Latest news with #Republican-dominated
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump ally announces record-shattering fundraising haul in bid for Alabama governor
Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville is showcasing his fundraising prowess as he launches his bid for Alabama governor. Tuberville's gubernatorial campaign on Thursday announced that it raked in $2,064,723 in fundraising during the first 24 hours after the senator declared his candidacy, "far surpassing its initial goal and shattering the previous Alabama record." The senator, a strong supporter and ally of President Donald Trump, is considered the frontrunner in the 2026 race to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Kay Ivey in the Republican-dominated state. "There are two universal truths in the Yellowhammer state right now: Alabamians love President Trump and they want Coach Tuberville to be their next governor," Jackie Curtiss Cox, fundraiser for Tuberville's campaign, said. "I've never seen momentum like this in my more than 10 years in Alabama politics." Tommy Tuberville Makes A Major Announcement And Cox spotlighted that "these were not from PAC donations — every dollar came from small business owners, entrepreneurs, workers, and retirees." Read On The Fox News App This week's announcement from Tuberville, a former longtime college football coach who spent 10 years as head coach at Auburn University in Alabama, ended months of speculation about his ambitions to run for governor in his home state. Why Tommy Tuberville Is Taking Aim At Maine's Governor Tuberville, launched a campaign website that touts his "conservative Alabama values." And in his first interview after launching his campaign, Tuberville said on Fox News' "The Will Cain Show" that "I'm doing this to help this country and the great state of Alabama. I'm a football coach. I'm a leader. I'm a builder. I'm a recruiter, and we're going to grow Alabama." Tuberville Spotlights Trump In Effort To Save College Sports A source familiar told Fox News a couple of weeks ago that an endorsement from Trump would be a "done deal" if Tuberville decided to run for governor. And Tuberville, in his Fox News interview, said Trump was "fully supportive" of his gubernatorial run. He is also backed by the politically influential and deep-pocketed Club for Growth, a fiscal conservative group that takes sides in GOP primaries. Alabama Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth, who had been expected to run to succeed Ivey, last week announced that he would not seek the office. Tuberville was first elected to the Senate in 2020, running as an outsider who was closely aligned with Trump. In the Republican primary, he topped former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a longtime senator from Alabama, before resigning in 2017 to serve as Trump's attorney general. Tuberville went on to defeat incumbent Sen. Doug Jones, who was the first Democrat elected to the Senate in Alabama in decades. Tuberville's move to run for governor sets up an open Senate seat in Alabama in next year's midterm article source: Trump ally announces record-shattering fundraising haul in bid for Alabama governor
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Texas just defined man and woman. Here's why that matters.
The Texas Legislature has passed a bill that strictly defines man and woman based on reproductive organs. The bill has no civil or criminal penalties attached, but instead will take these new definitions and apply them across state records. When Gov. Greg Abbott signs House Bill 229, Texas will become the 14th state to implement one of these so-called 'sex definition' laws in recent years. Supporters of the legislation say it's necessary to protect women's rights and spaces, and the immutable differences between the sexes. Opponents say it's an attack on trans people, erasing them from state records as the gender they identify as and forcing them to live as the sex they were assigned at birth. They criticize the bill as problematic for intersex people who are born with characteristics from both sexes. But mostly, there's widespread confusion about what will actually change as a result of this law. 'The question of the hour is how will [HB] 229 be enforced and applied,' said Sarah Corning with the ACLU of Texas. 'What we do know is that it's incredibly disrespectful to so many Texans the Legislature represents, and completely disregards their identity.' The bill defines 'female' and 'woman' across the government code as an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to produce ova. A 'male" and "man" are individuals whose systems are developed to fertilize the ova of a female. After an amendment added in the House, the bill says intersex people are not considered a third sex, but 'must receive accommodations in accordance with state and federal law.' All government entities are directed to collect data based on this binary. The bill contains a legislative intent section which doesn't change state statute but is included as guidance on interpreting the bill. It says that men and women possess 'immutable biological differences,' including that women can get pregnant, give birth and breastfeed children, and men are, on average, bigger, stronger and faster than females. Women are more physically vulnerable to violence and have historically suffered discrimination, warranting the creation of single-sex spaces, like locker rooms, bathrooms, prisons and shelters. It also says that 'in the context of biological sex … separate is not inherently unequal.' 