Presented by the Stop The HIT Coalition

 

Good morning! Here’s your Daily News for Thursday, December 13.

 

1. Farm Bill passes, Alabama delegation unanimous.

• The U.S. House of Representatives gave final passage to the Farm Bill Wednesday, sending the more than $400 billion agriculture and nutrition legislation to President Trump’s desk.
• Trump has previously indicated he would sign the bill.
• The House voted 369-47 to pass the legislation after the Senate approved it 87-13 on Tuesday.
• Each of Alabama’s seven Representatives voted to pass the legislation. As I mentioned yesterday, Alabama’s two Senators also supported the bill.
• The bill, which sets federal agricultural and food policy for five years, was negotiated in conference committee for months after the House and Senate passed different versions earlier this year.
• The result was a compromise that did not include the stricter food stamp work requirements House Republicans wanted, but did include stronger anti-fraud and anti-duplication provisions.
• Rep. Mike Rogers, who is Alabama’s lone member of the House Agriculture Committee, helped negotiate the long-sought compromise and said he was “proud to sign the Conference report this week after a lot of hard work.”
• “This Farm Bill strengthens the farm safety net for Alabama’s farmers and producers and it provides five years of certainty. America’s farm economy is still struggling, and this bill will be a much-needed shot in the arm,” Rogers said.
• Read more about the Farm Bill, including reactions from others in the delegation, in Caroline Beck’s full story HERE.

 

2. Byrne plays key role in breakthrough sexual harassment policy.

• Congress has reached a landmark agreement on a bill to overhaul the process for handling sexual misconduct allegations within its halls.
• Alabama Congressman Bradley Byrne played a key role in updating the decades-old Congressional Accountability Act, which governs how lawmakers and aides report sexual misconduct claims. The law has been widely criticized as confusing, cumbersome and unfair to victims of harassment and abuse.
• When faced with updating the law, House leaders called on Byrne’s experience in labor and employment law prior to his entry into politics.
• “I am very pleased we have reached this bipartisan, bicameral agreement to fundamentally reform how we handle employment law claims in the Legislative Branch,” Byrne told Alabama Daily News.
• “No longer will Congressional staff be subjected to an unfair and archaic process and no longer will taxpayers be asked to foot the bill for anonymous sexual harassment settlements committed by Members of Congress.”
• The push for the legislation took on new urgency in the past year, as more than a half-dozen lawmakers resigned amid allegations of sexual misconduct and Capitol Hill found itself squarely at the center of the growing #MeToo movement.
• As the lead Republican negotiating the bill, Byrne found a perhaps unlikely ally in Democratic Rep. Jackie Spier of California. The two testified before the House Administration Committee in November 2017 about the need to overhaul Congress’ sexual harassment policies and began finding common ground.
• Full story HERE.

 

A Message from the Stop The HIT Coalition

• The Stop The HIT Coalition thanks Senator Doug Jones for protecting Alabama small businesses, middle-class families and seniors from the 2020 Health Insurance Tax.
• This costly, unfair and hidden tax increases the cost of health insurance in the small business market, needlessly stifles economic growth and should be repealed.
• Senator Jones joined a bipartisan group in urging Senate leadership to prioritize urgent cost savings for hardworking Alabamians before the tax returns.
• Thank Senator Jones for working for Alabama small businesses and families by supporting efforts to stop the 2020 Health Insurance Tax.

 

3. Orientation has State House a-buzz.

• After being mostly quiet the last six months, the Alabama State House has been a bustle of activity this week with legislative orientation.
• New members of the House and Senate – along with many spouses – are in town going through a full slate of meetings and training sessions meant to bring them up to speed on the rules and procedures of the Alabama Legislature.
• Many veteran lawmakers are also in town, offering encouragement and advice to the “freshmen” class while getting a head start on issues and potential legislation heading into the 2019 Regular Session.
• Put on by Othni Lathram and his team at the Legislative Services Agency, this year’s orientation includes an ambitious three-day schedule of seminars, from mandatory ethics training to sexual harassment prevention and diversity training, as well as an overview of Alabama finances and the budgeting process.
• There’s even a session on how to deal with us media hacks!
• State Rep. Steve Clouse chaired the planning committee for the orientation; State Sen. Vivian Figures, State Rep. April Weaver, and Senate Majority Leader Greg Reed served on the planning committee as well.
• ADN’s Caroline Beck was in the State House yesterday and caught up with several new lawmakers to ask about the experience.
• She also spoke with Senate President Pro-Tem Del Marsh about how new members are getting acclimated and how it will impact the 2019 Regular Session.
• Read her full story HERE.

