Republican Alabama Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kay-ivey" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kay Ivey</a> signed a law this week that bans state funding of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-dei" target="_blank" rel="noopener">diversity, equity, and inclusion</a> programs at state agencies and public universities and requires those institutions to have sex specific bathrooms.
Ivey signed the measure, SB129, on Wednesday after it easily passed both the state House and Senate. The legislation comes as DEI programs at institutions across the country have come under scrutiny for focusing on identity as opposed to merit. 
“My Administration has and will continue to value Alabama’s rich diversity, however, I refuse to allow a few bad actors on college campuses – or wherever else for that matter – to go under the acronym of DEI, using taxpayer funds, to push their liberal political movement counter to what the majority of Alabamians believe,” Ivey <a href="https://www.al.com/news/2024/03/alabama-gov-kay-ivey-signs-dei-bill-into-law-what-the-divisive-concepts-ban-will-do.html?utm_campaign=aldotcom_sf&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement. 
“We have already taken action to prevent this in our K-12 classrooms, and I am pleased to sign SB129 to protect our college campuses,” she added. “Supporting academic freedom, embracing diversity of cultures and backgrounds and treating people fairly are all key components of what we believe in Alabama, and I am more than confident that will continue.”
The <a href="https://www.legislature.state.al.us/pdf/SearchableInstruments/2024RS/SB129-enr.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">law</a> will “prohibit certain public entities from maintaining diversity, equity, and inclusion offices and from sponsoring diversity, equity, and inclusion programs,” prohibit the “promotion, endorsement, and affirmation of certain divisive concepts in certain public settings,” and ensure that male and females have separate bathrooms at public institutions. 
One of the divisive concepts included the belief that someone can be inherently racist or responsible for slavery because of the color of their skin. This concept has been widely promoted throughout the education system as students have been taught that all white people are racist or inherently an oppressor. 
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Other divisive concepts banned include teaching the concept of white guilt and promoting the idea that it is racist to believe in meritocracy and hard work. 
The measure was widely opposed by Democrats and liberal groups who claimed that it would be used to stop history teachers from talking about slavery and related topics. The legislation’s supporters said that the bill would not prevent anyone from teaching accurate history or discussing negative aspects of Alabama’s past. 
States like Florida and Texas have already enacted similar legislation and Republican lawmakers in Congress <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-bill-would-eliminate-federal-funding-to-any-med-school-that-incorporates-dei" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have pushed</a> to pull federal funding from medical schools that incorporate DEI into their admissions or instruction.

Alabama State Senators Push for Three Exceptions Amendment to Abortion Bill

Alabama Governor Signs Law To Ban DEI Programs At Public Universities

Alabama

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Kay Ivey

Politics

Whiteness

A federal appeals court ruled on Thursday that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/alabama" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alabama</a> can start enforcing its ban on giving children life-altering puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones if they identify as transgender. 
The decision from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/alabama-can-enforce-ban-gender-affirming-care-trans-minors-appeals-cou-rcna133572" target="_blank" rel="noopener">removed</a> a previous delay on the full enforcement of the law during the appeal process of the law. The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/alabama-allowed-to-enforce-ban-on-puberty-blockers-cross-sex-hormones-for-children" target="_blank" rel="noopener">court had ruled</a> in favor of Alabama in August, keeping the law in place but enforcement had been paused as those suing tried to get the court’s decision reversed. 
“The physical and psychological safety of our children can now be better protected from these untested and life-altering chemical and surgical procedures through the implementation of the Alabama Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act,” <a href="https://www.alabamaag.gov/alabama-attorney-general-marshall-eleventh-circuit-order-clears-way-for-enforcement-of-law-protecting-children-from-experimental-sex-modification-procedures/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall. “This is a significant victory for our country, for children, and for common sense.”
The law, signed in 2022 by Republican Governor Kay Ivey, banned transgender surgeries as well as non-surgical transgender procedures on children. The ban on surgeries was allowed to take effect, but a federal judge blocked implementation of the prohibition on puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. Puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones can have irreversible effects and have been linked to heart problems, fertility issues, and poor bone development. 
The 11th Circuit sided with Alabama in August over a group of parents with transgender-identifying children who challenged the law. 
“The plaintiffs have not presented any authority that supports the existence of a constitutional right to ‘treat [one’s] children with transitioning medications subject to medically accepted standards,’” Judge Barbara Lagoa, a Trump appointee, <a href="https://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/202211707.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> in her opinion.
“Absent a constitutional mandate to the contrary, these types of issues are quintessentially the sort that our system of government reserves to legislative, not judicial, action,” Lagoa added.
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Lawyers for the parents who had sued Alabama <a href="https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/statement-on-11th-circuit-order-allowing-alabama-transgender-adolescent-medical-ban-to-take-effect" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> that thousands of kids across Alabama would be hurt by Thursday’s decision. 
“Today’s ruling will hurt parents and children in the state. We will continue to challenge this unlawful ban and to support parents and their kids in pushing back against the dangerous reality of being denied access to necessary, best practice medical care,” they said in a statement. 
Over 20 states have banned transgender procedures on minors as gender dysphoria diagnosis skyrocket across the United States.

