Resource: Newsletter

Why Medicaid expansion is a must for prison reform

By Jim Carnes, policy director

Against a backdrop of human tragedy, Gov. Kay Ivey’s Study Group on Criminal Justice Policy is working toward a January deadline for its recommendations to the Legislature. The U.S. Department of Justice in April issued a sobering overview of the Alabama corrections system’s numerous shortcomings. And the Montgomery Advertiser shed further light on the situation in November, publishing horrific accounts of life inside state prisons.

It’s no secret that Alabama’s prisons are overcrowded, violent and inhumane. Any meaningful solution to this crisis must address two major challenges. First, it must alleviate the abysmal conditions inside Alabama’s prisons. Second, it must help people who are at risk of incarceration or re-incarceration become productive members of their communities. (See the key policy recommendations from Alabamians for Fair Justice below.)

The missing voices who need to be heard

Alabama Arise has been following the study group’s learning curve on a broad array of criminal justice issues. In four public meetings since July, members have received a flood of statistics from prison administrators, sentencing specialists, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, mental health officials and other experts. They also have toured multiple correctional facilities, becoming eyewitnesses to the shameful conditions they’re charged with improving.

Largely missing from this crash course: the voices of the people Alabama’s criminal justice system affects most. The panel should fill that gap by inviting testimony from inmates’ family members and formerly incarcerated individuals. Many of them have attended the public study group meetings, and the formal recommendations should reflect their lived experiences.

Policy solutions should ease reentry, reduce recidivism

Of the roughly 21,000 people in Alabama’s prisons in a given year, 95% eventually reenter society, according to the Alabama Department of Corrections (DOC). Of those, about 29% wind up back in prison within three years.

Breaking the cycle of recidivism is a challenge that reaches beyond DOC, or even criminal justice policy. It also requires community partnerships to serve people with untreated mental health and addiction problems. These challenges can undermine successful reentry and often contribute to incarceration in the first place.

By targeting recidivism, the study group is highlighting our state’s overburdened community mental health and substance use services network. Medicaid expansion, at a 90% federal match, would allow Alabama to expand these services tenfold for the same state investment. The study group should urge our state to take this essential step forward.

The study group’s measured, highly visible approach to its complicated challenge is not one it can easily shrug off. The panel has set a high bar for meaningful recommendations, and Arise expects them to meet it. Arise and our partners in the Alabamians for Fair Justice alliance will keep up the pressure for comprehensive, lasting reform.

The path to a better corrections system

Alabama’s corrections system must become more humane and restorative. Alabama Arise and our allies in the Alabamians for Fair Justice coalition have proposed numerous changes to put our state on a path toward dignity, equity and justice for all. Here are a few of these recommendations:

• Expand state investments in mental health care and treatment for substance use disorders.
• Increase state support for mental health courts, pretrial diversion and reentry programs.
• Reduce court costs and give people a reasonable amount of time to begin paying fines and restitution after returning from prison.
• End automatic suspensions of driver’s licenses in cases unrelated to traffic safety.
• Apply the state’s presumptive sentencing guidelines retroactively.

Visit alabamafairjustice.org/resources to read the coalition’s full list of policy solutions on prison reform in Alabama.

Long-term care reforms already exceeding goals

By Jim Carnes, policy director

Alabamians who need long-term care services should be able to get them at home or in their communities whenever possible. And Alabama Medicaid’s new reform initiative, the Integrated Care Network (ICN), is making progress toward that goal.

The ICN has completed a successful first year of operation with strong help from consumer voices at the policy table. The network seeks to increase the share of Medicaid long-term care patients who receive services in home and community settings rather than in nursing facilities.

In Year 1, the ICN reached its five-year benchmark for this quality measure four years early, thanks to a new approach to care coordination, data analysis and consumer education. Medicaid implemented an accelerated enrollment process Oct. 1, as consumer advisers recommended. That process should further increase the share of home- and community-based participants in Year 2.

More than 15,000 of Alabama’s Medicaid long-term care patients reside in nursing facilities. Another 8,000 receive care in other settings. Because federal Medicaid rules originally targeted long-term care services to nursing home patients only, states must request “waivers” suspending those rules to deliver home- and community-based services. The ICN includes two of Alabama’s waiver programs, both managed through the state’s 13 Area Agencies on Aging.

Alabama Arise has a seat on the ICN’s governing board, along with our partners at AARP Alabama, the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program and Disability Rights and Resources. We’re also represented on the network’s Consumer Advisory Committee (CAC).

The CAC has a productive relationship with Alabama Select Network, the Blue Cross Blue Shield subsidiary that administers the ICN. The committee is promoting consumer choice in care settings and working to lift practical barriers to home- and community-based care.

Alabama’s higher ed funding cuts since 2008 are nation’s worst

By Chris Sanders, communications director

Shortchanging education is shortchanging our future. But since 2008, Alabama has slashed its per-student state higher education funding by 36.2%, or $4,466 per student, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Our state’s cuts are the nation’s worst by dollar amount and third worst by percentage.

With state funding down, tuition at public four-year institutions has soared, jumping 72.9% since 2008. These increases have erected barriers to economic opportunity for people across Alabama. And the higher costs disproportionately harm black and Latino families.

Policy choices created this problem, and better ones can solve it. Click here to learn more. Then listen to Arise’s interview with WBHM on how Alabama can help make college accessible and affordable for everyone.

