Legislative Spouses Taste Sweet Grown Alabama | |
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Spouses of Alabama legislators got a taste of Sweet Grown Alabama Wednesday when they visited the Alabama Farmers Federation and Alfa Insurance home office in Montgomery.
The Federation's Blake Thaxton and Sweet Grown Alabama Director Ellie Watson spoke to the group about the importance of Alabama agriculture during a meal featuring Alabama-grown products. The menu included romaine lettuce from Extreme Green Farms in Auburn; sweet potatoes from Sirmon Farms in Daphne; squash and zucchini from Popwell's Produce in Clanton; honey from AU-Bees at Auburn University; and strawberries from Boozer Farms in Thorsby.
Watch video from the event featuring an interview with Mitsy Reed, wife of Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed, R-Jasper.
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Economic Boycotting Bill Passes Senate Committee | |
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Legislation aimed at protecting Alabama businesses from defacto regulations imposed by ideological scoring or standards passed the Senate Financial Responsibility and Economic Development (FRED) Committee Wednesday by a vote of 10-3.
SB 261 by Sen. Dan Roberts, R-Mountain Brook, was substituted in committee after lengthy discussions with groups which have already embraced ideological scoring.
“We've finally come to an agreed-upon bill,” said Roberts, as reported by 1819 News. “It deals with a topic that is taking place throughout the United States today. We're really trying to specifically focus on corporate boycotts. With that, we're fighting first to ensure Alabama tax dollars will not be used to subsidize private entities that boycott law-abiding businesses for reasons related to arbitrary and subjective standards. Secondly, it prevents businesses from being forced by a governmental entity to engage in other economic boycotts.”
The bill would prohibit government entities from entering into public contracts with companies that engage in economic boycotting; prevent companies from being required to engage in economic boycotting by a government entity or being penalized for failing to do so; and require the state attorney general to fight federal laws that would compel or penalize residents or companies for activities based on economic boycotting criteria.
Attorney General Steve Marshall testified about economic boycotts before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Accountability during a hearing on Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) Wednesday (see below).
Alabama Farmers Federation and Alfa Insurance support SB 261.
“We appreciate Sen. Roberts for sponsoring this legislation and Senate FRED Committee Chairman Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, for putting it on the committee agenda,” said Federation External Affairs Department Director Brian Hardin. “No one cares more about conserving natural resources and safeguarding the environment than farmers. As a company founded on the core values of faith, family, community and integrity, Alfa Insurance is committed to being a good corporate citizen. Economic boycotting and regulatory overreach, however, should not be used to force farmers or companies to embrace certain ideologies or penalize those who don’t comply.”
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Attorney General Steve Marshall testifies before the House Oversight Committee on ESG. | |
Marshall Testifies Before House Oversight Committee | |
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Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall called economic boycotting related to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices a "clear and present danger" during a U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee hearing Wednesday.
"The global elites in the private sector have taken our country on a climate crusade, without the approval of Americans, in the most undemocratic and unlawful way possible," Marshall said. "The high cost of woke ESG policies threatens to crush middle-class Americans if permitted to proliferate and will impede critical industries in states like Alabama. As the last line of defense, conservative attorneys general can be counted on to protect America’s consumers, America’s industries, and ultimately, America’s free-market capitalism."
Marshall cited agriculture when asked for examples of how Alabama citizens could be impacted by economic boycotting criteria.
"The agriculture industry is obviously very important to us," he said. "One of the things being targeted, for example, is the farmer’s use of certain types of fertilizer — how it is that they use their land itself and the products they use to be able to produce what food goes on to the tables of families across our country. So imagine that a farmer is dealing with a member of the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance who comes to their farm and says, 'As part of our underwriting, we think that you need to be able to change the fertilizer that you’re using; we need to be able to change your land management, or else we’re not going to insure you or we’re going to make it cost prohibitive."
Read the news release from the attorney general's office.
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Rep. Van Smith discusses HB 432 in the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee meeting on Wednesday. | |
Driver's License Bill Passes House Committee | |
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Legislation to help farmers who utilize legal guest workers passed the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee Wednesday.
HB 432 by Rep. Van Smith, R-Billingsley, would reduce the minimum time period an Alabama driver's license can be issued from 160 to 30 days. The change is needed because delays within the H-2A guest worker program have resulted in some farm employees being in the state for shorter periods of time.
A companion bill, SB 266 by Sen. Billy Beasley, D-Clayton, passed the Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee last week. HB 432 is on the House's proposed agenda for Tuesday.