Alabama State Capitol Building

Alabama Allowed To Start Enforcing Ban On Puberty Blockers, Cross-Sex Hormones For Children

Courts

Puberty blockers

Transgender

Alabama GOP Governor Kay Ivey will send 275 National Guard troops to the southern border.
Numerous other GOP governors have sent National Guard troops to the border, starting with Ohio, which sent 185 troops in 2021. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/ron-desantis-sending-florida-law-enforcement-texas-border-mexico-rcna84551">sent</a> 800 National Guardsmen to Texas’ border with Mexico in May 2023. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/va-gov-glenn-youngkin-sends-national-guard-southern-border-rcna87048">followed</a> at the end of that month and in early June. At the end of July, the GOP governors of Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Nebraska joined the move.
“Every state has become a border state under the current policies, and Alabama remains committed to being an integral part of the mission to protect our Southern Border,” Ivey <a href="https://www.alreporter.com/2023/10/06/ivey-announces-alabama-is-sending-troops-to-the-southern-border/#:~:text=Gov.%20Kay%20Ivey%20is%20sending%20275%20National%20Guard%20troops%20to,Southern%20Border%2C%E2%80%9D%20Ivey%20said.">said</a>. “The Alabama National Guard always stands ready to protect our citizens, and I thank our 275 troops, as well as their families, for their important service to our country.”
On September 19, 25 GOP governors sent a <a href="https://www.rga.org/joint-governors-letter-to-president-biden-on-the-impact-of-the-border-crisis/">stinging letter</a> to President Biden addressing the situation at the southern border.
“The crisis at the southern border extends to every state,” they wrote. “As a result of your policies which incentivize illegal immigration, our states are carrying the burden of both the years-long surge in illegal border crossings and cartels’ coordinated trafficking of drugs and human beings. States are on the front lines, working around-the-clock responding to the effects of this crisis: shelters are full, food pantries empty, law enforcement strained, and aid workers exhausted. As governors, we call on you to provide honest, accurate, detailed information on where the migrants admitted at the southern border are being relocated in the United States, in addition to comprehensive data on asylum claim timelines and qualification rates, and successful deportations.”
“Your administration can no longer ignore simple facts that threaten our citizens’ public safety and strain their public resources,” they continued. “Since you have taken office, there have been over 5.8 million illegal crossings at the southern border. In addition, your Customs and Border Protection agency estimates 1.6 million crossers have evaded apprehension. Even illegal crossings at the northern border have increased exponentially under your administration, in some areas by nearly 850%. In the past two years, 244 people on the terrorist watchlist were stopped trying to cross the southern border—an all-time record. Absent transparency from your administration, though, we cannot know how many terrorists have evaded capture and are now freely moving about the country.”