'With this bill, women and girls will know that Texas has their back and will not allow hard-fought rights to be eroded by activists who seek to erase them,' said bill author Rep. Ellen Troxclair, a Republican from Lakeway, in a statement. 'There are pages and pages of references to 'man' and 'woman' in Texas code, which now refer to a specific, clear definition," Since 2017, Texas lawmakers have been attempting to legislate strict applications of sex in specific zones, like school sports and bathrooms. Some of these proposals have gotten wide support from the Republican-dominated chambers, while others have stalled out amid partisan fighting. In the last two years, however, state legislatures across the country have begun considering these sex definition laws, which have a more sweeping application across state statute. At least thirteen states have passed legislation like this, many, including Texas', based on model language from a group called Independent Women's Voice. The national political advocacy group has support from conservative activists like Riley Gaines, who lost out on a fifth place swimming trophy to a trans athlete and has said she was exposed to male genitalia in a women's locker room. The push to strictly divide everyone into two sexes, male and female, based on biological differences, got a boost from President Donald Trump, who issued an executive order in January. Abbott followed suit, directing all state agencies to ensure that agency rules, internal policies, employment practices and other actions 'comply with the law and the biological reality that there are only two sexes — male and female.' Texas voters are, largely, on board with this type of legislation — seven in 10 voters, and 94% of Republicans, believe the sex listed on a birth certificate should be the only way to define gender. More than 120,000 Texans identify as trans, meaning the gender they identify as differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. Many of them have physically transitioned; some have obtained court orders to change their birth certificate or drivers' licenses. Abbott's executive order, which was followed by an opinion from Attorney General Ken Paxton, directed state agencies to no longer recognize those court orders. Lawyers representing trans people anticipate that the state will not go back and reissue documents, but rather require they be changed when they need to be renewed. This will inevitably lead to mismatched documents, Shelly Skeen, a lawyer with Lambda Legal, said earlier this month. Someone who presents as a man but has a driver's license that says they are female will have to out themselves every time identification is required. Plus, they may have other documents, like a passport, school records or medical documents that align with their gender identity, worsening the confusion, legal experts say. Heather Clark, an Austin woman whose wife is transgender, told a Senate committee that it would be 'untenable' for her to carry documents that said she was a man. 'Anytime that she is required to show her driver's license, she could be compelled to explain why her appearance doesn't align with her documentation,' Clark said, adding that could happen anytime she flew, took money from the bank, applied for a job or voted. 'That creates ample daily opportunities for discrimination.' Trans people and their advocates are preparing for the changes to drivers' licenses, birth certificates and other identity documents. But they're also trying to prepare for the unknown — all the other ripple effects this bill will have across their lives. Laura Lane-Steele, a law professor at the University of South Carolina who studies gender and sex discrimination laws, said the application of these sex definition laws tend to be a 'big fat question mark.' To fully understand the implications would require combing through state statute and applying this definition every time the words male and female are used. The language of the bill indicates it was motivated by keeping trans people out of bathrooms that align with their gender identity, but it doesn't attach criminal or civil penalties for using an opposite sex bathroom, for example. 'We'll have to see if the legislators really looked at the code to understand what unpredictable, unexpected implications this will have,' she said. 'You could foresee there being changes that are unanimously considered bad, no matter your political ideology, that they just weren't prepared for.' One possible unintended consequence is for the approximately 1.7% of people who are intersex or born with chromosomal and physical differences to their reproductive organs, Democrats have argued. They raised examples of people with various conditions that would prevent them from falling into this definition based on reproductive organs. 