Capitol Heels Report: April 17, 2020

Although the legislature has yet to reconvene since their brief procedural meeting on March 31, we have a few advocacy updates to share with you, including their expected return date. Whether that’s sooner or later, you can be sure The Women’s Fund will be in Montgomery advocating for you and women across the state.

Watch our 2-minute video update for all the details and read on for highlights.

Thanks for your continued support.

2020 Legislative Session

The Alabama Legislature last met on March 31 to pass a joint resolution allowing leadership to set meeting times during a state of emergency.

They are scheduled to reconvene on April 28, though there is still some uncertainty as to if that will happen.

If they do come back into session, we should expect minimal activity. They are required to pass a budget, though we anticipate it will be level funding from last year.

The legislature may also consider re-authorization of the Alabama Jobs Act and possibly some local bills, but we are probably looking at a special session later in the year.

Health Care

Expanding affordable health care is a top priority in our 2020 Agenda for Women. To that end, The Women’s Fund participated in a virtual news conference as a member of the Cover Alabama Coalition advocating for Medicaid Expansion on Wednesday, April 15.

With over 60 organizations, the Cover Alabama Coalition is a nonpartisan alliance of advocacy groups, businesses, community organizations, consumer groups, health care providers and religious congregations all advocating to close the health insurance coverage gap for Alabamians who don’t have employer-based insurance.

COVID-19

Alabama will receive its portion of dollars from the CARES Act, the Federal COVID-19 relief funding. The state expect to get approximately $1.9 billion that will in large part be allocated at the Governor’s discretion.

The Capitol Heels Report is a periodic update from The Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham on relevant public policy issues that impact women in Alabama. Click here to learn more about our advocacy work.