Alabama GOP Gov Latest To Send National Guard To Southern Border

Southern Border

Republican Alabama Governor Kay Ivey <a href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-legislature-transgender-9614faf4a98ea040bb7bf712be4c3dad">signed</a> legislation Tuesday extending the state’s ban on biological males competing in women’s sports to include college sports teams.
The new legislation expands on a 2021 law that banned transgender-identified men from competing on women’s sports teams at the K-12 level. The law mandated that students play in sports leagues corresponding with their biological sex regardless of whether or not they have undergone cross-sex hormone treatment.
“Look, if you are a biological male, you are not going to be competing in women’s and girls’ sports in Alabama,” Ivey said in a statement, adding that “It’s about fairness, plain and simple.”
Alabama State Director of the Human Rights Campaign Carmarion D. Anderson-Harvey spoke out in opposition to the legislation, arguing that the new law is part of a “systematic attack against LGBTQ+ people.&#8221; Anderson-Harvey went on to claim that &#8220;extremist lawmakers&#8221; are making Alabama &#8220;an increasingly hostile place for transgender people and the LGBTQ+ community as a whole.&#8221;
The bill passed the Alabama State Senate by a vote of 26-4 and was approved in the State House by a vote of 83-5. Alabama is just one of <a href="https://www.deseret.com/u-s-world/2022/3/26/22996780/transgender-sports-bans-full-list">many states</a> to pass legislation defending women’s sports. Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas, among others currently in litigation, have passed similar legislation.
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Meanwhile, Alabama’s new law comes as numerous Republican states pass legislation in opposition to transgender ideology. Texas recently became the latest state to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-legislature-passes-bill-banning-minors-from-watching-sexualized-drag-shows">pass legislation</a> banning the performance of drag shows in front of children. The bill now awaits Governor Greg Abbott’s signature. Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida, and Montana <a href="https://time.com/6260421/tennessee-limiting-drag-shows-status-of-anti-drag-bills-u-s/">have all passed</a> similar pieces of legislation.
In addition, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/04/07/1091510026/alabama-gender-affirming-care-trans-transgender">Alabama</a>, Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, Utah, and Iowa are among the <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/map-gender-affirming-care-targeted-us/story?id=97443087">list of states</a> that have passed legislation banning the administration of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and sex change operations on minors.

Track Starting Blocks

Alabama Extends Ban On Males Competing In Women’s Sports To Include Collegiate Athletics

Social Issues

Transgender Athletes

A law banning transgender surgery and drugs for minors took effect on Sunday after the law was signed in April.
Alabama Republican Gov. Kay Ivey signed the law that made providing hormone treatments, transition surgery, or puberty blockers to anyone under 19 years old in the state punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Ivey said in a <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/alabama-governor-signs-bill-criminalizing-transgender-health-care-mino-rcna23674" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> when she signed the bill last month that &#8220;if the Good Lord made you a boy, you are a boy, and if he made you a girl, you are a girl.&#8221;
&#8220;We should especially protect our children from these radical, life-altering drugs and surgeries when they are at such a vulnerable stage in life,&#8221; she added.
Republican state Rep. Wes Allen, who sponsored the bill in the Alabama House of Representatives, said in April that the legislation is about protecting minors.
“It’s about protecting these minors,” Allen <a href="https://www.al.com/news/2022/04/ban-on-transgender-medical-treatments-for-minors-at-top-of-alabama-house-agenda.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “And it’s not about adults, but it’s about those minors. Their minds are not fully developed to make these decisions on these medications and surgeries.”
Alabama&#8217;s law makes it the second state to attempt to ban puberty blockers for minors, and the first state to enact such a law. In April 2021, Arkansas passed a similar bill that was vetoed by Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson because he said it was too broad.
&#8220;The law is very similar to legislation passed in Florida banning teachers from teaching on the issues between kindergarten and third grade. Critics dubbed the legislation, signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, as the &#8216;don&#8217;t say gay&#8221; bill,&#8221; Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/alabama-law-criminalizing-gender-transition-surgery-drugs-for-minors-takes-effect?intcmp=tw_fnc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
U.S. District Judge Liles Burke concluded a hearing on Friday regarding a lawsuit by the Human Rights Campaign and GLBTQ Legal Advocates &amp; Defenders that is attempting to temporarily stop enforcement of the law while the suit is pending.
&#8220;The U.S. Department of Justice has joined the case, saying the Alabama law &#8216;violated the equal protection clause&#8217; of the U.S. Constitution&#8217;s Fourteenth Amendment,&#8221; according to a Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/alabama-ban-gender-affirming-care-transgender-youth-takes-effect-2022-05-09/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a>.
In addition to Alabama, twenty states have similar bills under consideration, <a href="https://freedomforallamericans.org/legislative-tracker/student-athletics/">according to</a> the group Freedom for All Americans.
Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state agencies in February to investigate reports of transgender children who have received gender change surgery.
“Texas law imposes reporting requirements upon all licensed professionals who have direct contact with children who may be subject to such abuse, including doctors, nurses, and teachers, and provides criminal penalties for failure to report such child abuse.” Abbott <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21272649-abbott-letter-to-masters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also released a formal attorney general opinion in February concluding that performing certain “sex-change” procedures on children, and prescribing puberty-blockers to them, is “child abuse” under Texas law.
“There is no doubt that these procedures are ‘abuse’ under Texas law, and thus must be halted,” Paxton <a href="https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/ag-paxton-declares-so-called-sex-change-procedures-children-and-prescription-puberty-blockers-be" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>. “The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) has a responsibility to act accordingly. I’ll do everything I can to protect against those who take advantage of and harm young Texans.”

