Bobby Singleton
At second Alabama redistricting hearing, parties seem focused on the first
A Tuesday hearing that was supposed to be about racial gerrymandering claims in one case ended up focusing on arguments in another. A three-judge panel in Birmingham heard arguments for and against a preliminary injunction over in Singleton v. Allen, a 2021 challenge to Alabama’s congressional maps filed at the same time as Allen v. […]
New Alabama congressional map headed to final votes in Alabama Legislature
An Alabama conference committee Friday approved a congressional map that would create a majority-Black congressional district in western Alabama and a district in southeast Alabama that would be about 40% Black. The proposal put more Black voters in the southeastern district, a proposed 2nd Congressional District, than a Senate proposal that would have set it […]
Legislature chooses committee to negotiate contract for new Alabama statehouse
The Alabama Legislature Tuesday appointed a committee to negotiate the terms for building a new statehouse. The team, selected after some haggling Tuesday’s Legislative Council meeting, will include Sen. Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville, the chair of the council; Rep. Chris Pringle, R-Mobile, the council’s vice chair; House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville; Senate Majority Leader Bobby […]
Bill that would have updated gambling in Greene County did not pass this session
A bill that would have updated the laws for gambling in Greene County did not pass last session. Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, said in a phone interview Wednesday that this bill would have updated laws around gambling in Greene County, where there is legal gambling. “It was a payment statute, by allowing Greene […]
Alabama legislators begin reapportionment hearings amid uncertainty over new maps
The first legislative reapportionment meeting ahead of a special session next month to redraw the state’s congressional maps featured a number of speakers urging the creation of two majority-minority districts. Evan Milligan, the plaintiff in Allen v. Milligan, which led to the U.S. Supreme Court upholding a lower court ruling effectively calling for a new […]
What the Supreme Court’s surprise voting rights decision could mean for Alabama
The Supreme Court surprised me. You see, it’s become distressingly easy to predict how the nation’s high court will rule on issues. The Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade? Horrifying. Insulting. Deadly to women. But we knew that this bench was going there. I’ve spent way too many nights waiting for the Supreme Court to […]
U.S. Supreme Court rules Alabama’s congressional maps violate Voting Rights Act
The U.S. Supreme Court Thursday upheld a lower court ruling that Alabama’s 2022 congressional maps violated the Voting Rights Act, a ruling that preserves a major part of the law and could lead to new congressional maps in Alabama. A three-judge panel in January 2022 ruled that maps approved by the Alabama Legislature in 2021 […]
Alabama Legislature sends overtime tax exemption bill to Gov. Kay Ivey
The Alabama Legislature Thursday gave final approval to a bill that would exempt overtime pay from income taxes, subject to a $25 million cap. HB 217, sponsored by House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, passed the Senate 34-0 Thursday afternoon. The House concurred in changes to the bill, which goes to Gov. Kay Ivey. Daniels […]
Alabama bill would allow elderly to opt out of jury duty
An Alabama committee Wednesday approved a bill that will allow the elderly to apply for exemptions from jury duty. The House Judiciary Committee approved SB 64, sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, by voice vote on Wednesday. Under the bill, people aged 75 or older would be able to ask a court to […]
Senator pushing to get Alabama sex abuse survivors bill out of committee
A bill to extend the statute of limitations for people who have been sexually abused as children could start moving after the bill’s sponsor threatened to stall legislation on the Senate floor. Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove, who said an unnamed insurance company had been holding up the bill, said Thursday morning that she was […]
Civil lawsuit bill for sexual assault victims still in Alabama House committee
A bill that would give sexual assault victims new opportunities to file civil lawsuits remains stuck in committee with just nine days left in the legislative session. The bill, SB 127, has slowed over concerns from insurance companies about how the bill would affect them, according to Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove, the bill’s sponsor, […]
Alabama Senate passes bill creating crime of ‘retail theft’
The Alabama Senate Thursday approved a bill that creates harsher punishments for people convicted of stealing from retailers. SB 206, sponsored by Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville, creates a new crime of “retail theft” and makes some thefts felonies punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Chambliss said on the floor of the Senate Thursday […]