 

4. Ivey promotes key staff.

• Gov. Kay Ivey continued to make key changes to her staff this week as she prepares to assume her full term in office.
• Adam Thompson is being promoted from Appointments Director to Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy. He joins Liz Filmore, who is serving as Deputy Chief of Staff for Administration. Both deputies will report to Chief of Staff Steve Pelham.
• Assuming the Appointments Director position is Catherine Gayle Thrash, who is currently the governor’s Confidential Assistant.
• Legislative Liaison William Filmore will add Director of Local Government Relations to his title and serve as Ivey’s point man for city and county governments.
• “Adam, Liz, Catherine Gayle and William are valuable assets to my staff, and I look forward to continue working alongside them to better serve the state of Alabama,” Ivey said of her staffers.
• Full write up from ADN’s Will Whatley HERE.

5. Skip Tucker: A bad day for Santa.

• Skip Tucker promised a Christmas story, and boy does he have one.
• Ever wonder how the angel made it a-top the Christmas Tree?
• Well, according to Skip’s irreverent tale, it’s all due to a no good, very bad Christmas night many many years ago.
• Here’s an excerpt:

• Read Skip’s full column HERE.

 

News Briefs.

• Attorney General Steve Marshall will be making a statement at 10:30 a.m. today in his Montgomery office about matters regarding the Thanksgiving night shootings at Riverchase Galleria Mall in Hoover.
• That will be news. We’ll be there.

• Work is ramping up on a new outdoor stadium in Birmingham.
• A groundbreaking is set for Thursday afternoon for the new, 55,000-seat multi-use stadium that will be located next to the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex.
• Crews already are moving utilities and doing other site preparation work. But construction on the $174 million structure won’t begin until the spring or early summer of 2019.
• The stadium will be an upgrade to the city’s 91-year-old Legion Field, serving as a new home for the UAB football team and other events.
• The BJCC authority that oversees the project is also is making improvements to the nearby Legacy Arena and adding additional meeting and exhibition space.

• Judge Myron Thompson has ordered the Alabama Department of Corrections to show how it has attempted to comply with the court-mandated deadlines to increase mental health staffing in Alabama prisons.
• The order comes after plaintiffs asked the judge to find DOC in contempt for failing to meet the staffing deadlines.
• DOC has until next Friday to submit answers in writing. A hearing is called for January 7.
• Read the full story from AL.com’s Mike Cason HERE.

• Researchers at Huntsville’s HudsonAlpha have made a potentially big breakthrough in battling infant epilepsy.
• Scientists have pinpointed a piece of genetic code that causes infant seizures.
• The discovery could potentially open the door to new diagnostic and treatment options for families with infants who show signs of epilepsy.
• Scientists at the HudsonAlpha Institute For Biotechnology in Huntsville collaborated with teams around the country on the research.
• Read and watch the full story from WAFF’s Allen StroudHERE.

• Four U.S. Postal Service workers in Mobile are accused of stealing packages in connection with a marijuana distribution scheme.
• U.S. Attorney Richard W. Moore said a grand jury indicted the four Mobile workers: 33-year-old Unterria J. Rogers, 26-year-old Devon Donald, 26-year-old Sade Martin and 25-year-old Shambria Hill were each indicted on charges including stealing mail entrusted to them for delivery.
• Rogers also was indicted on charges of conspiring to distribute marijuana and possession of the drug with the intent to sell it.
• Read the story with a link to the U.S. Attorney’s release HERE.

• Senators are expected to vote Thursday on a resolution that would call on the U.S. to pull assistance from the Saudi-led war in Yemen, a measure that would rebuke Saudi Arabia after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
• The Senate may also consider a separate resolution condemning the journalist’s killing as senators have wrestled with how to respond to the Saudi journalist’s murder.
• U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman must have at least known of the plot, but President Donald Trump has been reluctant to pin the blame.
• While enough Republicans support the resolution, which was sponsored by Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and most other Republicans oppose it.
• “I think every single member of this body shares grave concerns about the murder of Khashoggi and wants accountability,” McConnell, R-Ky., said on the Senate floor Wednesday morning.
• “We also want to preserve a 70-year partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia, and we want to ensure it continues to serve American interests and stabilizes a dangerous and critical region.”
• Full story HERE.

 

Headlines.

 

 

 

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