Explaining Alabama to out-of-town guests

By Robyn Hyden, executive director

At Arise, I’m often called upon to explain Alabama to people who aren’t from here. This is happening more frequently as people make pilgrimages to Montgomery from all over the world to visit the EJI memorial and museum. They’re curious about what people in Alabama are doing to address continuing inequities.

Sometimes, these visitors get bogged down in the weeds of our politics and policies, overwhelmed by the barriers Alabamians face every day. More frequently, they reflect amazement. The story we tell is one of sustained work, power building and organizing. The message we share: Only by joining and working together can we ever prevail in the long fight for justice. Our plea is for more people to invest in our work for change.

This is what I leave them with: I’m grateful that more people are speaking out and joining us. I’m encouraged by all we have accomplished together. We can’t do it alone – and that’s why I’m especially grateful for Arise supporters like you.

We’re lifting community voices in Alabama Medicaid

By Presdelane Harris, organizing director

Alabama Medicaid is at a moment of transformation, opening up opportunities for a new focus on improving health outcomes. And Alabama Arise is working hard to ensure community needs and voices stay at the forefront.

Medicaid primary care is moving from a statewide fee-for-service model to a system of seven Alabama Coordinated Health Networks (ACHNs). The regional, nonprofit ACHNs began offering services Nov. 1, focusing on prevention, care coordination and health improvements. The inclusion of consumer representatives on regional governing boards and advisory committees allows an unprecedented opportunity for Medicaid consumers to provide input directly to program officials.

In a pilot program designed to take advantage of these reforms, Arise has partnered with the Bay Area Women Coalition to enhance the local health system’s ability to promote greater food security in the Trinity Gardens neighborhood of Mobile. We’ve reached more than 100 people over six community meetings this year.

The community engagement effort is producing results. We’ve identified potential leaders and worked with residents to prioritize their ideas. We’re also discussing ways to strengthen community input as Medicaid implements and evaluates quality improvement projects.

Arise is grateful for our partnership with our Trinity Gardens neighbors. And we hope to build similar connections in communities across Alabama.

Spread the word about Arise this holiday season!

By Brenda Boman, development director

You may have a list of topics that you consider taboo at holiday gatherings. But I hope that finding ways to help Alabamians living in poverty isn’t on that list. When you’re among friends and family who believe life should be better for struggling Alabamians, I hope you’ll make sure they know about Alabama Arise.

Arise’s membership has grown exponentially in recent years, and we hope to continue that trend. As an inclusive organization, we welcome everyone who wants to advocate for a brighter future for Alabama.

We need to bring together people who support Medicaid expansion, payday lending reform and voting rights. We need to bring together people who want to fund public transportation and untax groceries. And we need to bring together people who are determined to break down policy barriers to shared prosperity across our state.

We need your help to do it. Please don’t shy away from helping Arise achieve our vision of a better Alabama for all! Encourage your friends to become Arise members by making a donation in any amount here.

Gift memberships are another way to introduce friends to Arise. Email us at info@alarise.org with the names and complete contact info for those you’re sponsoring.

Welcome to Arise, Celida!

Please help us welcome Arise’s new hunger advocacy coordinator, Celida Soto Garcia! She will work to strengthen child nutrition, identify and train advocates, and expand our coalition to reduce hunger across Alabama.

Celida is a Birmingham resident and graduated from Rutgers University with a dual degree in administration of justice and sociology. She grew up as a Jersey girl speaking Spanish first, and she has participated in movements related to economic injustice, women’s rights, food sovereignty, public safety and criminal justice reform. Most recently, she served as an educational liaison with the UAB Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center. When you see Celida, be sure to say hello!

Alabama can lead the nation in addressing the inequities of our past

By Robyn Hyden, executive director

The Alabama Arise annual meeting is my favorite day of the year. It’s the day we invite members to present new issue proposals and select legislative priorities. This year, more than 200 people gathered in Montgomery on Sept. 7 to discuss the tough issues facing our state, hear from community leaders and vote on our policy agenda.

Our keynote speaker, Gabrielle Daniels of the Equal Justice Initiative, set the tone in discussing racial equity and inclusion. “Alabama can set the temperature for the rest of the country,” she said. “But we need to acknowledge the importance of racial equity and its intersection with economic justice.” The vision Daniels laid out was one of “mutual flourishing” if we commit to start with truth-telling. It’s a key value that Arise affirms.

A plan to move Alabama forward

Our policy team presented plans to address core tax and budget needs, including Medicaid expansion, untaxing groceries and protecting nutrition supports. During issue presentations, member groups from across Alabama identified numerous barriers that face people living in poverty in their communities. And they proposed real solutions to those structural challenges.

After the members’ vote, we left with our marching orders and the conviction that we must continue to move forward.

We’re grateful to our hosts at Aldersgate United Methodist Church, our members and the volunteers who made the day possible. And we’re looking ahead to the work to come to make this blueprint for change a reality in Alabama.

Alabama Arise’s 2020 issue priorities

By Chris Sanders, communications director

• Adequate state budgets: Alabama should expand Medicaid and boost investments in child care, education and mental health care.
• Tax reform: Alabama should untax groceries and end the state’s deduction for federal income taxes.
• Criminal justice debt reform: Alabama should strengthen protections against civil asset forfeiture abuses and reform its cash bail practices.
• Death penalty reform: Alabama should require a unanimous jury vote before handing down a death sentence.
• Payday and title lending reform: Alabama should approve 30 Days to Pay protections for payday loan borrowers.
• Public transportation: Alabama should provide state support for the Public Transportation Trust Fund.
• Voting rights: Alabama should lift barriers to voting rights restoration and adopt automatic voter registration.

