Alabama Senate bill would require cities to disclose discretionary accounts
The Senate County and Municipal Government Committee approved a bill Tuesday that requires municipalities to disclose information about discretionary spending accounts that the jurisdiction created.
SB 306, sponsored by Sen. Wes Kitchens, R-Arab, would require municipalities with discretionary accounts to publish both the balance and spending activity each month.
'What this does, it is really to have transparency in government,' Kitchens said to the committee. 'Different agencies, different elected officials who have discretionary accounts, it is to make it more accessible to people. Similar to what we go through with the campaign finance report, it would be publicized.'
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The bill would require government agencies, boards, commissions and departments to make that information available online through their website; with the Association of County Commissions of Alabama or with the Alabama League of Municipalities.
Judges, district attorneys and clerks may also make that information public with the Administrative Office of the Courts.
Kaleb Beck, legislative counsel for the Alabama League of Municipalities, spoke against the legislation during a public hearing.
'The League's first area of opposition is the resource burden this will place on our cities,' Beck said. 'For example, our smaller municipalities might lack the technical expertise or staff to, every month, format and upload these types of documents.'
He said that municipal clerks that oversee less populated areas of the state already perform different functions, and the legislation will place them with another responsibility.
'If residents want this information published, this can be pushed for at the local level,' Beck said. 'We can trust that our municipal officials will be receptive to their constituents' wants and needs, and if not, they can be held accountable at the polls like every other elected official in the state.'
After the public hearing, Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, said she would propose an amendment to the legislation to make it easier for the smaller jurisdictions to comply with the provisions with the bill.
'I understand the issue with the smaller municipalities, it may be an issue for them,' she said. 'If they didn't have the abilities to publicize it, some small towns may not have a website, but that it would be posted at city hall, a county courthouse, or whatever.'
Kitchens said he is open to continue discussing the elements contained in his bill.
'This seems like an incredibly low bar for me to reach,' said Sen. Chris Elliott, R-Josephine, the chair of the committee. 'I am very supportive of your legislation.'
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'Hamas must give up control': Fatah official lays out vision for Gaza after war
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Al-Hayek pointed out that an Arab-Islamic plan—endorsed by both the Arab Summit and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah - calls for the PA to 'impose its legal jurisdiction over the Gaza Strip.' 'The day following the war must be distinctly Palestinian,' he told The Media Line, noting that Israel has rejected proposals giving the PA control. He added that the PA is 'the official and legitimate face of the State of Palestine.' According to Al-Hayek, Fatah believes the Mustafa government should take full legal authority in Gaza, backed by 'all political parties, including Fatah and the Palestinian factions,' so it can 'fulfill its administrative and governance responsibilities in Gaza, particularly the day after the war.' He said that afterward, the process should move toward 'legislative, presidential, and National Council elections, allowing the Palestinian people to choose their future leadership.' Ending war is immediate priority Ending the war, he continued, was the immediate priority. 'Right now, all we are thinking about is ending the war in the Gaza Strip,' he said, 'and then moving towards a political process that leads to the establishment of the Palestinian state and its embodiment on the ground in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with Jerusalem as its capital.' Al-Hayek made clear that Hamas should relinquish its governing role. 'We have requested Hamas to exit the governmental and administrative scene,' he told The Media Line. 'We have not asked Hamas members and their families to leave the Gaza Strip, as they remain an integral part of the Palestinian people. However, Hamas is now required to step back from this governing role.' He said Hamas 'currently finds itself in a difficult situation' and that 'all Palestinian factions desire nothing but to reach a clear and well-defined agreement' allowing the PA to take over governance in Gaza, as it already does in the West Bank. One reason Hamas must step aside, he argued, is that 'the situation after October 7 is entirely different from what it was before October 7.' The war, he said, has created 'complex security circumstances,' including the occupation of large parts of Gaza, demographic and geographic shifts, and 'the presence of occupying forces in the Strip.' 'To alleviate all the suffering and harsh pain endured by our people,' he said, 'Hamas must step aside and allow the Palestinian National Authority to assume responsibility.' Responding to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remark that 'neither Fatahstan, nor Hamastan, nor the Palestinian Authority will exist in the Gaza Strip,' Al-Hayek cited international support for a PA role. He noted that when the European Union called for the PA's presence at the Rafah crossing, 'it meant the Palestinian Authority, regardless of the form or nature of its presence.' Turning to humanitarian concerns, Al-Hayek said Gaza will face an enormous task of rebuilding once the war ends. 'The Gaza Strip needs reconstruction. It needs the world to mobilize for food and reconstruction,' he said. But he added, 'this world will not mobilize, pay, or undertake reconstruction except through the legitimate body.' That legitimate body, he emphasized, is 'the Palestinian National Authority, which represents the Palestinians in the territories occupied in 1967.' He said there are ongoing contacts with 'the entire international community, the United Nations, and the European Union,' and added, 'There will certainly be contacts with the United States.' Speaking about Washington's role, Al-Hayek criticized the lack of American action so far. 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an hour ago
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Hamas says it has accepted a new Arab proposal in Gaza ceasefire talks
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A ceasefire, a hostage release and an influx of aid The details of the latest proposal have not been made public, but the two Egyptian officials and two Hamas officials described the broad outlines to The Associated Press. There would be a 60-day ceasefire in which Israeli forces would pull back to a buffer zone extending 800 meters (875 yards) into Gaza. The officials said Trump's Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, had proposed 1,500 meters (1,640 yards) and Hamas countered with 600 meters (656 yards) before the talks stalled last month. Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in phases, in exchange for the release of around 1,700 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, including 200 serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks. Hamas-led militants took 251 people hostage in the Oct. 7 attack and killed around 1,200, mostly civilians. Fifty hostages are still in Gaza, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals. Israel would allow 600 trucks of humanitarian aid to enter each day, a major increase that could help arrest what experts have described as the territory's slide toward famine. Israel allowed a similar amount of aid to enter during a ceasefire earlier this year. During the temporary ceasefire, the sides would negotiate a lasting truce, the release of the remaining hostages and the further withdrawal of Israeli forces. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that while he will halt the fighting temporarily to facilitate the release of hostages, he will not end the war until Hamas has been defeated and disarmed. Even then, he says Israel will maintain security control over Gaza and facilitate the relocation of much of its population to other countries through what he describes as voluntary emigration. 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Trump alone might be able to convince Israel to halt the war without trying to eradicate Hamas at the cost of countless more Palestinian lives and possibly the remaining hostages. He says he wants to return the hostages and end the war but has not publicly pressured Israel. In a post Monday on his Truth Social website, Trump appeared once again to express full support for Netanyahu's endgame. 'We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be,' he wrote. 'Play to WIN, or don't play at all!'
