Alabama top stories in brief

• The Alabama House of Representatives voted April 25 to abolish the Distressed Institutions of Higher Education Revolving Loan Program. The program was initially passed in 2023 to try to provide financial relief to Birmingham-Southern College, but the college never saw the money. State Treasurer Young Boozer denied their loan application citing concerns that Birmingham-Southern lacked collateral. Soon after a bill to shift administrative power away from Boozer failed in March, the college announced its closure. Sponsored by Rep Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, HB415 formally closes the loan program. It also splits the $30 million available in the program to $15 million each for two different programs: the Lieutenant Governor’s K-12 Capital Grant program and the Community Services Grants program. The House passed the bill 98-0 and it now moves to the Alabama Senate. 

• The Alabama House of Representatives passed HB385 last week, which would allow for librarians at public libraries and k-12 public schools to be charged with a class c misdemeanor for exposing minors to obscene material or material harmful to minors. The bill defines material as harmful to minors if it includes sexual material most adults would consider inappropriate for minors or if “a reasonable person would find that the material, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.” The bill would give libraries seven days to remove material or displays that violate its policies before charges could be brought against them. Supporters of the bill say that it will protect children, while opponents argue that it opens up librarians to criminal charges based upon individual, subjective beliefs. The bill has now moved to the senate. 

• After hearing a presentation from legislators in North Carolina and Arkansas, members of the Alabama Legislatures Joint Health Committee expressed openness to the idea of expanding Medicaid. Both Arkansas and North Carolina are Republican led states that expanded Medicaid, something that several Republican states, including Alabama, have been reluctant to do. North Carolina Rep. Donny Lambeth told Alabama legislators that the expansion had helped prevent hospital closings, something that Alabama struggled with in the previous year. Additionally, Arkansas Sen. Missy Irvin said that expanding medicaid had helped stabilize the private insurance market and lowered insurance premiums statewide. 

• During a protest on April 19 in Decatur, four people were arrested, prompting civil rights attorney Lee Merritt to write a letter this week to the Northern District of Alabama’s U.S. Attorney’s office requesting an investigation into the city police department. The protest revolved around the shooting of Steve Perkins, who was shot in his yard by a member of the Decatur Police Department when police went to assist a tow truck driver with the repossession of Perkins truck. The officer in question has been fired and indicted with a murder charge. According to Merritt, “The Decatur Police Department is engaged in a pattern of civil and criminal abuses that require immediate intervention.” When questioned regarding the arrests and the letter by Merrit, the DPD said they were reviewing the events from the previous week. 

• The family of Brandon Clay Dotson decided to drop their lawsuit alleging that the Alabama Department of Corrections kept the heart of Dotson after his death at Ventress Correctional Facility. Dotson’s family filed a joint stipulation of dismissal with the parties named in the lawsuit, and a judge dismissed the case last Wednesday. No details as to why the case was dismissed or what happened to Dotson’s heart have been revealed. 

Our articles you might have missed

• In The Longleaf Hiker this month, Xander Swain explores Little River Canyon with friends and reflects on the importance of preserving history in addition to protecting ecological sites. 

• Check out our latest feature, which focuses on “StarFell” a comic series by Mike Uhlir that takes place in a fictional town based off Wetumpka, Alabama. 

• In the latest edition of The Breathing Room, Hannah Irvin explains why she dislikes the phrase, “you can do anything you set your mind to” and proposes an alternative.

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