Latest news with #VivianFigures
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gov. Kay Ivey signs bill giving paid parental leave to state, public school employees
Rep. Ginny Shaver (left), R-Leesburg, and Sen. Vivian Figures (right), D-Mobile, laughing in the House press room at the Alabama State House in Montgomery, Alabama, on March 20, 2025. Ivey signed the pair's legislation to give eight weeks of parental leave to state employees and educators. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector) Gov. Kay Ivey Wednesday signed a bill giving public school educators and state employees paid parental leave. SB 199, sponsored by Sen. Vivian Figures, D-Mobile, allows women who give birth, have a stillbirth, or a miscarriage after 12 weeks to receive eight weeks of paid leave. It also allows the father to take two weeks of paid leave under those circumstances. If a couple adopts a child under three years old, either parent may have eight weeks of leave if they are both eligible employees. 'No parent should have to choose between their paycheck and spending time with their newly welcomed child,' Ivey said in a statement. 'Today, Alabama sends a clear message: We value families, and we value our workforce.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The law, named the Alabama Public Employee Paid Parental Leave Act of 2025, will go into effect on July 1. The legislation passed the House 94-2 on March 20. The two votes against it were male representatives that claimed parents could use their accrued sick leave or 'catastrophic' sick leave for parental leave. According to the Alabama State Department of Education, teachers earn one sick day per month for 10 months. Rep. Ginny Shaver, R-Leesburg, a longtime supporter of paid parental leave who carried Figures' bill in the House, said during debate on the House floor last month that it takes more than 10 days to recover from having a baby. 'Having a baby is a normal function. The catastrophic leave is for that, catastrophic and for unusual circumstances,' Shaver said in March. The legislation does not make parental leave an accruable benefit. According to the Legislative Services Agency, the leave will cost $10,750 for parents that take eight weeks and $2,600 for those that take two weeks. Figures sponsored a bill last year for educators that was changed to remove male employees' leave and leave in the case of a miscarriage and stillborn. The Senate passed the bill, but then-Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed, R-Jasper, prevented it from being sent to the House, something any senator can do after the 26th legislative day. 'Paid leave is an essential tool for workforce and economic growth, providing education and state employees with the opportunity to care for their newborn or newly adopted child without worrying about unnecessary financial strain,' Figures said in a statement. According to the statement, providing paid parental leave to public employees was a recommendation included in the Final Report of the Governor's Study Group on Efficiency in State Government as a way to increase the recruitment and retention of public employees. 'This is a proud day for Alabama families, and I want to thank Sen. Vivian Figures and Rep. Ginny Shaver for championing this effort from the very start,' Ivey said. Shaver sponsored the House version of the bill. She echoed Ivey that the bill supports Alabama's values. 'By providing paid parental leave for state employees and education employees, we are not only recognizing the fundamental importance of family, but also investing in the well-being and stability of our workforce,' Shaver said in a statement. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Yahoo
Stolen food stamps Bill proposed in state Legislature to reimburse funds
DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) — A bill has been filed in the Alabama Legislature requiring the state to reimburse citizens who have had their food stamps stolen. In February, bill SB230, sponsored by democratic senator Vivian Figures, would require the state to reimburse citizens the equal amount of stolen SNAP benefits. Downtown Huntsville to host free Final Four outdoor watch, block party The reimbursement would help Amanda Craig, who says she was scammed by thieves for her food stamp benefits. 'I have six children and I'm a single mom and we have quite a bit of bills and things and you count on the food stamps to be there,' Craig explained. With a basket full of groceries at the checkout counter, Craig swiped her Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card only to find that her account had been hacked. 'I find out that all of a sudden there's no food stamps or money on my card which I don't know if it was stolen from me before I went into the store or what,' said Craig. 'No text message is worth your life': Police stress the dangers of distracted driving Craig says she receives $900 a month to feed her family. She is one of 16,000 Alabamians who have reported this theft, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health. Criminals continue to use illegal devices to steal money from debit, credit and EBT cards. The ADPH told Craig that they ended the federal reimbursement program in December. Figures said that people who were affected by the fraud that happened because of the cyberspace insecurity for the state of Alabama are not to blame for them being defrauded. 'I hope that this bill goes through because we need to feed our families,' Craig said. 'You would think by my very first card that I reported stolen in August or in January, they should have stopped it from continuing to happen. The card should have been replaced, and the system should have been locked down.' DHR reimbursed over $5 million to SNAP benefits scamming victims just in the month of November. SB230 was read for the first time in the Senate in March and will now go before the Senate. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press
20-03-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
Alabama lawmakers approve paid parental leave for state employees
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers on Thursday approved a bipartisan bill that would make teachers and state employees eligible for paid parental leave. The Republican dominated House of Representatives voted 94-2 to pass legislation that would offer up to eight weeks of maternity leave and two weeks of paternity leave after the birth, stillbirth or miscarriage of a child. The legislation now goes to Republican Gov. Kay Ivey, who endorsed the legislation in her annual state of the state speech in February. Sen. Vivian Figures, who co-sponsored the bill, said it would give mothers time to heal after pregnancy, improve education and help the state 'recruit the personnel we need and be able to retain them.' Alabama is one of just over a dozen states that does not offer paid parental leave to state employees, according to A Better Balance, the non-profit organization that advocates for paid family leave. Alabama state employees currently use sick leave and unpaid time off if they wish to stay home after a child's birth or adoption. Alabama had just under 29,000 state employees in 2023, according to the latest available data from the Alabama Personnel Department. Around 57,000 public school staff and over 50,000 public university staff also would be eligible for paid leave if the law is signed, according to the Alabama Department of Education and the University of Alabama. Paid leave laws for private sector workers vary nationally. At least thirteen states have state-funded programs that mandate paid family and medical leave, funded by payroll taxes, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In Alabama and seven other states, employers in the private sector have the option of purchasing paid leave plans through private insurers. The bill drew support from Republican and Democratic legislators alike. 'We say we're pro-life, and people say we don't care about them after they're born, and this is showing that we do,' Republican Rep. Ginny Shaver, one of the bill's sponsors, said on the house floor.
