A Senate committee Thursday morning indefinitely carried over legislation that would have allowed public entities to use two new methods of letting out public contracts, effectively killing the bill. Senate Commerce, Transportation and Utilities chairman Gerald Allen, R-Tuscaloosa, said opposition from within the general contracting industry played a role in the defeat. “You’ve got two [...]
Newly-elected Senate Minority Leader Vivian Davis Figures said at a press conference Thursday morning she would try to lead her caucus to work with majority Republicans. “We do have many, many challenges, but I feel you can find common ground anywhere,” said Figures, as Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston and Lt. Gov. Kay [...]
Hinton Mitchem, a businessman who served in the Alabama State Senate for over 30 years — including two as its leader — died on Tuesday. He was 74. A native of Georgia, Mitchem served in the Alabama Senate almost continuously from 1979 to 2010 as a Democrat from Union Grove. He stepped away from his [...]
Sen. Jerry Fielding announced Thursday he would switch from the Democratic to Republican Party, nearly two years after scoring a rare victory for the Democrats in the 2010 elections. Fielding said his political and moral views were more in line with the GOP and said he was “in a good place.” Republicans praised Fielding’s decision [...]
A Sylacauga state senator said Tuesday he will make an announcement on his party affiliation some time this week, a day after the Alabama Democratic Party chairman said he was joining the Republicans. Sen. Jerry Fielding, D-Sylacauga, said in a brief phone interview Tuesday that the party’s release Monday was “not entirely accurate” but acknowledged [...]