'We can't forget that a certain population exists, and you can't necessarily force them to choose one or the other,' Dallas Rep. Jessica González said on the House floor. Troxclair and others have argued that intersex people have long had a singular sex indicated on their birth certificates and drivers' licenses, and this would not change that. The bill that passed the Senate indicates that they are not to be considered a third, or separate, sex. Democrats also raised questions about women who can't conceive, are post-menopausal, or are born without a reproductive system designed to produce ova. Troxclair said the bill should be interpreted to mean people who have systems that, if normally developed, would fit into these two categories — 'whether or not they are fully developed, whether or not they are capable of functioning.' 'We should not be boiling down a human's existence into one's ability to reproduce, because this is harmful, it is dangerous, and it is really freaking insulting,' González said. When Kansas, Tennessee and Montana led the nation in passing these sex definition laws in 2023, they faced potential backlash from the federal government. Fiscal analysts in Montana estimated it would risk $7 billion in federal anti-discrimination funds, and Tennessee worried about $2 billion in federal education and health funds. Texas is passing this law in a very different political climate, with a very different administration holding the purse strings. In April, the Trump administration briefly froze Maine's access to federal child nutrition funds because the state refused to bar trans athletes from youth sports. 'The federal government is definitely pushing a worldview similar to these state laws,' said Paisley Currah, a professor of political science at City University of New York. 'And that's concerning for people across the country, not just the states that have adopted these laws.' Montana's sex definition law, which listed out more than 40 places it would be applied across state statute, was struck down by a state judge in February, who said it was 'facially unconstitutional' because it violates privacy protections and equal protection rights for trans people. Kansas' law is facing legal challenges from the ACLU, which say the law is unconstitutionally vague and should be interpreted in such a way that protects trans people. Lane-Steele said there's a number of potential constitutional arguments against these laws, from privacy to free speech. Corning said the ACLU of Texas is closely watching to see how far Texas goes to implement this law. It's not clear to them whether it will narrowly apply to statistics and documents, as the language of the law says, or be used to pursue broader policy changes based on the legislative intent. 'If it starts being used that way, they'll definitely hear from us,' she said. For mental health support for LGBTQ youth, call the Trevor Project's 24/7 toll-free support line at 866-488-7386. For trans peer support, call the Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860. You can also reach a trained crisis counselor through the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Criminal justice reform takes back seat in 2025 legislative session
A pair of handcuffs poking through prison bars. Most bills aimed at reforming the criminal justice system failed in the session, though advocates were encouraged by the progress of some proposals. (File/Getty) It was the same story for criminal justice reform in the Alabama Legislature this year as in previous years: bills got filed, but most never made it to Gov. Kay Ivey's desk. Legislators did enact laws making incremental changes, such as a bill to make it easier for people who were formerly incarcerated to obtain occupational licenses and create more opportunities for diversion programs were approved. And advocates said they were encouraged that legislation they continue to support moved further along in the process than in the past. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'Giving a grade on criminal justice reform in Alabama is always a challenge because the steps that are taken forward are, oftentimes, minimal, although they are impactful to certain segments of the population,' said Jerome Dees, policy director for the Southern Poverty Law Center. 'However, what we as a collective community need to do is change the narrative around what actually is public safety and what drives making neighborhoods and communities safe.' Bills to reform the parole and bail system in the state; allowing reconsideration of sentences for nonviolent offenses imposed before reforms of the Habitual Felony Offender Act, and delaying sentencing for those who are pregnant failed within their committees or stalled and were not considered by either the full House or Senate. 'There wasn't any legislation passed for criminal justice reform, but there were still some very meaningful conversations about it that did move the needle forward, including a very frank discussion about the parole board to make sure there is oversight and attention to that fact that the parole board is not in compliance with the law,' said Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa. The Republican-dominated Legislature instead approved measures that increased existing penalties or provided an advantage to law enforcement in some way, including a bill enhancing immunity protections for law enforcement. Reforming parole and bail was a focus of advocates, particularly as Republican legislators had shown growing impatience with the Alabama Board of Pardons and Parole missing deadlines to implement parole guidelines. 