The Alabama House Republican Caucus has announced its agenda for the 2015 legislative session. The slate of bills is being called "Alabama First" by members of the caucus as they say it seeks to put Alabama first education and economic development. Chairman of the House Rules Committee Mac McCutcheon says charter schools will be a priority. Republicans also will be supporting bills to authorize use of the electric chair in capital punishment, increase funding for career tech dual enrollment programs, protect judges, ministers and other from being forced to participate in wedding ceremonies that violate their religious beliefs and re-establish the freedom of student-led prayer and religious expression in schools among others. The session convenes March 3rd.
Religious Rally
Religious leaders from Washington D.C. rallied on the steps of the Alabama Judicial Building Wednesday in support of Chief Justice Roy Moore's stance on same sex marriage. Rev. Patrick Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition, says the issue is not same-sex marriage, but judicial overreach that he opposes. Mahoney was part of a group that also defended Judge Roy Moore in 2003 when he refused to remove the Ten Commandments monument from the State Judicial Building.
Equal Pay
Actress Patricia Arquette raised the issue of equal pay between men and women during her acceptance speech at the Oscars Sunday night. The latest figures from the American Association of University Women break down the numbers state by state. In Alabama, the report indicates women make about 76 cents for every dollar a man earns. WVAS discussed the subject with a successful businesswoman in Montgomery, Angela Swartz. When told of the disparity in the state, Swartz was not surprised. As the owner of Spherion Staffing Services, Swartz advises everyone to know the salary range for the job being sought, and be prepared to make that argument. She says that goes for pay raises as well.
Limiting Testimony
A judge in Gadsden is agreeing with prosecutors and limiting medical testimony about a 9-year-old girl who was allegedly run to death by her grandmother. The judge granted a prosecution motion to prevent testimony about the way hospitals cared for the child after she collapsed in February 2012. The ruling came Tuesday during a hearing for 59-year-old Joyce Hardin Garrard, who's charged with murder.