Category: Blog

Arise legislative update: Week of Jan. 19, 2026

By Matt Okarmus

Arise’s LaTrell Clifford Wood focuses this week on one of our key hunger relief priorities: no-cost school meals. After the Legislature increased state funding for school meals last year, Alabama public schools served 2.8 million more breakfasts to our Alabama students in fall 2025.

Greater access to school meals improves learning outcomes, and Arise is advocating to ensure that this school meal funding remains in the Education Trust Fund budget for school year 2026-27 and beyond. Arise also will keep working to increase this investment and ensure that every student in Alabama’s public schools can access a no-cost school breakfast option.

Keep up with all of our action alerts and bills of interest by signing up at alarise.org.

Hi, everybody. My name is LaTrell Clifford Wood, and I’m our hunger policy advocate here at Alabama Arise. I’m excited to be bringing you this week’s legislative update with a little bit of a tilt. We’re going to be focusing on hunger policy.

So this year, our big legislative priority is to continue school breakfast funding so that our Alabama students can get access to no-cost school meals options. Last week, we saw the governor’s budget come out, as well as her State of the State address. And we really appreciated her focus on a strong start and a strong finish primarily through continuing to improve Alabama’s educational outcomes.

We have seen expanded school meals access improve learning outcomes since 2019, with nearly two out of every three Alabama students having access to a no-cost school meals option. This past legislative session in the spring, we saw the state invest their first-ever appropriation that helped to support no-cost school meals options. And with that, this fall, we saw 2.8 million more breakfasts served to our Alabama students.

And so we are seeing that school meals access doesn’t just improve learning outcomes in theory, but it does it in Alabama. And so we are hoping that our Legislature will ensure that this funding is institutionalized in the Department of Education’s budget for school year 2026-27 and beyond. But we also hope that we can reconsider how much is being allocated to ensure that every Alabama student has access to a no-cost school breakfast option.

And with that, we look forward to continuing this fight with you all, particularly our Arise members, as we push to ensure that we are building a better Alabama for everyone. Thank you.

Arise 2026: How we’re working to build a better Alabama

By Matt Okarmus

Alabama Arise believes in dignity, equity and justice for all. We believe in an Alabama where everyone’s voice is heard and everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential. And we believe better public policies are the key to building a brighter future for our state. 

Below, we’ll share some details of that vision as the Alabama Legislature’s regular session begins January 13. This blog focuses on the crucial legislative priorities on our 2026 roadmap to change.

If you’re not already a member of Alabama Arise, join us! Members will receive an exclusive version of our weekly Legislative Updates throughout the session. These emails include a weekly video update from Arise staff members on what’s happening at the State House, as well as details about upcoming legislation and links to additional resources.

Executive Director Robyn Hyden welcomes us to the 2026 session

Arise’s Robyn Hyden welcomes everyone to the Alabama Legislature’s 2026 regular session. Watch to see what to expect this year and to learn more about our advocacy on school breakfast, protecting funding for public schools and other member-selected legislative priorities. 

Strong investments in schools, housing and transit improve life for all Alabamians

Strong funding for public services like education and public health broadens opportunity for everyone, especially for Alabamians with low incomes. Arise members for decades have urged robust and secure state funding for these services. Our top adequate state budget priorities include protecting funding for public schools and securing state support for affordable housing and public transportation.

READ OUR FACT SHEET

Closing the health coverage gap: Alabama must enact policies to save lives

As Alabama enters the 2026 legislative session, Medicaid expansion and maternal health will be central to the state’s health equity conversations. Recent federal policy changes have made these conversations more urgent and more complex. Our top health equity priorities are Medicaid expansion and investments in comprehensive maternal health care.

READ OUR FACT SHEET

Federal SNAP cuts underscore Alabama’s need to protect and increase food access

Alabama’s food insecurity rates are among the worst in the country. More than 1 in 6 people in our state (17%) face food insecurity, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health. And that share is even larger for children: Nearly 1 in 4 Alabama children (23%) live in households with food insecurity. Our top hunger relief priorities are increasing the availability of no-cost school meals, protecting SNAP food assistance and continuing the successful SUN Bucks summer nutrition program.

