Arise Daily News Digest 3-2-2013

AL.COM  - Report: "Secretive pro-utility" PSC system is costly for Alabama Power customers, according to report.

AL.COM  - U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to participate in Sunday's Selma commemoration.

AL.COM  - Obama signs order to begin $85 billion in federal spending cuts.

AL.COM  - Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage visits University of Alabama.

AL.COM  - Report: ThyssenKrupp gets final bids for Steel Americas plants.

AL.COM  - How and why did Republicans do it? A look behind the curtain at how a big change got done.

AL.COM  - Alabama Democrats considering lawsuit to block tax credits bill.

AL.COM  - How Alabama compares with other states offering tax credits for school choice.

AL.COM  - Alabama Accountability Act FAQ, a guide to the most radical education reform in decades.

AL.COM  - Tax credit bill says no school would be forced to enroll a student.

AL.COM  - OP-ED:  Goat Hill switcheroo shows contempt for all Alabamians.

AL.COM  - Columnist Challen Stephens:  Inside Alabama's problematic plan to let students flee "failing schools."

AL.COM  - Columnist John Archibald:  Montgomery bigwigs give Alabama the Full Monty.

AL.COM  - Contributor U. S. Rep. Terri Sewell:  The threat from within -- the ironic challenge to the Voting Rights Act.

AL.COM  - Fifty years later, Birmingham police have made great strides since days of dogs, firehoses, segregation.

AL.COM  - Gov. Robert Bentley says bill will help schools, political fallout will pass.

ANNISTON STAR  – The Anniston Star:  Stealth legislation:  Legislature shunned transparency to pass School Flexibility Bill.

MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER  - BP/Deepwater Horizon disaster: 'The oil is still there': ASU professor wonders if dispersants did more harm than good.

MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER  - School flexibility: After passage, questions: Drastically revamped school bill has officials scrambling to determine costs, impact.

MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER  - Ala. Supreme Court: Macon Co. Judge relied too much on Sheriff's VictoryLand opinion.

MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER  - The Montgomery Advertiser:  ‘School flexibility' bills rewritten, expanded in scope - Alabama Legislature abuses power with bill.

WASHINGTON POST  - Obama, congressional leaders fail to reach deal on sequester.

WASHINGTON POST  - Furloughs in personnel-heavy agencies could affect public services.

NEW YORK TIMES  - As Cuts Arrive, Parties Pledge to Call Off the Budget Wars

NEW YORK TIMES  - A Divide on Voting Rights in a Town Where Blood Spilled

NEW YORK TIMES  – The New York Times:  As the Cuts Hit Home

Weak PSC oversight benefits Alabama Power at customers' expense, report finds

Alabama Power earns higher profits than most utilities nationwide while leaving customers paying more for their electricity than customers in all Southern states but Florida, according to a report released today by Arise Citizens' Policy Project.

"The outdated way Alabama sets electricity rates is hurting families and businesses," ACPP executive director Kimble Forrister said. "It's not just numbers on paper. When people are living paycheck to paycheck, having to spend so much of their income on electricity bills really hurts."

Read news release here.

Read full report here.

Arise legislative update: Advocates assemble at State House to support interest rate caps for payday, title loans

A large coalition gathered Thursday at the State House in Montgomery to urge legislators to pass legislation limiting high-interest lending in Alabama, notably payday and auto title loans. The Alliance for Responsible Lending in Alabama made its debut, and several presenters spoke eloquently on the harms of predatory lending. This legislative update highlights the various proposals to rein in payday and title loans in Alabama.

Read ACPP policy analyst Stephen Stetson's legislative update here.

Arise legislative update: Committees OK military payday loan rate cap, TANF drug tests

Alabama would enforce a federal interest rate cap on payday loans to military families if a bill approved by a Senate committee Wednesday becomes law. Senate committees also signed off on a proposal to require drug tests for certain TANF applicants, a plan to sell bonds to buy K-12 career tech equipment, and a bill to increase the state income tax credit for rural doctors. This legislative update highlights committee action and debate on those measures.

Read ACPP policy analyst Chris Sanders' legislative update here.

Arise legislative update: Dark picture painted for Alabama courts, public safety agencies at General Fund hearings

Alabama’s court system will slash nearly 400 jobs next year without more General Fund (GF) support, judicial officials said Wednesday during GF budget hearings in Montgomery. Leaders of Alabama’s prisons and state troopers also detailed their strapped agencies’ struggles to meet growing needs amid years of flat or declining revenues. This legislative update highlights the budget needs of the state's judicial and public safety agencies.

Read ACPP policy analyst Chris Sanders' legislative update here.