EAS redesingation to bring Air Guard and Reserve members to 908th in Montgomery

 

Montgomery Advertiser – Alabama COVID-19 vaccine exemption bill in position for final passage

 

Decatur Daily – Vaccine mandate exemption bills move to final votes today

 

Decatur Daily – Experts: 3M settlement will reduce toxic chemicals discharged from landfill

 

Decatur Daily – Only the 3 internal candidates chosen for municipal court judge interviews

 

Times Daily – Legislature wraps redistricting, sends maps to Ivey

 

Times Daily – Vaccine mandate exemption bills move to final votes

 

Anniston Star – Anniston City Council members reflect on a year in office

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Sylacauga animal shelter dealing with overcrowding

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – Local pediatrician says myocarditis not a concern for kids 5-11 years old getting COVID-19 vaccine

 

WBRC Fox 6 Birmingham – ADPH says children’s vaccines should be in Alabama by end of the week

 

Tuscaloosa News – Alabama congressional, legislative, SBOE maps for 2022 headed to Gov. Kay Ivey

 

Tuscaloosa News – Northport councilor charged with theft in ongoing family civil dispute

 

Tuscaloosa News – Football fans should brace for chilly weather at Alabama-LSU game Saturday night

 

YellowHammer News – Tuberville slams Democrats’ military budget hold up, says leftists ‘care nothing about national defense’

 

YellowHammer News – Alabama Senate passes two Republican-led anti-vaccine discrimination bills

 

Gadsden Times – Commissioners approve new district lines for Etowah County

 

Gadsden Times – Commission won’t consult AG on sheriff’s expense account, decries ‘political’ motivations

 

Gadsden Times – Alabama congressional, legislative, SBOE maps for 2022 headed to Gov. Kay Ivey

 

Dothan Eagle – Train speeds to increase on a portion of CSX line in Houston and Seminole counties

 

Dothan Eagle – Activists take inspiration from “Squid Game” for climate conference protest

 

Dothan Eagle – Look for fireballs during the pair of Taurid meteor showers

 

Opelika-Auburn News – Italy-Croatia fight over Prosecco name gets ready to pop

 

Opelika-Auburn News – Boston elects Wu, first woman and Asian American as mayor

 

Opelika-Auburn News – Adams wins NYC mayor; Wu makes history winning Boston mayor

 

WSFA Montgomery – November to bring 2 meteor showers and an eclipse

 

WSFA Montgomery – Supply chain issues affecting Alabama construction, farming

 

WSFA Montgomery – Alabama GOP advances bill for vaccine mandate exemptions

 

WAFF Huntsville – Federal contractors helping others apply for religious, medical vaccine exemptions

 

WAFF Huntsville – Pediatricians and doctors discuss covid vaccine for children

 

WAFF Huntsville – Decatur City Councilman pushes for Carrie Matthews building to be restored

 

WKRG Mobile – 3-year-old boy recovering after Dothan drive-by shooting

 

WKRG Mobile – Cost of college has risen 169% since 1980 – but salaries lag far behind, study finds

 

WKRG Mobile – MCHD’s epidemiologist talks about COVID-19 vaccine for children

 

WTVY Dothan – Vaccines will be offered onsite at the National Peanut Festival

 

WTVY Dothan – Pediatric clinics will begin administering vaccines as early as next week

 

WTVY Dothan – Hartford church prepares for fall festival

 

WASHINGTON POST – Biden urges swift action as Democrats scramble to deflect voter anger

 

WASHINGTON POST – Parental say in schools, resonant in Va. governor’s race, bound for GOP national playbook

 

WASHINGTON POST – Murphy’s narrow win in New Jersey does little to ease Democratic anxieties

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Reeling From Surprise Losses, Democrats Sound the Alarm for 2022

 

NEW YORK TIMES – Youngkin’s Dance With Trump Was Pivotal. But Is It Repeatable?

 

NEW YORK TIMES – How Tyson Foods Got 60,500 Workers to Get the Coronavirus Vaccine Quickly

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Credit Suisse Revamps Business in Post-Archegos Overhaul

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – Stock Futures Inch Up Ahead of Earnings From Square, Uber

 

WALL STREET JOURNAL – House Democrats Add Paid Leave, State-and-Local Tax Deduction to Bill

 

 

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