READ OUR FACT SHEET

An inclusive democracy is vital to building a better Alabama for all

Alabama was central to the struggle for democracy and voting rights in the United States during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. And the need for our state to do more to build a more inclusive democracy continues today. That is especially true after recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions affecting the rights of people nationwide to have their say in who represents them at the local, state and federal levels. Our top inclusive democracy priorities include no-excuse absentee voting, early voting and removal of barriers to voting rights restoration.

READ OUR FACT SHEET

Alabama’s justice system should focus on rehabilitation, not cruelty

Alabama’s criminal justice system too often prioritizes punishment over evidence-based interventions. This cruel orientation has fueled heavy-handed sentencing policies and a broken parole system. And it has led to a death penalty system where state officials continue to kill prisoners against the recommendation of the juries that convicted them. Our justice reform priorities include reforms to Alabama’s sentencing and parole practices and legislation to make the state’s ban on judicial override in death penalty cases retroactive. 

READ OUR FACT SHEET

Alabama’s tax system is upside down and needs real reform

Alabama’s tax structure is among the nation’s most unfair and unjust. The state is heavily reliant on regressive sales taxes on consumer goods that account for a larger share of spending for households with low incomes. Our state continues to tax groceries, though at a lower rate than other goods after grocery tax reductions in 2023 and 2025. And Alabama does not tax numerous services that people with higher incomes more often purchase. Our tax reform priorities include untaxing groceries, reining in income tax breaks for wealthy households and opposing further diversion of public school funding to private schools and homeschooling.

READ OUR FACT SHEET

Empower workers to build an economy that works for all Alabamians

Alabama has a history of anti-worker policies that prioritize the interests of wealthy corporations over those of working people. This top-down structure has led to our state falling behind in measurable standards of well-being. Our worker power priorities include increased accountability for child labor law violators, expansion of paid leave and stronger protections for temp workers.

READ OUR FACT SHEET

Arise legislative update: Week of Jan. 12, 2026

By Matt Okarmus

Arise’s Robyn Hyden welcomes everyone to the Alabama Legislature’s 2026 regular session. Watch to see what to expect this year and to learn more about our advocacy on school breakfast, protecting funding for public schools and other member-selected legislative priorities. Click the link below for a full rundown on our 2026 priorities.

Full transcript:

Happy new year. I’m Robyn Hyden, the executive director of Alabama Arise and Alabama Arise Action, coming to you with an update on the 2026 legislative session.

Alabama’s ’26 session will start on Tuesday, Jan. 13. Why are we starting so early this year? It is an election year, so you’ll be seeing a lot more of your state and congressional elected officials. The primary elections are going to be on Tuesday, May 19. So we’ll see a pretty quick legislative session. We’ll have a short window of time to come in and influence our priority legislation.

Thank you for your support. Our priorities this session are going to be one, extending funding for no-cost school breakfast. This was one of our biggest victories last session, and we’re hoping to continue to extend this funding to more public schools. Two will be defending public schools from further attacks, funding cuts, funding diversions like the CHOOSE Act, or tax credits, which don’t help working families. And three, we’ll be working to advance and defend all of our other member-selected issue priorities.

So if you’re not already plugged in, please keep an eye on your inbox for Alabama Arise action alerts. We will be asking you to call your lawmakers, email them, come see them at our Legislative Day in February. Stand with us to make sure that working families and low-income Alabamians have a voice and representation at the state Legislature. Thank you so much. Have a great week.

Southwest Alabama organizer Bernadette Allen brings new energy to Alabama Arise

By Whitney Washington

Bernadette Allen is one of Arise’s newest staff members, joining our team as the Southwest Alabama organizer in May 2025. Like many other staff members, she began her career in a different field before joining Alabama Arise.

Bernadette worked in the federal government for 18 years, retiring last May. In her free time, she sought opportunities to serve her community by volunteering with Stand Up Mobile and Black Voters Matter. Her colleagues and friends suggested she apply at Arise. And as she says, “The rest is history.”

