The effort to remove the state sales tax from groceries is likely dead for another year. Senator Gerald Dial of Lineville got a Senate committee to approve his bill to phase out the four percent state tax, but he said it is unlikely he can pass it with only five meeting days remaining in the legislative session. State Rep. John Knight of Montgomery introduced a bill to remove the tax, but it never got brought up for a vote. Jim Carnes of the Alabama Arise organization that represents Alabama's poor says the grocery tax issue appears dead for this session of the Legislature.
Friday, Eastdale Mall officials implemented the new Parental Escort Policy. The program requires those under the age of 17 to be accompanied by a responsible adult age 21 and over on Fridays and Saturdays. Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange said abiding by the policy rests on the adults as well as the teens. The Parental Escort Policy will be enforced by a mall security company.
The proposed pay raise for Alabama's K-12 school employees keeps shrinking the longer the Legislature stays in session. Gov. Robert Bentley proposed a 2.5 percent raise in February, the House reduced it to 2 percent and now a Senate committee is recommending an absolute raise of 1 percent. The $5.8 billion dollar education budget awaits consideration by the state Senate.
The Senate Finance and Taxation-Education Committee cut the proposed pay raise for Alabama's K-12 employees to one percent today. In introducing his education budget, Committee Chair Republican Senator Trip Pittman said its a spending plan for tough economic times. The $5.8 billion dollar budget and the pay raise now to to the Senate for consideration.
Tuesday was a long day for state legislators, the Alabama Senate was in session until 3 o'clock this morning debating bills. One piece of legislation that won't be considered this year is a measure that would have repealed Common Core Education Standards for public schools.