'I think one of the many things that we hoped to see coming out of the 2025 legislative session was legislation that created more accountability and transparency around the parole process,' Dees said. 'There were a number of bills that were filed to specifically address that.' HB 40, sponsored England, would have created a commission to create updated parole guidelines and require the board to stick with them. Under the bill, if the board deviated from the guidelines, it would have to publicly state why. Parole applicants would also have been able to appeal denials to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals. Another bill, SB 324, sponsored by Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville, would have increased the number of members who serve on the Parole Board from three to five and require the Senate to confirm the appointments. It would also have changed the timeline that an applicant who has been denied can reapply for parole. The Senate approved the measure by a vote of 16-8 in April and the House Judiciary Committee approved the bill soon afterward by the narrowest of margins. The bill did not come out for a House vote. Chambliss later amended the state's 2026 General Fund budget, which goes into effect on Oct. 1, to withhold the Board of Pardons and Parole's funding until they develop parole guidelines. Lawmakers have scrutinized Alabama's parole system since 2019 when the state's parole system decreased dramatically. The figure has increased to about 25% recently but remains below the original rate. Legislators also turned away proposals to allow Alabama judges to issue a percentage bond to those in pretrial detention. HB 42, also sponsored by England, would have left much of the Alabama Bail Reform Act of 1993 in place except to add three words, 'a part of' to current statutes to give judges the authority to allow defendants to pay a portion of the total bond amount they owe so that they can be released from jail as their cases proceed through the court system. The bail bond industry strongly opposed the legislation during two public hearings at both the House and Senate Judiciary committees. The bill passed the House in April. But the Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked on approval of the measure along party lines. The Alabama Legislature also allowed another bill, SB 156, sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, to fail. The bill allows some of those incarcerated in Alabama's prisons to have their sentences reconsidered by a judge if their crimes did not involve physical injury to others. The bill would have allowed people who were convicted and received lengthy sentences before the state made substantial changes to the Habitual Offender Law in 2000 to give judges more discretion regarding sentencing. Defendants who were convicted of homicides, sexually based offenses and violent offenses were not eligible for reconsideration. The bill required two rounds of voting in the Senate chamber after members of the Senate Judiciary approved it in February. In March, Senate Republicans rejected the legislation with a tie vote 16-16. Hours later, senators approved a motion to reconsider the legislation, and after discussing the bill, passed it by a vote of 17-8. The House Judiciary Committee then approved the legislation in April, but it never came to a vote in the House. 'We were of course disappointed to see the Second Chance bill fail to pass the House, especially in light of the broad, bipartisan support it had this time around,' said Elaine Burdeshaw in a statement, policy director for Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, a criminal justice reform organization. 'Despite the bill's failure, we saw legislators across the aisle, all the way up to Gov. Ivey, understand this issue and why it matters– why it really is smart on crime policy.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Laura Kelly warns of undercutting Kansas schools, judicial independence, budget stability
Gov. Laura Kelly, with about 20 months remaining in her second term, takes stock on the Kansas Reflector podcast work of 2025 Legislature and significant education, tax, budget and judicial issues on horizon. (Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly wants the Republican-dominated legislative committee drafting a new state funding formula for K-12 public school districts to work on behalf of all Kansans by resisting pressure to funnel tax dollars into private schools. Kelly, a Democrat nearing the home stretch of her second term as governor, said the existing formula was the product of years of work by the legislative and executive branches of state government and met the judicial branch's view of Article 6 of the Kansas Constitution by making suitable provision for financing the state's educational interest in children. The current formula has led to full funding of public school districts, Kelly said. It could be improved before expiring in 2027, the governor said, but major overhaul could invite years of new litigation. 