Read our news release for more information on Arise’s 2020 issue priorities.

Medicaid expansion helps Alabama workers

By Jim Carnes, policy director

It’s an uncomfortable reality that our state’s leaders must face: More than 100,000 Alabamians are working without health insurance. They work in child care, construction, food service and other vital jobs. They’re the folks who keep things going in our society.

Yet they’re trapped in the health coverage gap. They can’t afford employer-based coverage or private insurance. And they earn too much to qualify for Medicaid under Alabama’s harsh income eligibility limits. (For a parent of two children, that limit is just $312 a month.)

As a result, many struggle with health problems that sap productivity, add household stress and get worse without timely care. And thousands more Alabama workers are stretching to buy coverage they can’t afford.

Across the country, 36 states have closed their coverage gaps, but Alabama is lagging behind. What’s holding us back?

Lack of awareness plays a part. As folks go about their daily activities, they rarely stop to wonder who has health insurance and who doesn’t. It’s not something most people talk about – but it should be.

Imagine what it would mean to the state’s business community to have a workforce with access to regular health care. And more importantly, imagine the peace of mind that coverage would bring for workers and their families.

The economic benefits of Medicaid expansion

Overall, more than 180,000 Alabama workers would gain health security from Medicaid expansion. Our businesses would gain a more reliable workforce. And our economy would gain billions of federal dollars, stronger tax revenues and thousands of new health care jobs.

The graphic below shows the nine industries employing the largest number of these workers. More than 70,000 work in food service, sales or construction. (Read our blog post for more information.)

Most uninsured Alabamians aged 19 to 64 who would qualify for expanded Medicaid coverage (those earning below 138% of the federal poverty level) are workers.

The graphics below show the jobs employing the most working women and men in Alabama’s coverage gap. Think about the importance of these lines of work. Then think about what access to regular health care would mean in the lives of these workers and their families. (Read our blog post for more information.)

Alabama Medicaid has succeeded in providing health care for children, people with disabilities, and seniors living in nursing homes. Our state can build on these gains and make coverage affordable for the workers we all depend on every day.

All these gains would spell a brighter future for Alabama. It’s time to expand Medicaid and make health coverage affordable for the workers we all depend on every day.

How Alabama can untax groceries and boost education

By Carol Gundlach, policy analyst

Alabama has two intertwined structural problems that, together, keep us from meeting our people’s most basic needs. One problem is that our state’s tax system is upside down. Rich people get huge tax breaks, forcing people with low and moderate incomes to make up the difference. The other problem is that this upside-down system doesn’t raise enough money to support schools and other vital services adequately.

Two major drivers of Alabama’s regressive tax system are a sales tax on groceries that hurts working families and a skewed income tax break that overwhelmingly benefits wealthy people. Alabama Arise has a longstanding plan to address both problems: Eliminate the state grocery tax and end the state deduction for federal income taxes (FIT).

Untaxing groceries without replacing the revenue would take $480 million annually away from education, hurting our children and our future. But by ending the FIT deduction, Alabama could bring in more than $800 million a year in new revenue.

That’s more than enough to replace lost revenue from the grocery tax. It also would allow our state to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in K-12 and higher education.

Ending the grocery tax and the FIT deduction would make our state’s tax system stronger and fairer. About four in five Alabama households would get a tax cut overall. And the net tax increase for those who would pay more generally would be modest. Even for the top 1%, the average increase would be less than 1 percentage point of income.

Arise’s tax reform plan would boost education funding and help millions of Alabamians make ends meet. This would increase opportunity and shared prosperity across our state.

More photos from Arise’s 2019 annual meeting

For more pictures from the event, check out the Arise annual meeting 2019 album on our Facebook page.

We must stand up for dignity, equity and justice

By Robyn Hyden, executive director

People are hurting because of racial prejudice and white supremacy. The injury isn’t new, but violence and threats toward people of color, immigrants and other vulnerable communities are escalating.

We denounce white supremacy and white nationalism. And we stand with our neighbors – whatever your race, gender, net worth, ZIP code or country of origin – who are targets of hatred. We affirm your dignity, your worth and your right to live free from fear and persecution. You are not alone.

We continue to fight efforts to chip away at human rights protections. Below, you’ll find a call to action to protect food assistance against yet another attack. Arise members have fought off dozens of such attacks over the years – and with your support, we will continue to do so. Our annual meeting in September is another opportunity to gather together to determine our goals and priorities for the year ahead.

Every action you take matters. I hope you find encouragement as we work together to build a state where all people have the resources they need to live – and to thrive – free from fear.

Annual meeting to draw 2020 roadmap to change

By Chris Sanders, communications director

Grassroots democracy will be on display when Alabama Arise members choose our 2020 issue priorities at our annual meeting Sept. 7 in Montgomery.

As a member, you have the power to select the five legislative priorities we will pursue in 2020. One new proposal will compete with five current priorities for five available slots on next year’s issue roster. Two member groups will seek to broaden our current work on automatic voter registration to include other voting rights legislation. The day also will feature staff and guest speakers shining a light on racial equity and inclusion.

Below, you’ll find member groups’ summaries of their new and modified proposals. And you’ll find our policy staff’s overviews of the current issue priorities and our two permanent priorities: tax reform and adequate state budgets. We hope to see you in September as we gather to renew our shared commitment to building a better Alabama for all!

