Skip to main content

Posts

Bill requiring ‘sexual risk avoidance’ in place of sexual education goes to Gov. Kay Ivey

Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Centre, speaking to Sen. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville, on the floor of the Alabama Senate on Feb. 17, 2026, in Montgomery, Alabama. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector) The Alabama House of Representatives Tuesday passed a bill that would require abstinence only teaching – called “sexual risk avoidance” — instead of comprehensive sex education. SB 209 , sponsored by Sen. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville, also prohibits instructors from teaching students how to obtain contraceptives or how to use them. Parents are able to opt their children out of the class without any academic consequences. “We are just updating the sex ed curriculum to include issues that are now facing our students, that didn’t base students years ago, like the sentencing and cyberbullying,” Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, said. “We’re also updating terminology to be very specific that this is sexual risk avoidance, that’s the new term that’s been used in the last few years.” GET THE MORNING HEADLI...
Read more
Recent posts

Drive for more housing sparks rare bipartisanship in statehouses

New housing is under construction in Richmond, Va. State lawmakers around the country are working across the aisle to pass housing legislation. (Photo by Parker Michels-Boyce/Virginia Mercury) In contrast to highly partisan debates over many other issues, state lawmakers of all political stripes are joining forces to pass legislation to increase the supply of housing. The policies attracting support range from requiring cities to allow manufactured homes in areas with single-family homes to easing regulations for accessory dwelling units to allowing housing on church-owned land and strip malls. Housing has become a can’t-ignore issue for lawmakers across the political spectrum, said Henry Honorof, director of Welcoming Neighbors Network, which connects pro-housing advocacy organizations across 24 states. “Almost every victory in the country for pro-housing policy has been bipartisan, and has actually required votes from the minority party. … It’s not moderates working together...
Read more

Alabama Senate committee OKs bill to close state’s primary elections

Rep. Ernie Yarbrough, R-Trinity, stands on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on Jan. 20, 2026 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee on Tuesday approved a bill to require Alabama voters to choose a political party in order to vote in the state's primary elections starting in 2027. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) An Alabama Senate Committee on Tuesday approved a bill that would require voters to register with a party to vote in its primaries, putting it in position for a final vote in the last days of legislative session.  HB 541 , sponsored by Rep. Ernie Yarbrough, R-Trinity, would require existing voters to register with a party to participate in primary elections after Jan. 1, 2027. Voters who wish to switch parties would have to change their affiliation within 60 days of the election. The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee approved the legislation 7-2 with an amendment after a public hearing Tuesday m...
Read more

Alabama Public Service Commission prepares for expansion, structural changes

Members of the Alabama Public Service Commission prepare for the Tuesday, August 5, 2025 regular meeting. PSC President Cynthia Almond said Tuesday the commission is preparing to implement a new law expanding the commission to seven members. (Ralph Chapoco/Alabama Reflector) The president of the Alabama Public Service Commission said Tuesday the utility regulator is preparing to comply with a new law that expands the PSC and will eventually put it under the supervision of a secretary of energy. PSC President Cynthia Almond, a former House member, said after the PSC’s meeting that staff will meet with commissioners Wednesday ahead of the first phase of the law, directing Gov. Kay Ivey to appoint four new commissioners from a list of nominees submitted by legislative leaders. Ivey will have to do so by July 15. “We are a commission created by the Legislature initially, and we can be amended, changed, abolished, at any point by the Legislature,” Almond said in an interview followin...
Read more

Makeover in store for Congress with flood of lawmakers headed for the exits

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — Congress will look considerably different next year, after dozens of its members move on to other political offices or retire, a number that’s likely to grow as some of those hoping to stay lose their reelection bids.  A turnover of at least 13% will be the highest in more than three decades, bringing in a wave of new lawmakers, who will be looked to as a source of solutions for some of the country’s biggest problems.  But the loss of institutional knowledge and negotiating expertise held by committee chairmen and seasoned lawmakers will not be easily replaced.  Experts interviewed by States Newsroom said a surge of freshmen could lead to a further concentration of power in congressional leaders and heighten the influence of lobbyists, though they added there are benefits as well.  “Serving in Congress is like any other job. It takes you ...
Read more

Regional director for Tommy Tuberville charged with using prior office for personal gain

A regional director for U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville surrendered to authorities Thursday on a charge of using public office for personal gain. An attorney for Michael Raita says he plans to plead not guilty. (File) A Hoover regional director for U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville surrendered to authorities Thursday on a charge of using his position on a state board for personal gain. Michael Raita, 67, was released on a $25,000 bond Thursday from the Talladega County Sheriff’s Office, according to public records. Messages seeking comment were left Monday for Talladega County Sheriff Jimmy Kilgore and Tuberville’s campaign. Tommy Spina, an attorney representing Raita, said in a statement Monday evening that Raita had not done anything he believed to be unlawful. “Every action he took was done openly, in good faith, and with the knowledge, authority, and approval of the Hall of Fame’s chairman and board of directors,” the statement said. Spina said Raita knew of the investigation for “so...
Read more

Trump repeats threat to bomb Iranian power plants, bridges

President Donald Trump gestures during a news conference in the White House briefing room on April 6, 2026. Trump spoke about the successful military mission to rescue a weapons systems officer whose fighter jet was shot down in Iran and possible further military action in Iran. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday declined to rule out bombing certain types of civilian infrastructure in Iran, including schools and hospitals, and said that any agreement to end the war must include free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. “We have to have a deal that’s acceptable to me,” he said during a 90-minute press conference. “And part of that deal is going to be, we want free traffic of oil and everything else.” Trump said he hopes he doesn’t need to bomb non-military targets, like power plants and bridges, but that even if he did, he doesn’t believe it would constitute a war crime. International law, including the Geneva Conventions...
Read more