Category: Blog

Arise legislative update: Week of March 17, 2025

By Alabama Arise

Arise’s LaTrell Clifford Wood provides an exciting update about our progress on untaxing groceries in Alabama. LaTrell highlights HB 386 by Rep. Danny Garrett, which would reduce Alabama’s state sales tax on groceries from 3% to 2%, saving families an estimated $122 million annually. Thanks to the efforts of Garrett and the Joint Study Commission on Grocery Taxation, we are optimistic about further progress this year.

HB 386 will be up for a vote on the House floor on Tuesday, March 18. Stay tuned for updates, and join us for Arise Legislative Day on Thursday, March 20, at the State House in Montgomery as we continue advocating to untax groceries in Alabama!

Full transcript:

Hi, everybody. My name is LaTrell Clifford Wood, and I’m our hunger policy advocate here at Alabama Arise. Now, I’m sometimes endearingly known as the “Food Lady.” In my role, I sit on the Joint Study Commission for Grocery Taxation, so I’m here today to talk to you all about untaxing groceries.

Untaxing groceries is an issue that Arise and our membership have been working on since the ’90s. Now, Rep. Danny Garrett has introduced a tax package, including HB 386, that further reduces the grocery tax. HB 386 would reduce the grocery tax from 3% to 2% and save Alabama families about $122 million annually.

We are so grateful to Rep. Garrett, who has spearheaded this legislation this session, as well as those who are on the Joint Study Commission for Grocery Taxation, including Rep. Penni McClammy and Sen. Andrew Jones. Their efforts and my own were preceded by former Arise employees and legislators, including Rep. John Knight, current Sen. Merika Coleman, as well as Akiesha Anderson, who preceded me on the Joint Study Commission on Grocery Taxation.

Our members’ advocacy over many years has gotten results on this issue in 2023, and we look forward to and are optimistic that we’ll get more results this year.

Now, where are these bills going from here? Where is HB 386 going from here? The bill will be on the House floor Tuesday, March 18, and we look forward to updating our membership more during Legislative Day on Thursday, March 20. See you at the State House!

Maternal health, paid leave are early highlights in Alabama’s 2025 legislative session

By Carol Gundlach

Alabama Arise is advocating successfully to advance several good bills early in the Legislature’s 2025 regular session. Our members are speaking out and getting results on maternal health care access, paid parental leave and other issues.

The session began Feb. 4 and likely will end in mid-May. Here is an overview of Arise’s advocacy at the State House this year.

Maternal and infant health care

Both the House and Senate have voted overwhelmingly for legislation to improve Medicaid access for pregnant women. HB 89 by Rep. Marilyn Lands, D-Huntsville, and SB 102 by Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, would use a process known as presumptive eligibility to streamline Medicaid enrollment for eligible women, allowing them to get health care earlier in their pregnancies.

We also have seen early momentum for bipartisan bills to ensure paid parental leave for teachers and state employees. HB 327 by Rep. Ginny Shavers, R-Leesburg, and SB 199 by Sen. Vivian Figures, D-Mobile, would provide eight weeks of paid leave for mothers and two weeks for fathers. The leave would apply to childbirth, adoption or miscarriage. Gov. Kay Ivey prioritized this policy in her State of the State address, and Arise strongly supports it.

Arise also supports bills to allow nursing mothers an exemption from jury duty and to improve Medicaid coverage for mothers facing postpartum depression. We back legislation to allow some women convicted of crimes to serve supervised probation during and immediately after pregnancy. And we support requiring employers to allow breaks for nursing mothers to express breast milk.

Adequate state budgets and public transportation

Medicaid expansion would help make health coverage affordable for all Alabamians, and it remains a top Arise budget priority. (See page 3.) We also oppose legislation to authorize junk health plans that could deny coverage for people with preexisting conditions. And we oppose federal efforts to slash Medicaid and food assistance to fund tax breaks for wealthy households. (See page 1.)

Arise is advocating for state funding to allow all public schools to provide universal free breakfast to every student if they choose. We are seeking to ensure ongoing support for Summer EBT benefits for more than 500,000 Alabama children, which our members’ advocacy secured last year. And we are working with other advocates to reform Alabama’s school funding formula, ensuring equitable public education for all students.

Arise was instrumental in creating state trust funds for public transportation and affordable housing. We are working with legislators on multiple possibilities to support these services.

Reforming Alabama’s upside-down tax system

Alabama reduced its state sales tax on groceries from 4% to 3% in 2023. Reducing the grocery tax further and ultimately eliminating it remains an important Arise goal. This may require amending the original legislation to phase in the next reduction sooner.