Things to know for our annual meeting

When: Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Registration starts at 9:30 a.m.

Where: Aldersgate United Methodist Church, 6610 Vaughn Road, Montgomery, AL 36116

Voting rules: Member groups may cast up to 42 votes: up to 6 representatives with 7 votes each. Individual members get 5 votes each. (A person can vote as an individual or as a member group’s representative, but not both.)

Groups must be current on dues to be eligible to participate. Individual members must have given between July 1, 2018, and Aug. 8, 2019, to be eligible to participate.

Members must be present for all six issue presentations to vote. No voting dots will be distributed after issue presentations begin. No votes may be cast until after the final presentation.

Reminders/registration: Attendance and lunch are free. Please contribute $10 if you are able. To save time, pre-register by Aug. 30 at al-arise.local or call 334-832-9060.

How a proposed new SNAP rule would increase hunger for millions of Americans

By Carol Gundlach, policy analyst

The White House has proposed a new rule that would increase hunger for millions of Americans. The plan would require some states to reduce gross income limits for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applicants. It also would force 42 states, including Alabama, to impose resource limits on applicants. More than 3 million people would become ineligible for food assistance under the change, federal officials estimate.

The plan would require Alabama to impose an asset test, adding new red-tape barriers for nearly all SNAP participants. The state would have to verify numerous assets – including cash, property on which the family does not live, and the resale value above $4,650 for many vehicles – before a family could get assistance. Families with more than $2,250 in assets (or $3,250 for seniors or people with disabilities) would be denied food assistance.

Public policy shouldn’t discourage families from saving small amounts to cover auto repairs, unexpected medical bills or other emergencies. And many seniors have small savings accounts for long-term care or funeral expenses. But reinstating the asset test would punish these struggling families and seniors by denying them essential food assistance.

Federal officials will accept public comments on the proposal until Sept. 23. Click here for more on how to speak out against this harmful plan.

New issue proposal

Housing Trust Fund revenue

Submitted by Gordon Sullivan, Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama (LIHCA)

LIHCA thanks Alabama Arise and its members for supporting the Housing Trust Fund in 2018 and previous years. Our combined efforts resulted in social and political momentum to secure dedicated revenue for the Alabama Housing Trust Fund (AHTF)! We are here to ask for your continued support of the AHTF and help in securing dedicated revenue for the fund in 2020.

We believe safe, decent and affordable housing is a basic human right. Hard-working Alabamians should be able to pay rent and still be able to put food on the table. Unfortunately for many Alabamians, finding a safe and affordable home is only a dream. Alabama is in a housing crisis, with a lack of nearly 70,000 rental homes for folks surviving on minimum wage and fixed incomes.

Folks making minimum wage have to work 82 hours a week to afford a market-rate two-bedroom apartment. By doing so, they miss out on family suppers and Little League, because there simply aren’t enough hours in the day. Every child deserves a safe place to call home and a chance to have those who love them help with homework and read bedtime stories.

The AHTF created a fund to construct, rehabilitate and maintain homes for low-income households. Though the AHTF was created in 2012, it was enabling legislation and did not come with funding. That means we can’t create any new or rehabilitate any existing homes or address housing problems related to natural disasters. That is why LIHCA will seek dedicated revenue for the AHTF in 2020.

Proposed legislation to fund the AHTF

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Neil Rafferty, D-Birmingham, would increase the mortgage record tax from 15 cents to 20 cents for every $100 of a mortgage. This would put approximately $15 million per year in the AHTF. This type of revenue is a common funding source for housing trust funds across the country. In Alabama, this tax has not been increased since it was enacted in 1935.

We know that two-thirds of Alabamians (67%) see the lack of affordability as a problem in our state and that a strong majority (63%) of Alabamians are ready for state action to increase housing opportunities for households priced out of the market. Building on the momentum of previous years, we believe attaining bipartisan co-sponsors and endorsements from influential groups throughout the state is possible in 2020.

With the creation of new affordable homes in Alabama, families will begin to achieve economic stability. Communities will reduce blight. And the state will see an economic impact of nearly $1 billion over 10 years.

The dedicated revenue bill supports Arise’s values and its membership’s vision for addressing poverty in Alabama by investing in communities and helping low-income households access safe and affordable homes. The dedicated revenue bill will provide $15 million per year to create and rehabilitate homes for those in need. We have been successful in building momentum with Arise’s support in past years. Let’s work together to finish what we started!

Modified issue proposal

Voting rights

Submitted by Scott Douglas and Tari Williams, Greater Birmingham Ministries, and Ned Freeman, Birmingham Friends Meeting (Quakers)

Let’s build on Arise’s commitment to voting rights, continuing to prioritize automatic voter registration (AVR) and focusing on restoration of voting rights for Alabamians affected by felony disenfranchisement. Under AVR, Alabamians would be registered to vote by default, without having to register themselves, because the state already has the necessary information. And restoring voting rights for everyone would affirm basic ideals of democracy.

Historically, Alabama has been a leader among states with the most severely punitive disenfranchisement laws. These laws, with their blatantly racist history, have kept African Americans from the polls in enormous – and enormously disproportionate – numbers. Of the more than 280,000 disenfranchised felons in Alabama, nearly 150,000 are black, according to the Sentencing Project. That means that disenfranchised felons make up more than 15% of the state’s voting-age African American population.

