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07/14/11 By M.J. Ellington, Montgomery Bureau A man convicted of robbery in connection with the 1997 murder of a father and his son in Colbert County was denied parole Wednesday by the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles.
07/07/11 By M.J. Ellington, Montgomery Bureau Alabama Development Office Director Seth Hammett has stepped down and a House member who crafted a new rolling reserve education budget plan will take his place, authorities said Wednesday. Gov. Robert Bentley announced that Rep. Greg Canfield, R-Vestavia Hills, will take over as ADO director by Aug. 1.
05/19/11 By M.J. Ellington, Montgomery Bureau A legislative committee redrawing district lines for Congress and the state school board surprised the committee chairmen Wednesday by turning down their plan and tentatively adopting another plan.
04/29/11 By M.J. Ellington, Montgomery Bureau The sponsor of an Arizona-style anti-immigration measure said the bill that finally becomes law could be a combination of his bill and a similar one in the Senate. A Senate committee approved the bill by House Majority Leader Micky Hammon, R-Decatur, on Thursday by a vote of 6-0. The bill now goes to the full Senate for consideration.
04/01/11 By M.J. Ellington, Montgomery Bureau As expected, Gov. Robert Bentley declared 15 percent proration Thursday, cutting already limping general fund budgets for the 2011 fiscal year ending Sept. 30.
03/06/11 By M.J. Ellington, Montgomery Bureau A bill touted as the solution to midyear state education budget cuts will be first up for a vote in the House when the Legislature returns Tuesday.
02/25/11 By M.J. Ellington, Montgomery Bureau Racist language in the Alabama Constitution is not only morally wrong but may be bad for recruiting business, said a Decatur senator who is proposing legislation to change it.
02/05/11 By M.J. Ellington, Montgomery Bureau Alabamians say jobs and the economy should be top priorities for the Legislature this year, but they believe the state's top spending focus should be on education and health care, according to a study released Friday by the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama.
12/15/10 By M.J. Ellington, Montgomery Bureau In a day filled with filibuster, the Legislature sent one bill banning pass-through pork to Gov. Bob Riley for his signature. All other bills in the seven-bill ethics reform package targeted for passage in the special session appeared deadlocked in a filibuster.
12/12/10 By M.J. Ellington, Montgomery Bureau Many legislators say a bill prohibiting payroll deductions for organization dues and political action committees is the key to the special session on ethics reform.
11/21/10 By M.J. Ellington, Montgomery Bureau The Legislature made a critical mistake in 2007 when members approved a legislative pay raise affecting them instead of having it kick in when the next group of legislators took office, according to the man Republicans have tapped for speaker of the House.
11/04/10 M.J. Ellington, Montgomery Bureau There will be a much different feel surrounding the post-election Republican caucus meetings today. For the first time, top leadership positions in the House and Senate will be up for a vote when the new Republican majority gathers.
07/18/10 By M.J. Ellington, Montgomery Bureau Many leaders in the Alabama Republican hierarchy broke routine protocol and publicly supported Bradley Byrne for governor in his party runoff bid against Robert Bentley. But last Tuesday, average voters chose Bentley in overwhelming fashion.
06/18/10 By M.J. Ellington, Montgomery Bureau Unofficial Alabama Republican Party gubernatorial primary recount totals late Thursday showed Robert Bentley still leads Tim James by 159 votes for second place and a spot in the July 13 runoff.
06/10/10 M.J. Ellington, Montgomery Bureau The wait for state income tax refunds should be over by July for most Alabamians who filed their state income tax return on time, state Finance Director Bill Newton said. While Alabama delayed payment of some income tax refunds into the fall in 2009 because of a slowdown of state tax revenue, Newton said he sees no comparable delay this year.
05/24/10 By M.J. Ellington, Montgomery Bureau In 2006, Democrats nationwide underscored problems in the Bush administration and won congressional campaigns using the phrase "culture of corruption." In 2010, Republican candidates in Alabama use the phrase and the word "corruption" in describing why voters should not elect Democrats.
05/07/10 M.J. Ellington, Montgomery Bureau Federal grand jurors have heard a tape recording of a cell phone conversation in which a prominent casino owner and a lobbyist discussed how a Republican House member from Montgomery was expected to vote on a bill to authorize and tax electronic bingo.
05/05/10 M.J. Ellington, Montgomery Bureau A federal probe that derailed a vote on electronic bingo legislation in the Alabama House continued with grand jury testimony late into the day Tuesday. One Republican senator who voted against Sen. Roger Bedford's bingo referendum bill said the questions he got were about "how Montgomery works."
04/27/10 M.J. Ellington, Montgomery Bureau Area legislators say they are not among people subpoenaed by a federal grand jury looking into a bingo legislation vote in the Alabama Senate. Federal authorities started delivering subpoenas in the probe on Thursday, but a check with area legislators Monday revealed that none had received a subpoena to testify.
04/20/10 By M.J. Ellington, Montgomery Bureau The clock is ticking on a bill to legalize and regulate electronic bingo in Alabama, but supporters and opponents said they are unable to predict a winner in the race for votes.
04/18/10 M.J. Ellington, Montgomery Bureau With state budgets passed and only two days remaining in the 2010 legislative session, legislators must consider three bills with statewide hot-button potential. Electronic bingo, a bailout for the state college tuition program and a $1 billion road and bridge funding bill promise a busy last two days. | 