Arise supports good bills to end the state sales tax on infant formula, diapers and women’s hygiene needs. And we are closely monitoring the CHOOSE Act’s impact on education funding. Arise opposed the 2024 law, which will divert at least $100 million annually away from public schools and toward private schools and homeschooling.

Voting rights, criminal justice reform and death penalty reform

Voting is a fundamental way for people to make their voices heard. Arise opposes efforts to make it harder for people to exercise their right to vote. We support legislation to allow early voting, reduce barriers to absentee voting, and remove barriers to voting rights restoration for disenfranchised Alabamians.

Reforming criminal justice policies, including the death penalty, has been an Arise priority for many years. We are working to pass legislation improving the state’s broken parole system. We also back efforts to apply Alabama’s ban on judicial overrides of jury sentencing decisions in capital cases retroactively.

A man stands at a podium speaking to lawmakers who are seated.
Arise worker policy advocate Dev Wakeley testifies Feb. 6 against HB 29, a bill that would make it harder for workers to claim unemployment insurance benefits. (Photo by Robyn Hyden)

Workers’ rights and racial justice

Arise is committed to supporting safe workplaces and workers’ rights to organize. We support legislation allowing Alabama to recapture tax incentives from companies that violate child labor laws. We also support a bill to end state restrictions on local minimum wage increases. And we oppose legislation making it harder for people to receive unemployment insurance benefits after they lose their job.

The 2024 federal election has influenced state legislative priorities. Numerous state bills are targeting people without immigration documents and attacking efforts to advance racial equity and inclusion. Arise stands with our partners and friends in opposition to harmful bills in these areas.

Arise legislative update: Week of March 10, 2025

By Alabama Arise

Arise’s Jennifer Harris provides an update on bills to expand access to maternal health care, postpartum care and paid parental leave in Alabama. She celebrates the progress on HB 89 and SB 102, which would remove barriers to Medicaid enrollment for expectant mothers, as well as SB 191 and HB 322, which would improve access to care for mothers facing postpartum depression. Lawmakers also are advancing HB 327 and SB 199 to ensure paid parental leave for teachers and state employees.

Jennifer also shares the good news that both Republicans and Democrats are working to continue reducing Alabama’s state sales tax on groceries. HB 386, which would reduce the state grocery tax from 3% to 2%, could be up for a House vote when lawmakers return March 18.

Full transcript:

Hello. I am Jennifer Harris, senior health policy advocate at Alabama Arise, and I’m excited to share legislative updates from the State House this week on maternal health and family supports.

First up, HB 89 and companion bill SB 102, presumptive eligibility. Medicaid covers almost half of all births in Alabama, but unfortunately, for many of those moms, the paperwork process can take up to 60 days. This bill removes those barriers and allows moms to schedule their first prenatal appointments during the approval process. Prenatal health care for the entire pregnancy is a key factor in ensuring we have healthier moms and infants. These bills continue to move successfully through both chambers with bipartisan support.

Next up, SB 191 and HB 322. These bills seek to address postpartum depression in new mothers. They ask Medicaid to create a screening tool that helps physicians identify postpartum depression symptoms, provides for adequate treatment, and creates educational material to share with mothers, families, and providers.

In continued support for new and expanding families, SB 199 and HB 327 provide paid parental leave for new parents with eight weeks of paid leave. These bipartisan bills lead the Southeast in supporting working families.

And lastly, Alabama Arise worked to lift advocate voices and successfully champion a state grocery tax cut. This tax cut was implemented as a two-step process, with the first step beginning in 2023. HB 386 was introduced last week to continue our work to ease financial burdens for Alabama families. Look for updates to come on this exciting development.

The legislative session will be on break this week, but you can stay up to date by visiting our website, alarise.org, to sign up for our email list and action alerts. Be sure to follow us @AlabamaArise on all social media platforms and share with your friends and family.

Federal Medicaid, SNAP threats imperil Alabamians

By Chris Sanders

Lawmakers should not hurt people who are struggling to help people who are already doing well. But Congress is considering cuts to health coverage, food assistance and other human services that would do exactly that. These proposals would increase hunger and hardship for hundreds of thousands of Alabamians.

The U.S. House last month approved a budget resolution that could set the stage for more than $1 trillion of cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) over the next decade. Congressional leaders are weighing these cuts to offset the cost of renewing huge tax breaks for wealthy people. Among those breaks are higher estate tax exemptions and a cut to the top marginal income tax rate.