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Safe Dams — SB 284 by Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville, passed the Senate State Governmental Affairs Committee Wednesday. It would provide for the inspection of state-owned dams and reservoirs by an engineer, with reports sent to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. The bill also would provide for a Dam Rehabilitation Loan Program to be used in assisting dam owners in repairing and rehabilitating their dams. It would allow for voluntary participation by other dam owners. Sen. Chambliss reached out to the Alabama Farmers Federation and other stakeholders early in developing the bill to ensure private property rights were protected.
Rural Logging Support Act — SB 76 by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Montgomery, passed the Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee Wednesday. It would designate the 15% of proceeds from state license tax now going into the General Fund for investment related to the forest products industry. This bill would direct a portion of the funds to the Alabama Forestry Commission for grants to support logging workforce development, research and implementation of technologies to promote forest product harvesting and transportation efficiency. The remainder would go to counties for maintaining and constructing rural bridges.
Sweet Trails Alabama — SB 298 by Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Centre, passed the Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee Wednesday. It would provide parameters for the Alabama Council on Outdoor Recreation to adopt a master plan for greenway trails throughout the state and to coordinate with the Department of Revenue to implement a strictly voluntary system whereby donors could receive tax credits for qualified donations of property. The bill also would create the Sweet Trails Alabama Fund to support the master trails plan. The legislation includes language to protect private property owners from liability resulting from injuries on land designated for public use. Sen. Jones reached out to the Alabama Farmers Federation when drafting the bill to address any private property concerns.
Chinese Land Ownership — HB 379 by House Majority Leader Rep. Scott Stadthagen, R-Hartselle, passed the House Tuesday by a vote of 73-23 with six abstentions. It would prohibit Chinese citizens, the Chinese government or Chinese entities from acquiring title to real property in Alabama. The bill has been referred to the Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee.
State Cookie Bill — HB 421 by Rep. Reed Ingram, R-Pike Road, passed the House State Government Committee Wednesday. It would designate The Yellowhammer Cookie as the official state cookie. The legislation stemmed from a class project at Trinity Presbyterian School in Montgomery. The Yellowhammer Cookie contains both peanuts and pecans. Alabama Farmers Federation assisted the sponsor with language highlighting the significance of both agricultural commodities.
Carter Cattle Company — The Senate Thursday approved a resolution honoring Carter Cattle Company of Pintlala in Montgomery County for winning the National Cattlemen's Beef Association's National Environmental Stewardship Award. The farm is operated by Dr. Will Carter and Dr. Monnie Carol Carter. Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Montgomery, sponsored SJR 71 with all Alabama senators joining as cosponsors. The resolution now awaits action in the House of Representatives. Click here to read the resolution.
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Equipment clears debris at the former Avondale Mills site in Sylacauga. | |
Rural Economic Impact Spotlight | |
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In Sylacauga, property resembling a war zone is being transformed into a space that will merge education and workforce development. Crews at the former Avondale Mills site are sifting through piles of rubble, preparing the site for construction of the East Alabama Rural Innovation and Training Hub (EARTH).
"EARTH is about providing an effective and efficient workforce development system, cradle to grave, that's responsive to the current needs of individuals and businesses," said Margaret Morton, executive director of the Sylacauga Alliance for Family Enhancement (SAFE). "It's an economic development solution for rural Alabama and rural America, focusing on the individual, the family and the region, allowing organizations, businesses and the community to serve, train and collaborate."
The EARTH campus will focus on incubation and preparing East Alabama's workforce for on-demand jobs in K-12 education, agriculture, hospitality training, IT and healthcare. It will house SAFE staff offices and include an interpretive center, public and private meeting spaces, classrooms for adults and children, incubation offices for local businesses, co-working space, flex spaces and cooking/catering kitchens.
Rep. Ben Robbins, R-Sylacauga, said it's exciting to see the transformation of the former Avondale Mills site into a new beacon of economic development for the area.
“EARTH will not only serve members in House District 33, but it will help revitalize all of central east Alabama," Robbins said. "EARTH is the tool that will help us pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. It will provide jobs and opportunities for our citizens for generations.”
Morton agreed the $48 million project will touch many lives.
"There are citizens from across the community, state and nation who are invested in EARTH and realize the economic impact for the present and for the future that is created when we work together for a common vision and a common purpose," she said.
Clearing and teardown at the site began in January 2023. Read more.
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