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 […]
Proposed Statewide Amendment to the Alabama Constitution of 2022
Statewide Amendment 1 Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, to amend Section 71.01 authorizing the Legislature to sign and transmit local laws or constitutional amendments before the transmission of basic appropriations. Proposed by Act 2023-562 (Senate Bill 3, 2023 Second Special Session)Bill Sponsor: Senator Chambliss When voters go to the polls […]
The Alabama Constitution Reformed: Is There Still Work to Do?
In 2022, Alabama adopted a “new” constitution, an improved and reorganized version of the Alabama Constitution of 1901. The vote was the culmination of decades of advocacy and was rightly celebrated. The new Constitution removed the racist and unconstitutional provisions that were relics of the White Supremacist 1901 Constitution. Printable PDF version available here It […]
E-Commerce and Taxation: Questions of Efficiency and Equal Treatment
PARCA’s new report, titled E-Commerce and Taxation: Questions of Efficiency and Equal Treatment, questions whether changes are needed to the state’s Simplified Sellers Use Tax (SSUT). Executive Summary Alabama’s tax on online goods sold by out-of-state sellers, the Simplified Sellers Use Tax (SSUT), has been a boost to state budgets but a mixed blessing for […]
How Alabama Taxes Compare, 2022 Edition
PARCA’s How Alabama Taxes Compare, 2022 Edition, uses data published by the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of State and Local Finances to compare tax revenues across the state. This most recent set of revenue and expenditure data cover state and local fiscal years ending between July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020, identified as […]
A New Constitution Plus Additional Amendments on the Nov. 8 Ballot
Beyond the political contests on the November 8th ballot, Alabama voters will decide whether to adopt the Alabama Constitution of 2022, a recompiled version of the current constitution, as well as 10 statewide constitutional amendments. There will also be 19 other state constitutional amendments appearing on the ballots only in the county where those amendments […]
A Congressional Seat in Danger
The big count with major consequences for Alabama continues, and it looks like it will come down to a very tight margin. The decennial census for 2020, the official count of people living in the United States, is expected to be released in February. But in the meantime, in December, the Census Bureau released its […]
Jefferson County Mayors Study Municipal Cooperation on Jails
Taking population into consideration, Jefferson County may have more jails than any other major county in the U.S., and the county’s mayors are investigating options for decreasing the liability, expense, and inefficiency that comes with operating so many separate facilities. As part of ongoing regional cooperation efforts, the Jefferson County Mayors Association commissioned a new […]
Cooperating for Growth in the Wiregrass
Before the Coronavirus pandemic, economic developers in Southeast Alabama recognized the advantages of pulling together as a region rather than each city and county trying to recruit new industry independently. Wanting to take cooperation to a new level, they asked PARCA to investigate how other regional economic development organizations across the state and across the […]