Alabama’s felony disenfranchisement policies have disparate impact on individuals convicted of felonies who are poor, black or both. Therefore, we propose the introduction of legislation that will (a) remove the financial barrier of requiring payment of all fines, fees and/or restitution and (b) restore voting rights to individuals while on probation and parole. This legislation is not cost-prohibitive, may take one to three years to pass because of upcoming elections and is not potentially divisive for Arise members.

Alabama’s disenfranchisement laws have fostered an underclass of tens of thousands of people who are unable to vote because they do not have enough money. In 1964, the 24th Amendment abolished the poll tax, but to this day in Alabama, money keeps a disproportionate number of people away from the ballot box. People should not be barred from voting solely because they are unable to pay back their fines, fees and restitution.

Restoring voting rights to rebuild community ties

If we truly want people convicted of felonies to re-engage with society, become rehabilitated and feel a part of a broader community (thus creating incentives not to recidivate), then our state should do everything possible to reincorporate these individuals into mainstream society. In terms of being a just and even-handed society, it is not fair if thousands of people are unable to regain their voting rights because they are poor. People who are wealthy or have access to money are able to repay their financial debts. But poor people (the vast majority of people who have felony convictions) are not. This is an unjust system.

Individuals on probation and/or parole are actively working on retaining and/or rebuilding their ties to their families, employers and communities. Allowing them to reestablish ties as stakeholders in political life provides an analogous and important reintegrative purpose and promotes public safety.

Felony disenfranchisement provisions, especially in the South and particularly in Alabama, date back to the post-Reconstruction era. Their intent was always clear and explicit: to disenfranchise African Americans and preserve white domination.

Restoring voting rights and automatically registering voters is good policy. Arise prioritizing these policies also has the immediate benefit of putting a positive voting rights agenda in the public debate during an era when voting has been under attack.

Current Arise issue priorities

Criminal justice debt reform

Court fees and fines impose heavy burdens on many struggling families. Driver’s license suspensions over unpaid fines can cause Alabamians with low incomes to lose their jobs. Cash bail for minor offenses can imperil families’ economic security. And multiple fees can stack up, making it impossible to move on from a conviction because consequences never end. In Alabama, people are subject to 63 separate fees in the criminal justice system – including even a $1 fee for paying fee installments.

This year, Arise emphasized reforming civil asset forfeiture within the umbrella of criminal justice debt. This practice allows police to seize cash or other assets if they find probable cause to link the property to a crime. But the process doesn’t require a criminal conviction, or even a charge.

Originally intended to fight drug kingpins, civil asset forfeiture today sees heavy use against people accused of minor crimes. Underfunded law enforcement agencies have incentives to use forfeiture because they are often able to keep much of the seized property.

A philosophically diverse coalition is seeking to end forfeiture abuses in Alabama, and reform efforts already have borne fruit. In 2019, comprehensive reform efforts moved quickly at first but then slowed amid law enforcement opposition. Eventually, the Legislature passed incremental reform, mandating public reporting of property seizures. Public opinion strongly favors further change, and momentum continues to build.

Death penalty reform

Alabama’s capital punishment system is unreliable and racist. Our state hands down nearly double the national average of death sentences. We are the only state with no state-funded program providing legal aid to death row prisoners. And state laws give insufficient protection against executing people who were mentally incapable of understanding their actions.

Arise has worked for increased transparency on the lethal injection procedures and a three-year moratorium on executions. Bills were introduced but did not move in recent years. In 2017, the Legislature voted overwhelmingly to bar judges from imposing death sentences when a jury recommends life without parole. But the judicial override ban is not retroactive. About a fifth of the 175 people on Alabama’s death row received death sentences against the jury’s recommendation. We would like to enforce the override ban retroactively.

Alabama’s death penalty practices reflect deep racial inequities. Before the 2017 ban, judges imposed death against a jury’s determination more often when victims were white. The state argued as recently as 2016 that it should be allowed to kill a prisoner even when a judge explicitly cited race at the sentencing hearing. Much work remains to modernize Alabama’s justice system and prevent erroneous executions.

Payday and title lending reform

Every year, high-interest loans trap thousands of struggling Alabamians in a cycle of deep debt. Payday loans are short-term (usually two-week) loans charging high annual percentage rates (APRs), up to 456%. Auto title loans charge up to 300% APR and also carry the risk of repossession of the family vehicle.

These high-cost loans strip wealth from borrowers and hurt communities across Alabama. Payday lenders are on track to pull more than $1 billion in fees out of Alabama communities over the next decade, with most of that money flowing to out-of-state companies. Predatory lending practices disproportionately target people of color and exacerbate the economic challenges in struggling rural and urban communities.

Arise is part of a statewide coalition promoting interest rate caps on payday and title loans. In 2019, we supported legislation to give payday borrowers a 30-day repayment period – the same as other monthly bills – up from as few as 10 days now. But the bill didn’t move, despite the Senate Banking Committee chairman’s assurances that he would allow a vote.

The 30 Days to Pay bill’s sponsor – Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur – is working to ensure it will receive consideration early in the 2020 regular session. Heavy citizen engagement will be needed to overcome the lending lobby.

Public transportation

Our state’s jumble of local transportation systems fails to meet the needs of many people in rural, suburban and urban areas. Alabama is one of just five states with no state public transportation funding. For many low-income workers, seniors and people with disabilities, the transit gap is a barrier to daily living. Many folks can’t get to work, school, the doctor’s office or other places they need to go in a reasonable amount of time.