'Obviously, what I would really like is for them to tweak around the edges of what we've already got,' Kelly said on the Kansas Reflector podcast. 'This is a formula that has really been decades in the making. It works for Kansas. Are there things that could be better, could be done differently? I'm sure that there are.' 'I would hope that, you know, deep down, what they're really trying to do is to make our public school system the best in the country,' Kelly said. 'Not looking for ways to undermine it and divert funds from that to private schools.' During the interview, Kelly discussed issues shaping the final 20 months of her service as governor, including budget and policy decisions of President Donald Trump, the 2026 vote on a state constitutional amendment to elect members of the Kansas Supreme Court and formation of the state's early childhood education office. She looked back at pivot points in the 2024 session of the Legislature, most notably decisions to emphasize state income tax reductions rather than property tax reform. Kelly, who chairs the Democratic Governors Association, expressed disagreement with Trump's willingness to upend federal funding to states in ways that generated chaos and harmed people. Thousands of federal workers have been sacked along with hundreds of millions of dollars in funding slashed, she said. In Kansas, sudden withdrawal of a federal grant led Kelly to authorize layoffs of 56 employees at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. She said sweeping reductions in federal funding of Medicaid, the health program relied on by people with disabilities, low-income children, elderly adults and pregnant women, would be devastating in Kansas. 'We were taking a very public stance and working very hard with our congressional delegations and others to ensure that Congress does not make those kinds of drastic cuts to a program that is extraordinarily important, not only to some citizens of the state of Kansas, but to the state itself. It would create economic havoc if they were to withdraw Medicaid funding,' Kelly said. Kelly said she would work against the proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution to allow direct public election of state Supreme Court justices and do away with the merit-based process vesting governors with responsibility to fill vacancies on the state's highest court. More than $100 million was spent on this spring's Wisconsin Supreme Court election. It set a national record for expenditures on a state judicial race. 'I don't think Kansans want to go that way, and I think they will speak loudly in August of 2026 just as they did in August of 2022 when the Legislature tried to essentially eliminate reproductive rights in the state of Kansas,' Kelly said. By two-thirds majorities — 27-13 in the Senate and 84-40 in the House — the Kansas Legislature disagreed with Kelly by voting to place the Supreme Court amendment on ballots next year. The governor said she was pleased the Legislature created the state Office of Early Childhood, which would consolidate programs spread across several agencies. 'We will save money and other resources by putting it all under this one umbrella, and we'll be able to provide much better services,' she said. Kelly also lauded formation of a state task force to create a 'comprehensive, thoughtful, long-range plan with dedicated funding so that we address our water issues' much like the state dealt for decades with transportation planning. Kelly said the Legislature would regret following the $1.3 billion state income tax cut approved in 2024 with legislation in 2025 dedicating future state revenue surpluses to more individual and corporate income tax reductions. The House and Senate overrode Kelly's veto of the bill obligating the state to lower income tax rates to 4%. 'When tax revenues come in higher than expected, your taxes go down automatically — a sensible way to return tax dollars to Kansans that only Governor Kelly could oppose,' said Senate President Ty Masterson and House Speaker Dan Hawkins, both Republicans. Kelly said additional income tax cuts would kick in automatically regardless of economic factors or policy and budgetary realities. She said it was the kind of thinking that led Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback in 2012 and 2013 to aggressively slash income taxes. It starved state government and prompted a sales tax hike, increased borrowing and derailed highway and education funding before abandoned in 2017. 'What we've been left with is essentially a flat tax,' Kelly said of the 2025 income tax law. 'That's the kiss of death for the Kansas budget and the public services that we've been providing. It won't be as fast or as dramatic as the impact of the Brownback tax experiment, but ultimately have the same effect.' Kelly said she warned Republican leadership the law would tie the Legislature's hands when trying to respond to unanticipated challenges. 'It'll come back to bite them. Hopefully, you know, they will see that and come back soon and perhaps reverse their course,' she said.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Were Missouri Republican lawmakers guided by a national agenda?
