The Greene County Democrat

Tag: D-Birmingham

  • Alabama’s new tax exemption for menstrual products started Monday

     

    The state’s new sales tax exemption on menstrual and maternity products, as well as baby essentials, will take effect on September 1.2025

    By Mary Claire Wooten, Alabama Political Reporters

     

    Alabama’s new tax exemption on menstrual products and other family essentials will take effect Monday, marking a significant change in how the state treats these necessary items. 

    Beginning September 1, 2025, the state’s 4 percent sales tax exemption applies to tampons, pads, menstrual cups and maternity products, as well as baby formula, bottles, wipes, breast pumps, diapers and maternity clothing. 
    The exemption applies only to state-level sales taxes, which means counties and municipalities may still collect their own local sales taxes unless they pass ordinances to extend the exemption.

    The measure was approved earlier this year. HB152, sponsored by Representative Neil Rafferty, D-Birmingham. Rafferty celebrated it as “a big win for Alabama’s working families.” The House of Representatives approved the bill unanimously in March, and Rafferty’s effort drew bipartisan backing throughout the process. 

    During debate, Representative Ginny Shaver, R-Leesburg, amended the bill to include adult diapers. 

    “You know I’m all about women, children and seniors,” said Shaver.
    The Alabama Senate followed with unanimous approval in May, sending the bill to Governor Kay Ivey’s desk. Ivey signed it into law later that month. 

    Legislative analysts estimate the change will cost the state around $13 million in lost revenue each year, but the impact on the budget was a modest tradeoff for the financial relief it will provide to families.

    Courtney Roark, Alabama Policy and Movement Building director for URGE: Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equality, said that these tax cuts are an essential component of family-first agendas.

    “No one should have to choose between affording food or rent and essential healthcare products like tampons or diapers,” said Roarke. “We should all be able to take care of our health, safety, and family needs without it threatening our economic security. This is a huge win that will provide material economic relief for young people struggling to make ends meet and support their families in Alabama.”

    Alongside the removal of the period tax, lawmakers also approved a phased reduction of the state grocery tax and expanded paid parental leave for teachers and state employees. Together, the initiatives represent an effort to ease economic pressures on Alabama households.

    Starting Monday, families across the state will begin to see the effects of those changes. 

  • Court hearing scheduled for August 14th Legislature approves new Congressional map over objections from Democrats

    Congressional District map adopted by Alabama State Legislature at Special Session, now subject to court review.
    By: Jacob Holmes, Alabama Political Reporter

    For the second time in two years, Alabama has a new Congressional district map. And this one, like the last, is headed for a court challenge.
    The Legislature has spent the last week debating the maps, although there wasn’t much debate to be had within the individual chambers; rather the criticisms of Democrats falling on the deaf ears of a Republican supermajority. 
    No, the real debate was behind the scenes between Republicans in the House and Senate, who pushed their own versions of maps containing just one majority-minority district.
    Those differences were put aside in a quick conference committee Friday that made a handful of changes that effectively brought the Black voting age population (BVAP) in the new District 2 to nearly 40 percent, higher than the original plan proposed by Sen. Steve Livingston, R-Scottsboro, and lower than the Pringle Congressional Plan from Rep. Chris Pringle, R-Mobile. It also lowers the BVAP in U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell’s District 7 from about 55 percent to just over 50 percent, barely maintaining a majority-minority district.
    Because the new map came out of conference committee, each chamber only had an hour to debate the map, with no real time to analyze it outside of the BVAP numbers.
    Republicans have argued the map complies with the orders of a three-judge federal panel and the U.S. Supreme Court by creating an “opportunity district” in which Black voters have an opportunity to elect the candidate of their choice.
    Democrats have criticized that framing, stating the map does not comply with the court’s opinion that a remedy map should create two majority-minority districts “or something quite close to it.”
    Congresswoman Terri Sewell said, “We expected to have two districts, with at least a 50%= majority to comply with the Supreme Court decision. The redistricting map produced by the Alabama Legislature is unfair and unacceptable to Black voters “
    Representative Chris England of Tuscaloosa said after the Legislature’s vote, “This body had no intention of delivering a fair plan. Their plan is influenced by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who is desperately trying to hold on to the five seat Republican advantage in the U. S. House of Representatives. We will have to go back to court to try to draw fair districts to represent Black voters in Alabama.”
    The Legislature will have the opportunity to find out who was right at a hearing of the three judge panel on Aug. 14.
    Livingston said there were three prongs of the court order to follow, including compactness and recognizing communities of interest, which the Republicans prioritized. 
    But the map relies in part on arguments the courts have already rejected, including the prioritization of keeping Baldwin and Mobile counties whole and together as a community of interest.
    Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, on Wednesday said the Republicans were basically “dropping an F-bomb on the Supreme Court.”
    Ivey quickly signed the map into law on Friday evening.
    “The Legislature knows our state, our people and our districts better than the federal courts or activist groups, and I am pleased that they answered the call, remained focused and produced new districts ahead of the court deadline,” Ivey said, despite the fact that federal courts will be the ultimate arbiters of whether the map is Constitutional.
    Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Reed, R-Jasper, called the map a “fair solution” that “offers more opportunity for all voters.”