Alabama took a good first step in 2018 by creating a state Public Transportation Trust Fund. But the law did not allocate any state money, even though it would be a high-return investment in our future. Each $1 million invested in public transportation creates 41 full-time jobs, research shows. Those jobs would fuel economic growth and improve quality of life in our communities.

Appropriations for the state trust fund would be eligible for a 4-to-1 federal match. So by not funding public transit, Alabama leaves millions of federal dollars on the table each year.

The General Fund remains a key potential source for state public transit funding. Greater Birmingham Ministries’ Economic Justice/Systems Change group also has urged Arise to support legislation in 2020 to allow Alabamians to dedicate part of their state income tax refund to public transit. The state already allows voluntary contributions for mental health care, foster care and other public services.

Compiled by Dev Wakeley, policy analyst

Permanent Arise issue priorities

Adequate state budgets

Our state’s upside-down tax system starves state budgets of money needed to invest in our shared future. Alabama provides almost no state money for child care. In-home services for parents of at-risk children receive a paltry $3 million a year, far less than other states. And young adults struggle to afford rising tuition and fees at universities and two-year colleges.

Alabama must address comprehensive sentencing and prison reform in 2020. The General Fund budget will need more revenue to pay for stronger investments in mental health care, substance use treatment, drug courts, community corrections and more corrections officers.

Arise’s health care advocacy has three main goals: defend, reform and expand Medicaid. Our defense work this year focused on Alabama’s pending plan to impose a catch-22 work penalty, which would strip Medicaid from thousands of parents with extremely low incomes. Looking ahead, we expect a new push to cut Medicaid by block-granting federal Medicaid funds to states.

We’ve seen progress on Medicaid reform. The statewide Integrated Care Network (ICN) for long-term care launched last October. And the long-delayed regional primary care reform takes effect this October. Arise has recruited consumer representatives for the ICN governing board and all seven Alabama Coordinated Health Network (ACHN) boards. Next year, we’ll push for the next step: Medicaid expansion, which would benefit more than 340,000 Alabama adults.

Tax reform

Alabama’s tax system is upside down. The rich get huge tax breaks, while the heaviest tax burden falls on people with low and moderate incomes. High, regressive sales taxes on groceries and other necessities drive this imbalance. So does the state’s deduction for federal income taxes (FIT), a skewed break that overwhelmingly benefits wealthy people.

Arise has fought to end the grocery tax for more than a decade. The central challenge is how to replace the $480 million it raises for education. In 2020, we’ll intensify our efforts to show legislators the powerful link between untaxing groceries and ending the FIT deduction.

Alabama is one of only three states where filers can deduct all federal income tax payments from state income taxes. This tax break disproportionately benefits wealthy people, who pay more in federal income taxes and are more likely to itemize. Ending the FIT deduction would bring in enough revenue to untax groceries, fund Medicaid expansion and meet other critical needs.

Compiled by Jim Carnes, policy director, and Carol Gundlach, policy analyst

Arise organizers want to hear from you!

The 2019 session that was, and the one yet to come

By Chris Sanders, communications director

Alabama legislators ended their 2019 regular session May 31, but they’re not done yet. With federal intervention looming, the Legislature likely will hold a special session this fall to address horrendous conditions in our state’s overcrowded prisons.

Arise will continue making the case that meaningful prison reform must include Medicaid expansion. We also will renew our call to fund needed investments by fixing Alabama’s upside-down tax system. Untaxing groceries and ending the state’s deduction for federal income taxes would be two huge steps in the right direction.

Arise members’ advocacy led to progress on civil asset forfeiture and voting rights this year. Lawmakers voted unanimously for SB 191, which will increase transparency around forfeitures. And they passed SB 301 to expand access to absentee ballots.

Our supporters helped stop numerous proposals to erect harmful barriers to Medicaid and SNAP food assistance. We also saw breakthroughs on several recent issue priorities and endorsements:

• HB 225 will forbid pay discrimination based on race or sex.
• SB 30 will ensure that inability to pay filing fees won’t block low-income Alabamians from pursuing their rights in court.
• SB 228 will increase jail food funding and prevent sheriffs from pocketing any leftover money.

Two other topics dominated the headlines at the State House this year. Legislators moved quickly to pass an abortion ban that is certain to face a lengthy court challenge. They also hustled to pass a 10-cent gas tax increase for infrastructure improvements in March.

What the Legislature left undone

But lawmakers showed much less urgency on investments in human services. State funding for K-12 and higher education is up, but it’s still well below 2008 levels. General Fund revenues also are rising, but not nearly enough to reverse decades of underinvestment in Medicaid, mental health care, child care and other services.

Some climbs remain steeper than others. Reforms of payday lending and the death penalty struggled to gain traction this year. So did proposals for automatic voter registration and early voting. But Arise members – unafraid and undeterred – will keep working for those changes and others to promote opportunity, prosperity and justice for all Alabamians.

We’ve almost met our fundraising goal!

By Brenda Boman, development director

It’s mid-June, and I’m filled with gratitude. I’m grateful to the Arise staff for all their hard work promoting policies to help low-income Alabamians. I’m grateful to our board of directors for their dedication to our mission.

I’m grateful to the state legislators who, with nearly 1,100 bills introduced this session, found the time to pass an equal pay law and require a civil asset forfeiture database.

And I’m especially grateful to Arise members, who provide financial support and who take the time to communicate with their elected officials. Y’all are awesome!