The crowd outside the Missouri Capitol for the inauguration of Gov. Mike Kehoe in January (Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications). The Republican-dominated Missouri Legislature abruptly ended its 2025 session early last week to guarantee passage of two bills to undo what a majority of Missourians had voted for. Were they working for what was in Missouri's best interest, or falling in line with the national Republican agenda? The day before the legislature ended its session Missouri lost a giant, Christopher 'Kit' Bond, who as an elected official aways chose what was best for Missouri over being a Republican who blindly pushed a partisan agenda at the exclusion of input from his Democratic colleagues, or the concerns of his constituents. The legislature's preoccupation to pass those two bills provides damning evidence of how partisan politics have come to rule the day. Legislators used a procedure to prevent Democrats from raising any objections or providing input and successfully secured their passage. Also, the majority of Missourians be damned. One bill puts a new abortion ban amendment before voters in 2026, unless the governor doesn't decide to do it sooner. The second takes away paid sick leave from Missouri workers that voters passed overwhelmingly and had just taken effect May 1. Those benefits will now be snatched back from workers on Aug. 28. Both issues, through the petition initiative process, were decisively decided by voters last November. A majority of Missourians voted against an abortion ban. A majority of Missourians voted for paid sick leave. Pause for a moment and think about what is being pushed about those same two issues on the national level by Republicans, irrespective of what the majority of Americans has indicated they prefer. When it comes to abortion, the budget bill moving through Congress diverts and defunds agencies like Planned Parenthood, targeting 'Big Abortion' as it is being called. When it comes to paid leave, the United States is one of the few countries in the world that doesn't have a national paid family leave policy. A bipartisan bill to establish such a policy was recently introduced, which will require state participation. But its fate remains to be seen. Bills to increase the federal minimum wage have repeatedly failed to be passed by Congress. The current proposed bill is unlikely to pass. Missouri voters have raised the minimum wage three times, including in November to $15 an hour. What other measures were left on the table that could have benefited many Missourians because of tacit or implicit support of the national Republican agenda? A major bill, House bill 19 that addressed many needs in communities across Missouri, expected to be considered was suddenly refused to be presented for a vote in the House. Needed areas left unfunded included: rural hospitals, community health centers, Boys and Girls clubs, capital improvement projects, higher education, research programs, workforce development, construction of a 200-bed mental hospital and other infrastructure projects. Meanwhile, billions of dollars remain in a surplus fund. There was one other area that Missouri Republican lawmakers focused on that aligns, reinforces and support the national Republican agenda. Tax cuts. Tax breaks. Republican lawmakers managed to pass their biggest tax-cut priority bill and forwarded it to the governor for signing. The bill allows capital gains exemptions for individuals and corporations. The bill also provides some limited tax breaks for low income, seniors and the disabled. Passing a major tax cut is also a high priority for Congress. The current bill contains a permanent tax-cut for the richest 1% as well as targeted breaks for millions of Americans, although they are temporary for some, like the elimination of taxes on tips and overtime pay which will expire in 2028. While seniors may be eligible for a new deduction, there will be no tax break or tax cut on social security income. Moving forward, however, the challenge remains: How do we get our elected public officials to rise above entrenched partisan politics and selfish interests and focus instead on those areas that will improve the lives of most Missourians. Elected officials' only job is to work for those who elected them. Republicans at the state and national level seem hell bent on pushing a blindly partisan agenda at the expense of what is best for their state or the country, and the will of the people. They would do well to reflect on the life of Kit Bond, a stellar public servant and lifelong Republican. Hopefully, it will be a reminder for some and a lesson for others. As governor and U.S. senator, Bond was an elected official who worked to address the needs of all Missourians. The issues and legislation he championed were not marred by intractable and extreme partisan politics. He worked with Republicans and Democrats. During his long career — in life and the tributes pouring in since his death, from fellow Republicans and Democrats alike — his integrity and commitment to be collaborative to address the challenges that Missouri faced, to arrive at workable solutions, to get the resources needed can be seen in communities across the state. His impact will be seen and benefit generations of Missourians for years to come. In this time of hyper partisan politics, and when state needs and interests are co-opted and loss in a national agenda, it would serve current lawmakers well, to look to how Kit Bond functioned. He epitomized what it means to put the interests of Missouri and Missourians first. He was committed to get what was needed done. Always. Unabashedly. Collaboratively.