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Grand Forks Rep. Emily O'Brien resigns her legislative spot to take job with state Health and Human Services
Aug. 19—GRAND FORKS — Emily O'Brien, who has represented Grand Forks in the Legislature since 2017, has resigned her seat in District 42 to take a job with the state Department of Health and Human Services. O'Brien will start her new position as the HHS deputy commissioner on Wednesday. Serving in the Legislature has "definitely had its ups and downs, but at the end of the day, the public service piece I provided to the state, I'm grateful and humbled for all the work that goes into it, whether it's for the citizens you serve or those who serve in the public sector," O'Brien told the Grand Forks Herald. In a letter she sent Monday evening to House Majority Leader Mike Lefor, R-Dickinson, and John Bjornson, director of the North Dakota Legislative Council, she said serving in the Legislature has been among her greatest honors. "I want to sincerely thank you and my colleagues for the opportunity to work alongside such dedicated public servants. I am especially grateful to the Legislative Council staff for their tireless support, expertise, and professionalism in helping legislators serve our constituents effectively," she wrote in the letter. "The collaborative spirit between the Legislature and the Department of Health and Human Services has always been a point of pride, and I look forward to continuing and strengthening that partnership in my new role." The resignation from the House is effective Wednesday. O'Brien first came into the Legislature in 2017 after earning a win in the November 2016 general election. In the years since, she won reelection campaigns in 2020 and 2024. At present, her standing committee assignments are Appropriations and Appropriations-Human Resources Division. That connection — serving on the HR section of Appropriations — led her to have an interest in the HHS position, she said. "There are a lot of great things that we're doing and some areas we can improve," she told the Herald in a telephone interview. "How do we streamline? How do we make it the most efficient way possible and ensure timely communication between local entities and state entities?" She knows of people who use HHR services, and that has made her realize that "it's important to keep moving the needle and improving the processes. I love being a part of a team and an environment that wants to do that." Behind Republican Rep. Mark Sanford, whose first session was 2011, O'Brien is tied as the second-longest-serving Grand Forks lawmaker with Republican Sen. Scott Meyer. Her online campaign biography notes she is a Lakeville, Minnesota, native, as well as a UND graduate with a degree in entrepreneurship. In the past, she has been the chief operating officer of the Bioscience Association of North Dakota. She has served on the board of directors for The Chamber of Grand Forks-East Grand Forks, the North Dakota Women's Business Center, and the LISTEN Center. "Emily is a hard worker. She'll be missed in the House Appropriations Committee, specifically dealing with the Health and Human Services budget, which is the biggest budget in the state," Meyer, R-Grand Forks, said. "She is one who really dug into it and devoted a lot of time to the budgets ... to get the inside scoop on everything. We'll miss that. She really worked hard." Of her time in the House, O'Brien said "you learn to appreciate and go into things with an open mind. I definitely learned a lot and I'm just grateful for the opportunity and hopefully get to continue that." O'Brien plans to move to Bismarck, which leaves open her seat in District 42. She did not immediately know the process to fill the seat. A call by the Herald to the District 42 Republican Party was not returned. In 2019, District 42 Rep. Jake Blum, R-Grand Forks, resigned his seat when he moved to the Twin Cities. His position was filled in the short term by an interim member until the next election opportunity. Since North Dakota's Legislature only meets every other year — and most recently met earlier this year — it means O'Brien's replacement will not be in an actual session until 2027. District 42 generally includes far western Grand Forks, on the west side of I-29, along with a strip of land that reaches to Grand Forks Air Force Base. It also includes an area that juts eastward into Grand Forks, between DeMers Avenue and Gateway Drive. Tuesday morning, O'Brien's hiring by the HHS was announced. "We are thrilled to welcome Emily as our new deputy," interim Commissioner Pat Traynor said in a statement sent to the media. "She brings a proven track record of leadership, deep experience in public service, and a strong commitment to using data to guide decisions. With Emily's expertise and vision, we are confident our agency will continue advancing health and well-being for the people we serve." The release said that as deputy commissioner, "O'Brien will focus on aligning HHS programs and services with the agency's strategic vision for North Dakota to be the healthiest state in the nation." Solve the daily Crossword