Alabama Capitol

Alabama Law Banning Child Gender Transition Surgeries Goes Into Effect

Alabama Law Criminalizing Gender Transition Surgery, Drugs For Minors Goes Into Effect

Gender Identity

transgender surgery

Alabama Republican Governor Kay Ivey — who was previously praised by then-President Donald Trump as being &#8220;one of the best&#8221; governors in the U.S. — is urging unvaccinated people to get vaccinated in an effort to help bring an end to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ivey made the remarks to reporters when talking about the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus, which the vaccine is <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/pfizer-vaccine-88-effective-against-delta-variant-study">highly effective</a> at combatting. Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, a favorite amongst conservatives, also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/desantis-urges-people-to-get-vaccinated-these-vaccines-are-saving-lives-reducing-mortality">urged</a> people to get vaccinated this week, noting that &#8220;these vaccines are saving lives, they are reducing mortality.&#8221;
&#8220;Let’s be crystal clear about this issue,&#8221; Ivey told reporters on Thursday, &#8220;The new cases of COVID are because of unvaccinated folks. Almost 100% of the new hospitalizations are with unvaccinated folks. And the deaths are certainly occurring with the unvaccinated folks. These folks are choosing a horrible lifestyle of self-inflicted pain.&#8221;
&#8220;We got to get folks to take the shot. The vaccine is the greatest weapon we have to fight COVID,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;There is no question about that the data proves it. I’ve taken the shot back in December, both shots. It’s just the thing to do. The unvaccinated is who we need to focus on.”
&#8220;I want folks to get vaccinated &#8230; that prevents everything, why would we want to mess around with just temporary stuff?&#8221; Ivey said in response to another question. &#8220;We don&#8217;t need to encourage people to just go halfway with curing this disease, let&#8217;s get it done and we know what it take to get it done, let&#8217;s get a shot in your arm. And so, I&#8217;ve done it, it&#8217;s safe, it&#8217;s effective, it&#8217;s, the data proves that it works. It doesn&#8217;t cost you anything. It saves lives.&#8221;
&#8220;Folks are supposed to have common sense,&#8221; Ivey said when asked about what it was going to take to get people vaccinated. &#8220;But it’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks. It’s the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down.”
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Coronavirus in Alabama: Gov. Kay Ivey talks COVID-19, vaccines" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OsNhIStFt24?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
DeSantis made similar remarks about the vaccines during a press conference earlier this week, saying that data shows that for people who have been vaccinated &#8220;the chance of you getting seriously ill or dying from COVID is effectively zero.&#8221;
&#8220;If you look at the people that are being admitted to hospitals, over 95% of them are either not fully vaccinated or not vaccinated at all,&#8221; DeSantis continued. “And so these vaccines are saving lives, they are reducing mortality. Mortality in nursing homes since we rolled out the vaccines in December is down over 95% due to COVID. Mortality for elderly people since we rolled out the vaccines is down nearly 90%. And so we’re proud in Florida that we put seniors first on that because they were the most vulnerable. We have 85% of our seniors that are vaccinated and about 75% of folks over the age of 50. We have no mandate, we’ve provided information to people, and we’ve been very honest about any data that comes out.”
“I can tell you in Florida, your chance of surviving if your vaccine is close to 100%,” DeSantis added. “And so we worked very hard to get those vaccines into all our elderly communities and give it to other folks who who could use it.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&quot;These vacines are saving lives&quot;
In his most direct effort to encourage people to get vaccinated, Governor Ron DeSantis said 95% of the new COVID cases are those who are not vaccinated. <a href="https://t.co/3RzHYEH1mI">pic.twitter.com/3RzHYEH1mI</a>
&mdash; Greg Angel (@NewsGuyGreg) <a href="https://twitter.com/NewsGuyGreg/status/1417911400589058049?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

US-VOTE-TRUMP

GOP Governor, A Trump Favorite, Urges Vaccinations: ‘It Saves Lives,’ ‘Greatest Weapon We Have’

