It’s the home stretch of the legislative session and, accordingly, Mary and I have a new pod out setting the table for the weeks ahead. There’s a lot to talk about, including what to expect on the budgets, tax credits and gambling. Listen HERE or wherever you get your podcasts ..read more

A new episode of In the Weeds is out today! Mary and I discuss a number of topics, including: the recent HD 10 special election and the national media reaction; what to expect when the Legislature returns next week, including on budgets, gambling, torts, ready-to-drink legislation and workforce; the Alabama congressional delegation’s split votes on the recently-passed minibus appropriations package. Listen below or wherever you get your podcasts ..read more

Todd and Mary celebrate being able to take a bit of a breather as the Legislature takes a week off for Spring Break. There’s plenty of punditry to catch up on, though. They walk through what happened and what’s next on gambling, IVF, school choice, the budgets, AL-1 & AL-2, and, of course, the fallout from U.S. Senator Katie Britt’s national debut. Listen below or wherever you get your podcasts ..read more

Attorney General Steve Marshall comes In The Weeds to review the year that was from his office on a number of different issues: redistricting, the McCraney cold case conviction, the opioid settlement, criminal code revisions and more. We also look forward to discuss what’s coming up next, including his involvement in the Trump immunity case before the Supreme Court and his legislative agenda for 2024. So as not to waste the opportunity, Todd slips in some questions about gambling and Marshall’s political future.   ..read more

The newly drawn Alabama Congressional District 1 will be a much better political fit for Rep. Barry Moore than the District 2 he was recently drawn out of, the congressman told Alabama Daily News on Thursday. Moore, technically, is challenging incumbent Rep. Jerry Carl in District 1, but most of the nine counties in it are currently in District 2, which he’s represented since 2020. From Dothan to Dauphin Island, the newly drawn district will be one of the most conservative in the nation, Moore said. “Being a House Freedom Caucus member, being rated the most conservative member from (the Conser ..read more

Republican Congressman Jerry Carl says he knows voters in the Wiregrass area, newly drawn into the congressional district he’s represented since 2021, don’t love the idea of being represented by someone from Mobile. “And I don’t blame them,” Carl said on In the Weeds. “They’re used to having someone from the Wiregrass, in the Wiregrass and they’ve been stripped of that.” In the court-mandated congressional map changes, Carl’s District 1 was stretched from the southwest corner of the state across the lower counties to the Georgia line. Similarly, District 2, which formerly included all of the ..read more

Todd is on his own this week without Mary’s supervision. That leads to a long rant about issues like the Speaker’s race, the House Republican Conference and how that might impact Alabama. More importantly, Todd talks with State Sen. April Weaver and Peggy Benson of the Alabama Board of Nursing about the workforce shortage facing that profession ..read more

Mary and I welcome State Senator Clyde Chambliss for an in depth discussion about his takeaways from the legislative session and his thoughts on what to expect in the future. That includes on the issue of transportation infrastructure, an area in which he has significant experience as a civil engineer. Of course, any conversation with Sen. Chambliss is going to involve talk about budgets and, in particular, how he thinks Alabama is preparing for the future. Listen below or wherever you get your podcasts ..read more

Mary and Todd preview the upcoming week in the Alabama Legislature. With just seven meeting days remaining, some big ticket items are still yet to be resolved, namely the budgets, the $2.8 billion supplemental education package, the grocery sales tax cut and school choice legislation. We’ll go in the weeds on all those topics and more. Listen below or wherever you get your podcasts ..read more

Todd and Mary interview Lt. Gov Will Ainsworth about his thoughts on a number of issues: infrastructure spending priorities, school choice, that education capital project fund, what’s next on grocery sales taxes, workforce development and the big question – is he running for governor? Ainsworth is candid in his answers to the point that this episode will probably make news ..read more