Joint Interim Court Cost Study Commission Recommends Standardization, Transparency, and Reform to “Patchwork” System of Fees
For over a decade, PARCA has documented the role of court costs as they exist at the intersection of public finance and public safety, sometimes providing the only analysis of this important source of revenue. In a report sent to lawmakers earlier this week, Chief Justice Sarah Stewart writes that Alabama lawmakers should standardize court […]
Special Congressional Primary Continues Trend of Declining Political Participation in Alabama
Use the tabs to move between different views of the data and use the menus to focus in on the systems, schools, or subjects that you are most interested in. Only 5% of registered voters in the Alabama Congressional Districts holding elections last week cast ballots, producing one of the state’s lowest federal election turnout […]
Local Court Fee Increases Associated with Increased Jail Detention, New Research Finds
New research led by the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA) and MDRC indicates that each additional $100 in cumulative court fees for criminal cases is associated with an additional 34 jail detentions per 100,000 people at the county level. This small but significant increase suggests that fee increases could increase detention rather than deter it. […]
Primary Election: Proposed Statewide Amendments Analysis
Beyond the Democratic and Republican primary elections scheduled for May 19, voters will decide the fate of two statewide amendments to the Alabama Constitution. One would prevent local district attorneys’ salaries from being reduced during an elected term of office. Another would give judges discretion to deny bail to people charged with certain crimes. Those […]
Mapping Alabama’s Public-Nonprofit Partnership
Mapping Alabama’s Public–Nonprofit Partnership examines how Alabama’s nonprofit sector functions as an essential partner in the delivery of public services. The report is a collaboration between Alabama Association of Nonprofits and the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, with research conducted by PARCA. Alabama is home to 5,996 active 501(c)(3) organizations that file regular tax returns […]
Alabama’s $60 Billion Question: Potential Reductions in Payments?
Passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1) in the U.S. House has sparked discussions about the impact of reductions in federal funding across the U.S. KFF, a nonprofit policy analysis organization formerly known as Kaiser Family Foundation, estimates that the House Budget Committee’s reconciliation bill would reduce federal Medicaid spending by $791 […]
The Alabama Constitution’s Impact on Taxes and Spending
PARCA is re-examining Alabama’s Constitution in light of the 2022 passage of a revised and reorganized version of the state’s fundamental law. The approval of the Constitution of 2022 was the culmination of decades of advocacy. Some important changes were achieved, including a substantial reorganization and the removal of racist and unconstitutional provisions central to […]
The Government Closest to the People?
Alabama voters adopted a revised and reorganized Constitution in 2022. However, the “new” Constitution preserved the fundamental attitudes and mechanics of the previous Constitution. Adopted in 1901, that constitution was designed for an agrarian state, strictly limiting government power to tax land. It forbade the state from engaging in “internal improvements” and disenfranchised blacks and […]
An Analysis of the Proposed Statewide Amendment for the 2024 General Election
When Alabamians vote on November 5, they will be asked to vote on one statewide amendment. “Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, to grant certain sixteenth section and indemnity school lands that are owned in fee simple by the Franklin County School System, are located in Fayette County and Walker County, […]
Huntsville and Baldwin Continue Population Gains, Birmingham Remains in Top 50 of U.S. Metros
The Huntsville area and Baldwin County continue to add more new residents, while growth in Shelby County and St. Clair County helped the Birmingham Metro Area return to positive growth after two years of population loss. That’s according to new estimates of population change in U.S. counties and metro areas published by the U.S. Census […]