In less than a year, Bernadette has learned a great deal from her colleagues on the organizing team.

“Formeeca and Tamela have suggested we use video shorts on social media platforms to engage young people in our work. I believe their vision will soon be a major medium through which we attract new Arise groups, individual members, partners and employees,” she says.

She’s especially fond of Arise’s longest-serving organizer, Stan Johnson.

“I would like to trade places with [Stan] as long as I had access to the knowledge he has gleaned from at least half of his lived experiences, personally and professionally,” she says. “To me he is the ‘triple OG’ of organizing.”

She’s learned to practice self care to do her job as well as she can.

“I care for myself by intentionally balancing work and personal life activities,” she says. “I treat myself to fine dining, live entertainment, golfing and traveling multiple times in a year.”

A Mobile native, Bernadette loves celebrating Mardi Gras.

“Alabamians and tourists celebrate the season in harmony without regard for race, color, religion, gender, sexuality or socioeconomic status.”

Bernadette has lots of dreams for her tenure at Arise. She’d love to bring more young people into our work and hopes to have Arise active in as many areas of the state as possible.

Members have had an impact on Bernadette. She sees them as integral to our mission and looks forward to all the ways she can continue to work with them. From attending events like listening sessions and Legislative Day to sharing action alerts, members make Arise’s mission a reality.

Bernadette is an unmistakable new force at Arise, and she’s excited to see what’s next.

“I have a passion for advocating for people who are marginalized in any way, shape or form,” she says. “I make no apologies for meeting the moment with the same energy and enthusiasm that comes from the opposition.”

Arise’s 2026 priorities highlight our roadmap for change in Alabama

By Matt Okarmus

Nearly 600 members voted to affirm Alabama Arise’s 2026 legislative priorities after this fall’s Annual Meeting. In order, our priorities for the next four years will be:

  • Health equity
  • Hunger relief
  • Adequate state budgets
  • Inclusive democracy
  • Justice reform
  • Tax reform
  • Worker power

Arise adopted a new approach to member voting on legislative priorities for 2026, helping us better commit to multiyear advocacy on the issues that matter most to our members. This approach better reflects the depth and breadth of Arise’s work.

Email organizing director Presdelane Harris at pres@alarise.org to set up an issue preview event in your area ahead of the Legislature’s 2026 session, which starts on Tuesday, Jan. 13th.

Long federal road ahead for SNAP, health care

By Alabama Arise

By Carol Gundlach, senior policy analyst, and Debbie Smith, Cover Alabama campaign director

Alabama Arise believes that society should care for the most vulnerable in our nation—children, the elderly, those who are disabled and those who have fallen on temporary hard times. Since the Great Depression, Americans have been assured that, no matter how hard times get, our basic nutritional needs would be met by our government.

But 2025 has been a head-spinning and traumatic year for the 750,000 Alabama recipients of SNAP food assistance (commonly called Food Stamps), a stable pillar in America’s response to poverty and hunger. For 60 years, through multiple federal shutdowns, budget crises and wars, SNAP assistance has reliably fed hungry Americans. 2025 was different. 

Bill doesn’t help those who need it

HR1, the budget reconciliation bill (or “One Big Beautiful Bill”) passed by Congress in July, made it harder for people to receive food assistance and reduced the amount of assistance available, even as grocery costs rose. Existing time limits and burdensome paperwork requirements for some SNAP recipients were expanded to include unhoused people, veterans, children aging out of foster care and elderly recipients. 

Non-citizens and refugees legally in the U.S. were denied food assistance. And states, for the first time, will have to pay for some SNAP benefit costs. By mid-2027, Alabama will have to come up with approximately $175M to pay for our existing SNAP program.

Shutdown deepened impact

The October federal government shutdown only made the food crisis worse. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) refused to use its emergency funds and instead cut off food assistance to 42 million Americans, including all SNAP recipients in Alabama. 