The contrast is stark. The amount of potential Medicaid and SNAP cuts in the House resolution would be roughly equal to the cost of extending tax breaks for just the wealthiest 1% of households, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) found.

These funding cuts would increase suffering across Alabama. As many as 1 in 5 Alabamians enrolled in Medicaid could lose coverage due to cuts or work reporting requirements, CBPP estimated. Many other people could see SNAP assistance reduced or eliminated. Other potential targets include school meals, student loan assistance and tax credits for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

“Our lawmakers should reject harmful service cuts for working people and tax giveaways to wealthy households,” Alabama Arise executive director Robyn Hyden said. “They should focus instead on building an economy that works for everyone in Alabama and across our country.”

Arise is speaking out against harmful cuts

The proposed cuts are not a done deal. The House and Senate still must agree on an identical budget resolution. After that, lawmakers would have to identify specific cuts to meet the resolution’s numerical targets. Then the House and Senate would have to pass budget legislation to enact those cuts.

Arise and our partners have spoken out repeatedly against these harmful proposals. We joined 55 other groups in January to urge Alabama’s congressional delegation to reject additional tax breaks for wealthy households. The joint letter asked Congress to provide tax reductions for working families instead by expanding the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit. Arise also joined 111 groups in February in another letter urging Alabama’s delegation to reject cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.

Read the January letter here and the February letter here.

Arise and our members will continue opposing service cuts that would hurt families who struggle to make ends meet. As we wrote to Congress in January: “Americans want you to meet the moment and put the future and well-being of all of us ahead of tax cuts for the wealthy and well-connected.”

‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’

By Robyn Hyden

Mr. Rogers said his mother told him the quote above when things he saw on the news frightened him.

We are in scary times, to say the least. Congress is advancing a billionaires-first budget that could gut Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, TANF, public health and school meals. Our president is pushing the boundaries of executive authority and challenging the rule of law. Billionaires are vilifying people who access public benefits and calling the core functions of government into question.

Immigrant, Black and LGBTQ friends and neighbors are being pushed into the shadows as they are attacked and harassed. Some are seeing their competence or their very right to exist in our country or in their workplaces questioned.

But our history is not entirely written yet. The outcomes will be determined by those who show up, speak out, march in the streets and dissent.

When I look around and see all the Arise members and allies standing together to speak out, I see the helpers. Thank you for standing with us to help hold the line for our democracy and for an inclusive, fair and free society.

Make the most of your membership

By Jacob Smith

At Alabama Arise, we work to engage everyday people on policies that impact people with low incomes. Our collective voice is stronger together!

We’re in the middle of Alabama’s legislative session, which means your support is fueling our work at a critical time. Will you help us build momentum? Here are a few ideas:

  • Visit alarise.org/donate to make a monthly or one-time gift.
  • Share our social media posts and action alert emails with your friends and family.
  • Join us at Arise Legislative Day in Montgomery on March 20.

As a member, you are a part of our network of more than 150 organizations and 1,500 individuals. You also can access benefits such as:

  • The Daily News Digest, which compiles relevant news and opinions about Arise’s priorities.
  • Weekly legislative updates during the session so that you always know what’s happening in Montgomery and how you can help.
  • The opportunity to work directly with our staff to advocate for the causes you care about most.

If you have any questions, reach out to me at jacob@alarise.org. Thank you for joining Arise in our work!

McKenzie Burton wants to get a cup of coffee with you

By Whitney Washington

Alabama Arise’s supporters and members are used to seeing a handful of friendly faces from the staff regularly. They may see organizers speaking at listening sessions or policy analysts giving TV interviews.

But many other staff members are also integral to realizing Arise’s mission. One is someone whose name you may recognize, but not her face: McKenzie Burton, an Arise development associate since October 2021.

Photo of McKenzie BurtonMcKenzie’s journey to Arise started after graduating from the University of Georgia and serving as a youth minister and outreach coordinator for an Episcopal Church in New York.

“I loved the work, and doing direct service work made me realize that what I really wanted was to help solve the root of the problems I was seeing,” she said.

After stints working for political campaigns, McKenzie found herself drawn to policy work.

“Electing the right people is important, but we must hold our officials accountable to doing the right thing once they are in office,” she said. “I feel lucky to have found a home in this journey at Alabama Arise. Arise is doing some of the toughest policy work in one of the toughest states, making our quest all the more crucial for everyday people.”