COVID-19 Vaccine

Donald Trump

Republican Governor of Alabama Kay Ivey signed a daylight-saving bill on Thursday, putting her state on daylight-saving time throughout the year. 
Ivey announced the move in a <a href="https://twitter.com/GovernorKayIvey/status/1392952072400691201">tweet</a>, with a list of bills she signed: 
<blockquote>
Today I signed:
SB 193 &#8211; This includes supplemental appropriations from the ETF Advancement &amp; Technology Fund to various education entities.
HB 437 &#8211; the wine shipment bill
SB 388 &#8211; the Daylight Savings bill
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Today I signed:
✅ SB 193 &#8211; This includes supplemental appropriations from the ETF Advancement &amp; Technology Fund to various education entities.
✅ HB 437 &#8211; the wine shipment bill   ✅ SB 388 &#8211; the Daylight Savings bill<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/alpolitics?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#alpolitics</a> <a href="https://t.co/k4AlKlUd5g">pic.twitter.com/k4AlKlUd5g</a>
&mdash; Governor Kay Ivey (@GovernorKayIvey) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovernorKayIvey/status/1392952072400691201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 13, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The piece of legislation was extremely popular among state legislators, but a federal law will still need to be changed in order to allow states to enact such a move. The Alabama House of Representatives passed the bill 93-1 on May 6 and the state senate had approved it with a 29-0 majority. The bill’s sponsors are Sen. Steve Livingston, R-Scottsboro, and Rep. Ritchie Whorton, R-Owens Cross Roads.
“You go from March to November, one sort of time and switching to another time, it’s hard for folks to get used to the change,” Whorton <a href="https://www.al.com/news/2021/05/alabama-gov-kay-ivey-signs-year-round-daylight-saving-time-bill.html">said</a> last week when the House passed the legislation. “A lot of people not used to getting up to the morning, running late and having an accident.”
Earlier this year, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bipartisan-group-of-senators-reintroduce-bill-to-enact-year-round-daylight-saving-time">a bipartisan group of senators introduced such a bill</a> that would eliminate the biannual changing of clocks around the country.
The piece of legislation was called the “<a href="https://www.hydesmith.senate.gov/sites/default/files/2021-03/Sunshine%20Protection%20Act%20of%202021.pdf">Sunshine Protection Act</a>,” and was put forward by U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), James Lankford (R-OK), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Rick Scott (R-FL) and Ed Markey (D-MA).
According to a <a href="https://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=ACAE4503-822C-4C91-8C65-0C8B6F524053">press release</a> from Rubio, Florida already passed a measure in 2018 similar to Alabama’s bill that would allow the state to keep Daylight Saving Time. A federal law is still needed in order for the Sunshine State to hold onto the change.
“The call to end the antiquated practice of clock changing is gaining momentum throughout the nation,” Rubio said. “Studies have shown many benefits of a year-round Daylight Saving Time, which is why the Florida legislature voted to make it permanent in 2018. I’m proud to reintroduce this bipartisan bill to make Daylight Saving Time permanent, and give our nation’s families more stability throughout the year.”
A <a href="https://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/14e39e20-b852-4cae-b98b-258e0c0898a6/1C912A264D838911D32528FA5B1FD0FB.sunshine-protection-act-2019-one-pager.pdf">fact sheet</a> provided by Rubio’s office at the time explained the details of the bill, stating that it does not change any time zones, alter the number of hours of sunlight, or make the states and territories that do not already practice it adhere to Daylight Saving Time.
According to the fact sheet, Daylight Saving Time was created in the United States after Germany attempted to conserve fuel in 1916 during World War I. It originally only lasted for six months, but in 2005, Congress expanded the period to eight months of Daylight Saving Time and four months of standard time.
There are advantages to keeping Daylight Saving Time all year, as detailed by Rubio’s fact sheet. The increase in sunlight can provide better visibility for drivers, lowers the risk for some health issues, can help improve the economy, and more.
According to the <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/daylight-savings-time-state-legislation.aspx">National Conference of State Legislatures</a>, in the last four years, &#8220;17 states have enacted legislation or passed a resolution to provide for year-round daylight saving time, if Congress were to allow such a change, and in some cases, if surrounding states enact the same legislation.&#8221;

DD961686-E17A-463E-B6A1-062D6DC939B6_1_201_a

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey Signs Daylight Saving Time Bill