Arise is less than $9,000 away from our funding goal as we near the end of our budget year on June 30. I thank you in advance for any gift you can make to help us reach that goal and get our next year of advocacy off to a strong start. Together, we’re making a difference in people’s lives!

Why Arise is focusing on racial equity in our work

By Robyn Hyden, executive director

It seems to me that we’re living through a time of historic political upheaval and transformation. While we continue to push forward policies to increase dignity, equity and justice, too often we end up playing defense.

Against this backdrop, our board and staff have adopted a commitment to racial equity and inclusion. We know we can’t address poverty without acknowledging how Alabama’s history of racial exploitation and discrimination created policies that built wealth for a few, while disenfranchising the many. And if we don’t have a direct narrative to address ongoing racial inequality, extremists will tell a story about race that serves their own agenda.

Using this framework, we hope to create more advocacy tools, data and messaging to acknowledge race’s role in public policy. We also hope to give grassroots advocates and communities the tools they need to fight, and win, in policy discussions w here racial prejudice is too often the subtext.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments as we frame our work more directly to address racial injustice.

It’s an essential part of our agenda to increase dignity, equity, justice and opportunity for all Alabamians.

An overflow Legislative Day!

With the 2019 regular session in the books, we wanted to acknowledge the enthusiasm that everyone displayed from the start. Our 2019 Legislative Day on March 19 had a record turnout of nearly 300 people! Folks were fired up to talk to their legislators about Medicaid expansion and other issues. And that energy lasted throughout the session, with members flooding lawmakers with calls and emails in response to numerous action alerts. Thank you for all that you do!

Your voice, your actions make a better Alabama for all!

By Presdelane Harris, organizing director

At each Arise annual meeting, you shape an agenda grounded in our vision of a better Alabama. And well before arriving there in September, you take action to make sure we are addressing priority issues of Alabamians living in poverty.

Many of you either attend or host a summer listening session each year. Our organizers already have begun holding these sessions across Alabama to inform issue selection for 2020. We want to know what you think, and we need to hear different perspectives. Communities often are not encouraged to voice their concerns, but Arise is ready to hear you!

We invite you to host a listening session. Our organizers will go wherever we are asked. A session takes about an hour to 90 minutes, depending on your needs.

Another reminder: Member groups in good standing can propose a new issue priority for member consideration by July 12, 2019. Click here for details about submitting a new issue proposal. We’ve also sent instructions to contact people for member groups. Please call 334-832-9060 or email me at pres@alarise.org if you have any questions. Thank you!

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How to advance our vision for Alabama’s next century

By Chris Sanders, communications director

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Arise unveils 2019 blueprint for change

Automatic voter registration joins priority list

It was a vote to urge Alabama to break down barriers to voting. Arise members approved automatic universal voter registration as a new issue priority for 2019 during the organization’s annual meeting Sept. 8 at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Montgomery. Nearly 200 members from across Alabama also reaffirmed their commitment to six other issue priorities, including the permanent issues of tax reform and adequate budgets.

Automatic voter registration (AVR) would allow Alabama to save money while registering more people to vote. AVR registers eligible citizens or updates their records electronically when they apply for a driver’s license or share information with public agencies in other routine ways. People can opt out if they do not wish to be registered.

Fifteen states, including Georgia, and the District of Columbia have approved a form of AVR, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. All but one offer AVR through the department of motor vehicles, and several provide AVR through other agencies as well. The policy increases voter registration, promotes greater voter roll accuracy, and reduces printing, mailing and personnel costs connected to processing registration forms by hand.

Members also urged Arise to seek to rein in civil asset forfeiture as part of its criminal justice reform work. This practice allows law enforcement to seize a home, car or other property from people who have not been convicted of a crime. Alabamians who cannot afford to hire a lawyer to try to recover the property are especially vulnerable.

Arise will support policies to reduce the burden that civil asset forfeiture and high court fees and fines place on many families living in poverty. Other priorities include state public transportation funding, stronger consumer protections on payday and auto title loans, and reforms to the state’s death penalty process.

Medicaid expansion will be a focus of intense Arise advocacy this year. Alabama’s failure to expand Medicaid to cover adults with low wages has trapped about 300,000 people in a coverage gap. They make too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to get subsidies for Marketplace coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

Expanding Medicaid would save hundreds of lives, create thousands of jobs and pump hundreds of millions of dollars a year into the state economy. It also would help keep rural hospitals and clinics open across Alabama.

Arise will continue its long-standing campaign to untax groceries this year. Alabama is one of only three states with no sales tax break on groceries. (The others are Mississippi and South Dakota.) The grocery tax adds hundreds of dollars a year to the cost of a basic necessity of life for families. The tax also is a key driver of Alabama’s upside-down tax system, which on average forces families with low and moderate incomes to pay twice as much of what they make in state and local taxes as the richest Alabamians do.

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Members to chart course Sept. 8

7 proposals vie for 5 slots on our 2019 agenda

We expect another lively, uplifting day when Arise members gather to pick our 2019 issue priorities at our annual meeting Sept. 8 in Montgomery. (See details and voting rules at right.) Two new proposals will compete with five current priorities for the five available slots on Arise’s issue roster next year. Two other issues are permanent priorities: tax reform and adequate state budgets.

Please RSVP by Saturday, Sept. 1, by visiting arisecitizens.org or calling us at 334-832-9060. This month’s newsletter is a resource to help you choose our 2019 issue priorities next month. Inside, you’ll find proponents’ summaries of their new proposals, as well as our policy staff’s overviews of the current issue priorities. We hope to see everyone Sept. 8 as you pick Arise’s 2019 agenda and renew our shared commitment to building a better Alabama for all.