‘I learn every day from our members’

As a development associate, McKenzie works to recruit and nurture Arise members. She leads fundraising campaigns, membership drives and more. After working directly with Arise members for more than three years, she’s learned quite a bit from them.

“This work is hard, and I learn every day from our members what it looks like to stay focused and persistent in a way that is sustainable for yourself and the organization long-term. I also admire the dedication to collective organizing,” she said.

McKenzie said she loves engaging with members, and encourages them to reach out directly to her.

“Getting to know our members and helping to connect them to the pieces of the work they care most about is my favorite part of my job,” she said. “Reach out to grab a cup of coffee with me!”

‘A girl can dream’

Arise’s work is difficult, but McKenzie has high hopes for the future.

“I would love to see us begin to really stretch our wings and reach people in the state that we haven’t been able to reach before and build a truly diverse and reflective membership base,” she said. “My goal in this work is always to work myself out of a job! Maybe in 30 years, we will have built a truly responsive, just state with policies that set us all up for success. A girl can dream.”

McKenzie has accomplished a lot in her time as development associate. But one of her proudest moments came outside that role, when she participated in the creation of Alabama Arise Workers United.

“I was really proud to have helped organize our staff union, and even prouder to be working for an organization that has voluntarily recognized our union and been supportive of a democratic workplace,” she said.

McKenzie said she balances the trying work of advocacy with intentional self-care.

“I try to not take work home. Leave emotional space for true decompression and connection with my friends and family, whether that’s over a movie, at a restaurant, or visiting out-of-town friends in their cities,” she said. “Nothing makes me feel more connected to myself and the world than quality time with my people.”

For those curious about how to support McKenzie and Arise’s work, she said it’s simple: Keep us growing.

“Continue to support the work, and bring your friends and family along with you,” she said. “I am only one person, and our staff is only 20 people. The more we grow our individual donations, the more we can focus on the work our members care most about, and the stronger our coalition’s voice is at the State House.”

Arise legislative update: Week of March 3, 2025

By Alabama Arise

Arise’s Debbie Smith highlights the wonderful turnout at Cover Alabama’s advocacy day on Medicaid expansion in Montgomery last week. She also discusses why Arise joined with more than 100 partner groups to oppose federal cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, and she explains how you can speak out against these harmful cuts as well. Finally, Debbie shares the good news that legislation to ensure paid parental leave for teachers and state employees is gaining momentum at the State House.

Full transcript:

Hi, everyone. This is Debbie Smith, Cover Alabama campaign director at Alabama Arise, sharing this week’s legislative update with news from both the state and federal levels.

Last week, Cover Alabama and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network partnered to bring together almost 100 people from across Alabama to push for Medicaid expansion and defend the program from harmful cuts. We heard powerful stories from people who lost their Medicaid coverage and fell into the coverage gap. Their experiences made it clear that expanding Medicaid isn’t just about covering more people—it’s about strengthening the program so no one is left without care.

At the federal level, there is a major threat. On Tuesday night, House Republicans passed a budget resolution that could lead to over a trillion dollars in cuts to Medicaid and SNAP benefits over the next decade, all while extending tax cuts passed during President Trump’s first term. Alabama Arise and over 100 partner organizations across the state sent a letter to lawmakers urging them to reject this budget resolution, warning that it would devastate health care and food assistance programs. Medicaid is the largest source of federal funding in Alabama’s budget, with more than 1 million Alabamians enrolled—over half of them children. Cutting Medicaid would put pregnant women, kids, and nursing home residents at risk while also threatening our rural hospitals.

And it’s not just health care at stake. SNAP, the program that helps people put food on the table, is also in danger. Nearly 400,000 households in Alabama rely on food assistance, including over 330,000 children. Alabama Arise and our partners have made it clear that slashing these programs will only increase hunger and hardship in a state where one in four children already experience food insecurity. But we’ve stopped harmful cuts to these life-saving programs before, and we can do it again. Let’s keep up the pressure—email Congress today and tell them no cuts to Medicaid by visiting coveralabama.org/savemedicaid.

There is some good news at the state level in Alabama. The Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee just voted unanimously to advance SB 199, a bill that would provide paid parental leave to state employees, including K-12 public school teachers. This legislation, sponsored by state Sen. Vivian Davis Figures, ensures that state workers have the time they need to care for their families and children after childbirth, adoption, or miscarriage. Policies like this don’t just support workers—they strengthen families and communities.

Let’s continue advocating for policies that protect our health and our families. Together, we are making a difference.