Food banks and pantries, bolstered by small state grants, tried to fill the gap but many of our neighbors faced hunger as the holidays approached. The ending of the shutdown allowed the Department of Human Resources to get SNAP benefits out in record time, but legal immigrants face immediate termination of SNAP benefits. And many more people face new, draconian time limits that began in December. 

And many of the same people face huge increases in the cost of their health care.

Health costs will soar

As of this writing, Congress has not extended enhanced premium tax credits (ePTCs), which lower monthly premiums for nearly 500,000 Alabamians who get their coverage through the ACA Marketplace. As a result, 130,000 Alabamians are expected to lose coverage. This decision threatens to roll back the significant progress Alabama has made in reducing its uninsured rate.

The enhanced tax credits have played a central role in that progress. Lowering premiums opened Healthcare.gov plans to workers who had long been locked out of affordable coverage. Nearly half of Alabama’s Healthcare.gov enrollees fall into income ranges that would qualify them for Medicaid expansion if they lived in the 40 states that have expanded. Without the credits, many will face premiums they simply cannot pay, increasing the number of uninsured at a time when families are already navigating high costs of living.

This shift will place additional pressure on Alabama’s health care system, especially rural hospitals and clinics that already struggle with staffing shortages, rising uncompensated care, and service reductions. 

HR 1 complicates health care access

Federal changes under HR 1 create additional challenges. The law eliminates financial incentives meant to help states like Alabama adopt Medicaid expansion, including extra federal funding that would have supported expansion startup costs for the first two years. It also places new restrictions on increasing provider taxes, which Alabama uses to help fund its share of Medicaid. These limits would become more restrictive if Alabama chose to expand Medicaid in the future, and even now, they place a long-term cap on our state’s flexibility to finance Medicaid as health care costs continue to rise.

HR 1 also shifts new SNAP funding responsibilities to states. This will strain the state budget at a time when food insecurity is rising and families are struggling to meet basic needs.

Taken together, these issues ensure that health care and food access will be unavoidable priorities in the 2025 legislative session. The coming year will bring real challenges, but it also offers Alabama lawmakers an opportunity and a responsibility to strengthen the state’s health and nutrition safety nets at a moment when Alabamians need them most.

My trip to South Africa: learning from another young democracy

By Robyn Hyden

I was fortunate this fall to join a unique learning exchange of 10 leaders from across the U.S. and 9 colleagues from South Africa. We spent a week traveling in their country and meeting with grassroots leaders, starting in Johannesburg and later moving to the coastal town of Durban to learn from their nation’s struggle to defeat an apartheid government and establish a multiracial, multifaith and multiethnic democracy. 

Our own multiracial democracy is not so well-established, given that many Alabamians were legally barred from voting rights in our state until 60 years ago, and these rights remain consistently under threat. Black voters are still blocked from voting at a rate three times that of white voters due to unequal sentencing and felony disenfranchisement laws, and numerous rules have been proposed just this year that would effectively disenfranchise naturalized immigrants.

From our South African colleagues, I learned coalitions of solidarity to protect the rights of everyone across lines of race, religion and ethnicity are hard-won. These relationships must be carefully fostered and protected in our movements. Democracy itself is fragile and under continuous threat in both of our nations. We must become consistent champions of democratic participation at every level for a free society to flourish.

When our colleagues come to Montgomery next spring for the 2026 Selma Jubilee Celebration, I imagine continuing our fellowship by sharing lessons, camaraderie, joy – and most of all hope – for a more democratic and inclusive future.

Robyn pictured with the U.S. / South Africa Community Organizers’ Exchange at the Mandela Capture Site in Howick, South Africa, in October.

Join us this holiday season

By Jacob Smith

We know people are struggling because of bad public policies, especially this year. We’re grateful to our partner organizations leading the charge with direct services. At Alabama Arise, we are focused on the root of the problem – improving policies for all Alabamians. 

Because you’re a member, you know that you can go to alarise.org/donate to make a one-time gift. But there are other ways to give that you may not have thought about:

You can give to our 501(c)(4) partner organization Alabama Arise Action at alariseaction.org. Funding for Alabama Arise Action allows us to send action alerts and increase lobbying efforts at the State House. 