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Goodbye and thank you, Kimble

Forrister retiring after 27 years at Arise

“I mean, what does Arise even look like without Kimble?” one of my coworkers asked earlier this year. It’d been a topic of discussion around the office for a few years, ever since our executive director, Kimble Forrister, attached a specific date to his years of warnings that he would, in fact, retire one day. Now, perhaps sooner than any of us expected, that day is at hand.

Kimble will go down in our state’s history for building Arise into a moral force for justice and opportunity for all Alabamians. For decades, he has been a leading light in statewide campaigns to restore balance to Alabama’s upside-down tax system, to improve education and housing, to invest in health care and public transportation and other services that help people get ahead. As The Anniston Star wrote, “There may be no Alabamian alive today who has done more to better the living conditions for his fellow man in the last quarter-century.”

For Arise, Kimble’s legacy is even more foundational. When he first came to the organization, it was still a small, young coalition of congregations and community groups struggling to make a name for itself. Under his leadership, we developed into a respected, well-known voice – in the media and in the halls of government – for the policy concerns of low-income Alabamians. The number of Arise member groups tripled, and the number of individual members increased at an even faster pace. The staff expanded from two to 15. With that growth came policy successes, like an increase in Alabama’s state income tax threshold, passage of a landlord-tenant law and creation of state trust funds for housing and transportation. And it all happened with a collaborative, selfless spirit that permeated the organizational culture, ensuring that “Arise after Kimble” will carry forward that essential spirit.

Kimble isn’t gone from Arise quite yet. He’ll remain as a part-time adviser for a few months to ease the transition, and he’ll be honored at Arise’s 30th anniversary celebration in October. In the long term, he plans to travel with his wife, Calli, and to spend more time with his children, Clare, Ned and Sarah Alice; and his grandson, Keys. More than one colleague has urged Kimble to write that book he’s talked about for years. And given that he’s a huge film guy, we expect him to spend plenty of time at the Capri Theatre in Montgomery.

“I’m planning for this to be a real retirement,” Kimble told me this week. At the time, he was packing up decades’ worth of memories, while also keeping an eye on the Farm Bill and compiling a monthly financial report for the board – giving Arise his all up to the very last moment. Those of us who have had the privilege of knowing Kimble would have expected nothing different.

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Hyden to be Arise’s next director

Kimble Forrister retiring in June after 27 years

The Board of Directors of Arise has chosen Robyn Hyden as the organization’s next executive director. Hyden will begin her tenure in July. She will take over for Arise’s current executive director, Kimble Forrister, who will retire at the end of June after 27 years leading the organization.

Hyden joins Arise from the United Way of Central Alabama, where she has served as director of grants management in the Department of Community Initiatives since 2017. Previously, Hyden worked as a north Alabama organizer for Arise and directed development and communications at the Birmingham-based
nonprofits Urban Ministry and Alabama Possible. She has a Bachelor
of Arts degree in anthropology from Vanderbilt University.

“Alabama Arise’s members are our state’s most outspoken advocates for dignity, justice and power for people in poverty,” Hyden said. “Arise is at the forefront of organizing grassroots advocacy, holding elected officials accountable and producing trusted policy analysis – work that is now more important than ever. I am honored and humbled to carry this work forward with Arise’s amazing staff, members and board.”

Arise Board President Cindy Lowry praised Hyden’s track record in fundraising and organizing and touted her relationships with civic organizations and faith-based groups across Alabama.

“Robyn has what we believe to be the right attributes – passion, commitment and professionalism – to lead this organization into the future,” Lowry said. “As a former organizer for Arise, she knows the organization very well and has a vision that will build on our history and strengths. Through her words and actions, we know she is fully committed to Arise and our mission.”

Forrister, Arise’s outgoing director, also offered praise for Hyden. “Robyn brings just what Arise needs: a vision for where we need to go, a vision grounded in deep relationships with a network of change-makers,” Forrister said. “She’s a collaborator. She listens. And she’s thoughtful. She steps in at a time when our staff, board and membership are strong and eager to engage the issues of 2019.”

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Session brings 4 big Arise wins

Transit fund created, ETF funding protected

The Alabama Legislature had a fairly quiet regular session in 2018 – but it was a big year for Arise. Thanks to our members’ dedicated advocacy, we made meaningful breakthroughs on public transportation and criminal justice debt reform. Arise members also led the charge to defeat a proposed state tax break for private school tuition and to prevent the Legislature from creating new barriers to food assistance and health care access.

Sometimes Arise members’ advocacy gets results in a more subtle way – such as making a bad bill a little less bad. That was the case with HB 421, sponsored by Rep. David Sessions, R-Grand Bay. Gov. Kay Ivey signed the new measure, which erodes renters’ rights by reducing the number of curable lease breaches under Alabama law. But the original version was even worse: It would have allowed just three days to correct a lease violation and would have cut the notice period for lease termination from seven days to three. After Arise members flooded representatives with calls and emails against the bill, the House adopted an amendment by Rep. Merika Coleman, D-Birmingham, to delete that language.

The session is over, but our work isn’t. We’re fighting hard against a state plan to take Medicaid away from thousands of parents across Alabama. We’ll also make the case for strong investment in SNAP as Congress considers the Farm Bill this year.