Arise legislative update: Week of Feb. 24, 2025

By Alabama Arise

Arise’s David Stout shares some good news from the Alabama State House this week. The Senate and House have passed SB 102 and HB 89, respectively, and sent them to the other chamber for consideration. These bills would ensure that women eligible for Medicaid could get health care earlier in their pregnancies. David also discusses the introduction of SB 191, which would improve Medicaid coverage for mothers facing postpartum depression.

David also reviews two concerning bills that would be bad for health coverage in Alabama. HB 177 is a confusing bill that could put Medicaid coverage at risk for tens of thousands of children. And SB 84 would authorize health plans that could deny coverage for essential treatments or for people with preexisting conditions.

Full transcript:

Hello, this is David Stout, Arise legislative director, with some good news about happenings in the legislative session. Two maternal health bills are moving: SB 102 by [Sen. Linda] Coleman-Madison and HB 89 by Rep. [Marilyn] Lands. These bills will provide insurance for Medicaid-eligible mothers earlier in their pregnancy. It’s an important bill that will mean healthier mothers and healthier children in the future in Alabama.

Sen. [Vivian] Figures has introduced SB 191, which would provide Medicaid coverage for mothers suffering from postpartum depression. This bill, if it passes, will allow for counseling and prescription drugs to treat postpartum depression.

A bad bill, we think, has been introduced by Rep. [Ben] Robbins from Sylacauga. It’s HB 177, and the intent of the bill seems to be to move children from Medicaid health coverage to the coverage offered by the mother or father’s place of employment. This is a confusing bill. We don’t know exactly what the intention is or the outcome. Arise’s own executive director, Robyn Hyden, testified against the bill.

SB 84 is scheduled to be up in committee in a couple of weeks. We think this is a bad bill. What it does is allow ALFA to have its own unregulated insurance plan. Even worse, it asks that it not be forced to provide coverage for preexisting conditions. We consider this a junk insurance plan, and it is bad for people who are looking for health care. We will oppose this bill and will continue to keep you updated on it.

Feb. 25 is Cover Alabama’s Advocacy Day for Medicaid expansion. It lasts from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and we will, along with many groups, be lobbying the Legislature to expand Medicaid and provide better insurance for the citizens of Alabama.

Arise legislative update: Week of Feb. 17, 2025

By Alabama Arise

Arise’s David Stout brings you the latest after another busy week at the Alabama Legislature. David recaps some good news from last week: Bills increasing access to maternal health care (HB 89) and cracking down on companies that violate child labor laws (SB 22) passed in the House and Senate, respectively. He also shares worse news: The House passed HB 29, which would add more red-tape barriers to unemployment insurance for Alabamians facing joblessness.

David closes by discussing how proposed federal Medicaid and SNAP cuts would hurt Alabama, and by inviting our members to speak out at Cover Alabama Advocacy Day on Feb. 25. Stay engaged all year long by signing up for our action alerts and monitoring our bills of interest at alarise.org.

Full transcript

I’m David Stout, legislative director for Alabama Arise, with our weekly legislative report. Bills related to maternal health care moved in both houses this week. These bills would provide health care for mothers who did not have access to prenatal care. The House bill passed the House and awaits action in the Senate committee, while the Senate bill is out of committee and awaits action on the Senate floor.

Another bill we were interested in relates to clawbacks for industries that violate child labor laws. This bill, SB 22, easily moved out of committee and passed the Senate this week. It provides that if a company violates child labor laws, any incentives given to them by the state of Alabama could be clawed back.

A bill we opposed, related to unemployment compensation, passed the House. It made the standards more rigid and made it more difficult to receive unemployment insurance, requiring more applications to businesses to qualify for benefits. Despite our opposition, it did pass and is now awaiting action in the Senate. An amendment was added that would exempt counties with fewer than 20,000 people, where industry is scarce and transportation is often inadequate.

There are also concerns about potential cuts to many programs in Washington. If proposed cuts to Medicaid are made, they could impact around $8 billion in Alabama. SNAP benefits are also threatened, which would affect at least one in five children in Alabama who rely on the program for healthy food. These developments could have a tremendous negative impact on Alabama, and we need to stay vigilant.

We also want to invite you to Cover Alabama Advocacy Day, an event to promote Medicaid expansion. It will take place on Feb. 25 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. We encourage you to visit coveralabama.org and sign up. If you attend, we will make accommodations and provide lunch. It is crucial to raise our voices to both the public and the Legislature regarding Medicaid expansion. I hope to see you there. Thank you.