You can also make a gift that lasts! When we receive a bequest, it has a lasting impact. Leave us in your will so that we can keep working on our shared vision.

Finally, make a monthly gift! Go to alarise.org/donate and select “make my gift recurring.” We work year round to engage everyday people in policy–it’s not just during the legislative session.

As always, please feel free to reach out to me at jacob@alarise.org. Thank you for your generosity this holiday season.

What Alabamians need to know about Healthcare.gov tax credits and open enrollment for 2026

By Debbie Smith

Hundreds of thousands of Alabamians will face higher health care costs if Congress does not act to extend the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits (ePTCs) that make Healthcare.gov coverage more affordable. These tax credits reduce monthly premiums based on how much money a family makes. That helps families who don’t have access to health insurance through their jobs pay less for their coverage.

The ePTCs have helped hundreds of thousands of families across Alabama access care, fill prescriptions and stay healthy. With open enrollment beginning Saturday, Nov. 1, many Alabamians already have started seeing 2026 premiums that no longer include these extra savings, which are set to expire on Dec. 31, 2025.

Health coverage through Healthcare.gov has made a life-changing difference for families across Alabama. Today, more than 400,000 Alabamians pay lower monthly premiums thanks to these enhanced tax credits.

A smiling man wearing a white coat and holding a clipboard speaks with a woman wearing an orange blouse and blue jeans. Both are sitting in chairs. Text: "Alabama Arise blog post: What Alabamians need to know about Healthcare.gov tax credits and open enrollment."

Why this matters so much in Alabama

Because Alabama has not expanded Medicaid, our state relies heavily on the Healthcare.gov Marketplace to fill the health coverage gap and help working people get the care they need. Losing ePTCs would mean hundreds of thousands of Alabamians could no longer afford coverage. This would widen the gap between those who can see a doctor and those who cannot.

In fact, 51% of Healthcare.gov enrollees in Alabama would qualify for Medicaid if they lived in one of the 40 states that have expanded Medicaid. In the absence of Medicaid expansion, ePTCs are the only realistic path to affordable coverage for these Alabamians.

What’s at stake for Alabama

Who would be hit the hardest

  • Small business owners and self-employed workers. More than 65,000 Alabamians in this group rely on Marketplace coverage.
  • Older adults and families with modest incomes. A 60-year-old Alabama couple making $85,000 could see annual premiums for a standard plan jump from $6,970 to more than $27,000.
  • Households with low incomes. Individuals earning around $16,000 or families of four earning around $33,000 could be priced out of coverage entirely.

What to know for 2026 open enrollment

Open enrollment for Healthcare.gov plans runs from Nov. 1, 2025, through Jan. 15, 2026. This is the time for new and returning enrollees to shop for the coverage that best fits their needs and budgets. There is no one-size-fits-all option, but here are some key things every Alabamian should know:

  • Choose your plan by Dec. 15 for coverage starting Jan. 1, 2026. You can make changes through Jan. 15 if needed.
  • Update your information. If you have Healthcare.gov coverage now, review your contact details and income estimate to make sure your plan and tax credits are accurate. If your premium goes up, please let us know about it. We need to document how much costs have risen so we can advocate for you. Visit coveralabama.org/share or email coveralabama@alarise.org.
  • Stay informed. If Congress acts to extend ePTCs, premiums may decrease later in open enrollment, so check back in December for updates. Even if Congress does not extend ePTCs, most Marketplace consumers still will receive some level of help in 2026. But this amount likely will be far less than participants may have received before.
  • Get free local help. Talk to a navigator with Enroll Alabama for trusted, no-cost enrollment assistance. Navigators can help you compare plans, understand your options and sign up for coverage. Visit EnrollALA.com or call 844-248-7698.
  • Beware of junk insurance plans. Plans sold outside Healthcare.gov, such as short-term, association or health-sharing plans, may look cheaper, but they often do not cover essential services like prescriptions, mental health, maternity care or hospital stays. They also may not cap your out-of-pocket costs, leaving you exposed to medical debt if you get sick or injured.