    Both House and Senate committees brought in Othni Lathram, director of the Legislative Services Agency, to detail where he felt the court opinions were ambiguous in what remedy would satisfy the violations of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
    He also pointed out that, although the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the lower court in a 5-4 decision, conservative Justice Brett Kavanuagh dissented on portions of that opinion.
    “In those portions you are really reading a four-judge opinion,” Lathram said. “That’s a plurality, and it’s not legally binding.”
    House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, echoed that sentiment after the map’s passage Friday, noting that only one judge need be swayed by the new map.
    “I think the movement that we have and what we’ve come to compromise today is a good shot.”
    The Milligan Plaintiffs, who submitted their own remedial plan backed by House Democrats, denounced the state’s attempt at a remedial map.
    “Let’s be clear: The Alabama Legislature believes it is above the law. What we are dealing with is a group of lawmakers who are blatantly disregarding not just the Voting Rights Act, but a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court and a court order from the three-judge district court. Even worse, they continue to ignore constituents’ pleas to ensure the map is fair and instead remain determined to rob Black voters of the representation we deserve. We won’t let that happen.
    ‘ Since the beginning of the redistricting process, we have testified before the State Legislature, sent letters, and proposed maps — then we sued to defend Black representation and won. We will not rest until the State of Alabama complies with the Voting Rights Act and enacts a map with two districts where Black voters have a real opportunity to elect their candidates of choice and the Legislature fulfills its duty to obey the law,” said Evan Milligan.

    Meanwhile, the map appears to give the state the best chance to keep the status quo with it’s six Republican Congressional seats to just one Democrat seat; Alabama GOP chair John Wahl said immediately after the U.S. Supreme Court decision that he thought the state could draw a map where Republicans actually have a chance to win all seven seats.
    Livingston told Alabama Reflector that he had spoken with U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-California, about the redistricting process.
    “He said ‘I’m interested in keeping my majority,” Livingston said. “That was basically his conversation … he’s just telling us to do what we can do. We did the best we could.”

  • Newswire: Rep. Chris England of Tuscaloosa elected new chair of Alabama Democratic Party at Saturday meeting; infighting likely to continue

    By: Associated Press and Montgomery Advertiser

    Rep. Chris England

    Rep. Christopher England, of Tuscaloosa, received 104 of 171 ballots cast at the Saturday, November 2 meeting of the State Democratic Executive Committee, the state party’s governing body. This comes after months of in-house bickering about the party’s leadership.

    But the election may not settle the ongoing battle between two factions of the party over governance and leadership, as the previously elected chair said she would not step down.

    “Elected officials had to stand in the gap and create the platform the party did not have,” England said before the vote. “You’ve seen me stand for the issues that matter to us.”

    The vote came after the approximately 175 members of the SDEC voted 172 to 0 to remove Chair Nancy Worley and Vice-Chair Randy Kelley.

    After the vote, Worley said she was reelected in 2018 and she intends to continue leading the party.“The true SDEC members did not elect two new officers in our places today,” Worley said in a statement. “Randy and I look forward to continuing our leadership roles.”

    But the meeting represented a win for a group of Democrats opposed to Worley, who has chaired the state Democratic Party since 2013, and the Democratic National Committee, which ordered the state party in February to hold new elections and revise its bylaws to provide greater diversity on the SDEC.

    England, 43, a city attorney for Tuscaloosa, has served in the Alabama Legislature since 2006. He has been at the forefront of attempts to change the leadership and direction of the party and pledged before the vote to work to “leave no stone unturned” in rebuilding the party. He promised to rebuild local county organizations and staff up the state party.

    “As we kick the old folks out, the new folks are coming in,” he said. “We want to seize on that energy. We’re going to raise money, money like you’ve never seen.”

    Former Rep. Patricia Todd, D-Birmingham, was elected vice-chair.
    Worley has previously accused the DNC of sending contradictory instructions and of trying to dilute the strength of African American voters in the party. The DNC said Worley missed deadlines and was nonresponsive to instructions.

    Without the orders implemented, the DNC refused to ratify the state’s delegate selection plan and warned that inaction by the state party could prevent Alabama from being seated at next year’s Democratic National Convention. That would effectively invalidate votes cast in next March’s Democratic presidential primary.
    A group of SDEC members, backed by U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, drafted a new set of bylaws that were approved by the DNC in September. The members then got a majority of the SDEC to vote to hold a meeting to ratify those bylaws on Oct. 5. At that meeting, the members set leadership elections for Nov. 2.

    Worley proceeded with her own meeting on Oct. 12, which ratified a second set of bylaws — not approved by the DNC — and set elections for Nov. 16. On Wednesday, Worley and Kelly sued to stop the meeting of the Democrats.

    Montgomery Circuit Judge Greg Griffin blocked the meeting in a decision late Friday, ruling that it would cause “chaos and confusion.” But the Alabama Supreme Court stayed the order about two hours later, allowing the gathering to proceed.

    The new party bylaws preserve the Minority Caucus to nominate African Americans to the SDEC. But they also create new caucuses to nominate Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, LGBTQ individuals, youth and those with disabilities. Approximately 68 people were seated from the youth, Hispanic, Native American and Asian/Pacific Islander caucuses on Saturday.