Other

Poverty in Alabama has many structural causes and symptoms. Arise has worked hard for decades to identify these challenges and propose policy solutions to them. We believe strongly that better public policy is the key to reducing and eliminating poverty, and that belief fuels our research on a whole range of issues facing our state.

Member Resources

2019 Alabama Arise issue priorities brochure

Arise members have chosen the following issues as policy priorities for 2019. The first two are permanent priorities. The remaining five reflect this year’s member voting. The Arise board also may approve action on other emerging issues during the year. Adequate state budgets Tax reform Public transportation Payday/title lending reform Automatic universal voter registration Criminal [...]
Issue
Other
Date
October 1, 2018
Author
Alabama Arise
Fact Sheet

Private planning: The forces behind your power bill

People don’t have a choice about whether to buy electricity. Quite simply, it’s one of the things we’ve got to have to survive in the modern world. Your only real choice is how much you use – and even that amount can’t reasonably go below a certain threshold.
Issue
Other
Date
December 18, 2014
Author
Stephen Stetson
Fact Sheet

Hidden power: The story behind your electric bill

For most of us, the monthly electric bill is a fact of life. Though its share of the household budget rises and falls with consumption, electricity ranks with water, food and shelter as an essential expense. Meeting this demand in homes and businesses across Alabama requires production and distribution on an enormous scale. Because of [...]
Issue
Other
Date
June 25, 2013
Author
Stephen Stetson
Fact Sheet

Public Utility Regulation Without the Public

There has not been a public rate case for the Alabama Power Company (“Alabama Power” or “the Company”) in 30 years. Instead, the Alabama Public Service Commission (“PSC” or “the Commission”) has a regulatory process that allows Alabama Power to adjust its charges each year without any public evidentiary hearings and, indeed, without any participation [...]
Issues
Other, Economic Opportunity
Date
March 1, 2013
Author
Alabama Arise
Fact Sheet

Alabama bound: Our unjust 1901 constitution

Advocates for a new Alabama constitution have been divided for decades over how best to achieve that goal. Some have wanted to hold a convention at which elected delegates would craft a new constitution all at once, subject to voter approval. Others have favored a gradual, article-by-article rewrite. A recent development may render the debate moot, at [...]
Issue
Other
Date
November 1, 2011
Author
Stephen Stetson
All Issue Resources