What you can do

Alabamians should not have to choose between health care and basic needs. Extending the ePTCs would protect coverage for more than 400,000 Alabamians and help keep health care costs down for everyone.

You can help protect affordable coverage and make your voice heard:

What Alabamians need to know about SNAP during the federal shutdown

By Carol Gundlach

People should not have to choose between food, health care and other basic needs. But the White House’s decision to delay issuing food assistance benefits means millions of struggling families are about to be forced to make exactly that choice as the holidays approach.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) last week officially notified Alabama and other states that it would not issue food assistance benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) at the beginning of November. These benefits, which for now are 100% federally funded, are sometimes referred to as food stamps. The Department of Human Resources (DHR) confirmed Monday that SNAP participants in Alabama will see their benefits delayed.

More than 750,000 Alabamians – 1 in 7 people in our state – participate in SNAP. Nearly 40% of SNAP participants are children, according to the Food Research and Action Center. Alabama provided an average of $194 each in SNAP assistance to each participant in July. That means an average Alabama family of three participating in SNAP will lose nearly $600 next month.

Withholding these benefits will increase hunger and hardship across our state. It also could be financially devastating for grocery stores and other retailers, especially those serving large numbers of SNAP participants.

What SNAP participants should know

SNAP benefits still could be released later in November, either because the USDA changes its policy or because the budget standoff is resolved. If that happens, DHR will try to get November food assistance out as quickly as possible. But delays may occur, especially for people who get money added to their SNAP EBT cards early in the month.

If you are a SNAP participant, you still should be able to spend any money you already have on your EBT card after Nov. 1. But you will not see any additional money added to the card in November (or until this situation is resolved).

If you are scheduled to recertify your eligibility in November or to submit any paperwork to DHR, you should do that to avoid any further delays. And if you believe you are eligible for SNAP, you should go ahead and apply now. DHR is still processing applications, and eligible applicants will receive SNAP benefits retroactively to the date they applied once this situation is resolved.

To find emergency food from a food bank or food pantry, call 2-1-1 or visit Feeding Alabama’s food finder.

USDA can and should fund SNAP benefits for November

The USDA is using SNAP as a bargaining chip in the debate over the federal budget. The agency blames its decision to delay November SNAP benefits on the federal government shutdown. But the truth is that the USDA maintains a SNAP contingency fund with enough money in it to cover most of the November benefits for the entire country.

USDA officials already have spent some reserve money from that fund to help states cover their SNAP administrative costs. But the USDA now claims it cannot legally use this money to help struggling families. This claim is contrary to both the plain language of federal law and the White House’s own prior practice.

The USDA already has dipped into some of its reserve funds to help farmers during the shutdown. While we support our farmers, we also support helping hungry families, especially with Thanksgiving approaching. Some states are scrambling to find enough state money to cover SNAP benefits through November. But the USDA has announced that, unlike in previous shutdowns and unlike for other federal programs, it will not reimburse states for any money spent for food assistance.

How you can fight hunger and speak out for change

Donate to a food bank or food pantry. Hunger is about to soar due to the SNAP benefit delay. Please consider generously donating to your local food bank or food pantry. Unlike most shoppers, food banks buy food in bulk and at a discount, so financial gifts can feed far more people than direct gifts of food. But food banks and food pantries appreciate every donation and will use them to help our neighbors and communities.

Demand action from your federal officials. Food banks play an essential role in relieving hunger, but they cannot replace SNAP. The USDA’s decision to delay November SNAP benefits will increase hardship for families across our country. This policy also is a part of an effort to pressure Congress to discontinue enhanced premium tax credits that make Marketplace health coverage more affordable for millions of Americans, including nearly 500,000 Alabamians.

You can speak out now to help protect food assistance and health care access for people across Alabama:

People and families need both food and health care. No one should have to make a choice between seeing a doctor and keeping food on the table, and Congress should support both food assistance and affordable health insurance.