Fact Sheets
Fact Sheet
SB 55: Allowing ALEA to issue hardship driving permits makes sense for Alabama
Update: SB 55 is now law! Gov. Kay Ivey signed the bill on March 22, following votes in the Alabama House (95-1) and Senate (26-1) to pass a conference committee version of the bill on March 15. Earlier, the House voted 88-5 for a similar version on March 1, while the Senate voted 26-1 for [...]
Fact Sheet
4 reasons why a new state tax break for private school tuition would hurt public education in Alabama
Update: Arise members stopped this plan in its tracks! After lawmakers received hundreds of emails and phone calls from our supporters opposing this bill, the Senate amended HB 251 on March 14 to remove the language that would have created a tax break for private school tuition. The House agreed to the change on March [...]
Fact Sheet
Alabama’s renter protections at risk under HB 421
Just three days. If HB 421 becomes law, that’s all the time Alabama renters would get to correct a minor lease violation before landlords could kick them out of their homes. It would be a bad deal for more than 1 million Alabamians who rent their homes. HB 421, sponsored by Rep. David Sessions, R-Grand Bay, [...]
Fact Sheet
New Medicaid hurdles would create barriers to health in Alabama
The Trump administration is encouraging states to impose work requirements on “non-elderly, non-pregnant adult Medicaid beneficiaries who are eligible for Medicaid on a basis other than disability.” State Medicaid Commissioner Stephanie Azar told lawmakers the agency likely will seek approval for such a requirement this year. SB 140, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, and HB 331, [...]
Fact Sheet
Four reasons to oppose work requirements for Alabama Medicaid
(1) The vast majority of enrollees are children or otherwise exempt. Medicaid covers about 1 million Alabamians (roughly one in every five people in the state), and most of them are children. Almost all of the rest are seniors, pregnant women, or people with disabilities who would be exempt from work requirements. Only about 7.5 percent of [...]
Fact Sheet
A new way forward: The Alabama Public Transportation Trust Fund
Alabama is one of only five states with no state funding for public transportation. That lack of investment makes it difficult or even impossible for tens of thousands of low-income Alabamians to get to work, the doctor’s office or other places they need to go when they need to get there. It also means our [...]
Fact Sheet
Keep kids covered: Congressional inaction threatens ALL Kids coverage for Alabama children
Federal funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) has expired, and health coverage for millions of American kids is at stake. Despite a history of strong bipartisan support, Congress allowed a Sept. 30 deadline to pass without renewing federal funding for the program, which offers affordable coverage for children whose low- and moderate-income families don’t [...]
Fact Sheet
What’s at stake for Alabama Medicaid?
Our state simply can't afford any more Medicaid cuts. Alabama's Medicaid program is essential, and it has already been cut to the bone. More than 1 million people -- or one in five Alabamians -- have Medicaid coverage, and almost all of them are children, seniors, pregnant women, or people with disabilities. Medicaid covers thousands of [...]
Fact Sheet
Budgets for FY 2018 fall short of real need
The Alabama Legislature last week passed 2018 state budgets that once again fall short of meeting critical needs. While lawmakers avoided a repeat of last year’s General Fund (GF) crisis, which required a special session to resolve, the new budgets highlight structural flaws that will continue to hinder public services in our state until leaders [...]
Fact Sheet
SB 284 offers Alabama consumers protections from high-cost loans and moves lending reform forward
Most states have laws against usury, or excessive interest. Alabama’s Small Loan Act of 1959 caps the interest rate on traditional small, short-term loans at 3 percent a month, or an annual percentage rate (APR) of 36 percent. But more recent laws covering payday and auto title lenders allow APRs many times higher than that. For [...]