Five Republican governors have agreed that they are not going to accept the $300 per week enhanced unemployment benefits offered by the federal government, saying it disincentivized workers from going back to work.
“The move to reject the extra money comes as new expert analyses show those who made $32,000 before COVID-19 hit are now making more in benefits staying at home and collecting than if they were to go back to work,&#8221; the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9566303/Residents-five-GOP-states-LOSE-enhanced-unemployment-Republican-governors-refused-it.html">Daily Mail</a> noted. &#8220;The average U.S. salary for an individual in 2019 was $31,133. This means the average Americans could earn more money in coronavirus-era benefits instead of going back to work.&#8221;
Governors Kay Ivey of Alabama, Asa Hutchinson in Arkansas, Tate Reeves in Mississippi, Greg Gianforte in Montana, and Henry McMaster in South Carolina have stated in the past week their intention to refuse the benefits.
McMaster told Fox News on Monday:
<blockquote>This is about as close to socialism that I&#8217;ve seen. We&#8217;ve got help-wanted signs up everywhere, we get calls and letters, and texts from all sorts of businesses all across the state looking for people to work. People won&#8217;t come to work because they&#8217;re getting as much money or more in some cases by staying home. It’s a counterproductive policy and I&#8217;m afraid what the Biden administration is doing is that they&#8217;re telling everybody that the virus is still rampant and still in great danger. Everybody has to stay home. That&#8217;s not true. Go get a job, get back to work. That&#8217;s how you build an economy and a family and everything else. The Biden proposals are totally underproductive, killing incentive, and it puts us right on the road to socialism. We&#8217;ve got to stand up and fight against this.</blockquote>
He <a href="https://governor.sc.gov/news/2021-05/south-carolina-return-pre-pandemic-unemployment-program-address-workforce-shortages">wrote</a> South Carolina’s Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW), “South Carolina&#8217;s businesses have borne the brunt of the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those businesses that have survived — both large and small, and including those in the hospitality, tourism, manufacturing, and healthcare sectors — now face an unprecedented labor shortage.”
South Carolina&#8217;s unemployment rate in March 2021 was 5.1 percent, down 8 points from April 2020, the Daily Mail pointed out.
McMaster tweeted, “We are currently facing a labor shortage created in large part by the supplemental unemployment payments that the federal government provides. Since the Biden Admin and Congress appear to have no comprehension of the damage being done the State of South Carolina must take action.”
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We are currently facing a labor shortage created in large part by the supplemental unemployment payments that the federal government provides. Since the Biden Admin and Congress appear to have no comprehension of the damage being done the State of South Carolina must take action.
&mdash; Gov. Henry McMaster (@henrymcmaster) <a href="https://twitter.com/henrymcmaster/status/1390395431197233153?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Reeves issued a statement on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/tatereeves">Facebook</a>, saying, “After many conversations over the last several weeks with Mississippi small business owners and their employees, it has become clear that the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and other like programs passed by the Congress may have been necessary in May of last year but are no longer so in May of this year.”
He added on Twitter, “It has become clear to me that we cannot have a full economic recovery until we get the thousands of available jobs in our state filled.”
Hutchinson told CNN’s “New Day,” “The extra compensation was very helpful during the dark days of the pandemic when unemployment rates were so high. But now our economy has come back, we have jobs aplenty, we have employers that are begging workers to come to their place of business. We cannot pay extra compensations for workers to stay home – we need them in the place of employment. If they need assistance in finding a job, we&#8217;ll provide that to them. If they did child care assistance we have more than ample resources to assist in that, as well. People of Arkansas want to work, but we found that that enhanced benefits was simply an impediment.”
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&quot;The extra compensation was very helpful during the dark days of the pandemic when unemployment rates were so high. But now &#8230; we have jobs aplenty,&quot; Gov. Asa Hutchinson says about his decision to end pandemic jobless aid in his state. &quot;We cannot pay &#8230; workers to stay home.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/undhfHUZmy">pic.twitter.com/undhfHUZmy</a>
&mdash; CNN This Morning with Kasie Hunt (@CNNThisMorning) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNThisMorning/status/1392082492748873731?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Ivey’s <a href="https://governor.alabama.gov/newsroom/2021/05/governor-kay-ivey-announces-end-of-participation-in-all-federal-pandemic-unemployment-compensation-programs/">statement</a>: “As Alabama&#8217;s economy continues its recovery, we are hearing from more and more business owners and employers that it is increasingly difficult to find workers to fill available jobs, even though job openings are abundant. Among other factors, increased unemployment assistance, which was meant to be a short-term relief program during emergency related shutdowns, is now contributing to a labor shortage that is compromising the continuation of our economic recovery. Our Department of Labor is reporting that there are more available jobs now than prior to the pandemic. Jobs are out there.”

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