From ou statehouse studio in Montgomery.

I'm Todd Stacey, welcome to Capitol Journal.

Leading the news this week is a renewed effort to enact stricter penalties for anyone who's sexually abused as a child.

Alabama and the whole country were shocked late last week by the horrific child sex trafficking ring that was uncovered in Bibb County.

Seven people have no been arrested on charges ranging from rape, sodomy, human trafficking, kidnaping, bestiality and cruelty to animals.

The parents of the victims are among those charged.

State Representative Matt Simpson this week sai he plans to reintroduce his bill that would allow prosecutors to pursue the death penalty for anyone convicted of rape or sodomy of a child under 12 years old.

His Senate co-sponsor is Senator April Weaver, who represents Bibb County, and they have the support o Attorney General Steve Marshall and Governor Kay Ivey.

In my opinion, this is th worst of the worst of offenses.

Taking advantage and taking the innocence of children under the age of 12 is one of the worst things, if not the worst, someone can do because it is one of the worst offenses.

It deserves the worst of the worst punishments.

That's why we're here today.

To let you know we will be refiling a bill to pursue cap to allow for th punishment of capital punishment for those that commit the offense of rape or sodomy of a child under the age of 12.

Most people assume that it couldn't happen in their backyard.

But as someone who has deep roots in Bibb County and someone who represents Bibb County in the Alabama Senate, I just want you to know that these events have hit really, really close to home.

I believe that there's a special place in hell for child sex predators.

And when we passed this bill and when it is approved by the courts, there is also going to be a special place in Alabama for child sex predators.

And that is on death row and home in prison.

This is not the first time that Alabama has considered the question of capital punishment for these types of cases.

In fact, that at one point in time was the law.

Let's be clea that if in fact this is passed, there will be worked on legally to be able to allow this to be enforceable, I can tell you that if it occurs during my tenure as Attorney General, we will make sure that we are defending this law as we've done many others, that the legislature has passed, to be able to send a clear message about not only the intent of the legislature in protecting kids, but the public policy in our state is how we hold those who hurt our children accountable.

The U.S. Supreme Cour has previously ruled such laws as unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment.

But as you heard the attorney general say, he and Simpson and Weaver are hopeful that that ruling could be reconsidered if this bill passes.

And I'll sit down with both lawmakers for a more in-depth discussion later in the show.

Well, Alabama state and federal lawmakers swapped places this week.

Several members of the Alabam legislature were in Washington for a series of meetings at the white House.

The Republican delegation met with Trump administration officials about the recently enacted big budget bill and plans to enact at the state level, some of the president's executive orders.

Our Washington correspondent, Alex Engle, caught up with some of the lawmakers there on Capitol Hill.

Members of the Alabama legislature traded in the statehous for the white House this week.

About 40 Republican from the state met with leaders from federal agencie in a series of meetings in D.C..

It was really just a white House briefing from many of Trump's department head to learn about the Trump agenda and how we and Alabama can work together, partner with President Trump to help implement some of what he's doing in our state.

Representative Susan DeVos is keen on education policy.

She was encouraged to see ho Trump's budget bill that's now law will help further Alabama's school choice initiatives.

There's going to be more tax credits that are going to come in from the federal level to give parents more money for school choice.

The Trump administratio officials touched on how the One Big Beautiful Bill act will play out in Alabama.

Representative Ginny Shaver says she was focused on health car and preserving rural hospitals, which could be threatened by Medicaid cuts.

My constituents have bee concerned about budget cuts to Medicaid, but what we're trying to do is to preserve those benefits for those who who need it and who are truly eligible for it.

As part of the White House's state leadership conference, the lawmakers heard from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutton.

Neck representative Chip Brown talked with him about how the seafood industry tariffs impact his district.

So far, it's been very favorable because in the past many countries haven't ha tariffs importing their seafood, particularly shrimp, into Alabama or other states.

So it's I'm excited to see what's going to come out of this.

As a law enforcement officer.

Representative Shane Stringer appreciate the conversations on public safety, such as on increasing crimina penalties for certain offenses.

Everything that they're talking about and doing the agenda is going to be very proactive for law enforcement in trying to give law enforcement the tools needed.

The white Hous also urged the lawmakers to pass state law in the next legislative session to make some of Trump's executive orders permanent.

Alabama Republicans met with leaders from every federal agency while at the white House.

The state lawmakers also visited with Senators Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville.

Reporting in Washington Alex Engle, Capitol Journal.

Thank you Alex.

And U.S.

Senator Tommy Tubervill was back in Alabama this week.

The state's senior senator and now leading candidate for governor was in Tuscaloosa meeting with a gathering of mayors from across the state.

He expressed support for Presiden Donald Trump's tariff policies, which has seen a lot of movement in recent weeks.

We can't tax people.

We could we could tax everybody 100%.

We couldn't pay this debt down these tariffs.

We got to tax everybody else out of this country.

And I tell by I tell people this and it's it just makes sense.

And President Trump.

He explains it like this.

We've had a part for 249 years in this country, and we've had all the othe countries come and coming here and celebrating with us at a party for the greatest country ever.

But the problem is they've taken advantage of us.

They've just come here and partied with us, but hadn't brought gift or drinks or anything like that.

People have to pay their way.

Now we have got to make other people pay their way across this world and quit, taken from us and give back.

The big issu being discussed at that mayor's gathering is Alabama's onlin sales tax and how that revenue is distributed.

Local leaders have long argued that they are being shortchanged by the state's formula, and now they're considerin a lawsuit to test its legality.

Whether it's a municipal governments, whether it's school systems or whether it's agencies that are impacted by it.

We said from the very beginning, this is a problem that needs to be solved and it can be solved.

I mean, I think that's that is the thing that if anyone leaves here today, I hope they know.

Yes, there's a problem.

B let's work together to solve it.

The city is in year eight now and trying to address this issue.

Other communities now are beginning to wrap their arms around the losses that they're seeing, whether it's in their local government or whether it's in their school system.

So the more we discuss it, the more educated people can become, the more we have an opportunity to solve it.

With the Alabama Legislature.

Tuberville did not publicly take a position on the online sales tax debate, but he said it could be something he takes a look at if elected governor.

The best thing I can do is visit with other governors across the country and see how they've done it and, whether it's working for them.

And I suggested that to, to, all the mayors, but it is a problem.

And but again, I just heard, the mayor say that, you know, everybody's tired of taxes.

We got enough taxes.

You know, they just need to be distributed, right?

And and I'm not I'm not here to sa whether they're right and wrong.

I don't have a I don't have a dog that hunt until, you know, I take over to governor here in about a year and a half.

And Congressman Shamari figures was in Montgomery this week, where he visited a local food bank to highlight growing concerns over food insecurity with Congress enacting reforms to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program commonly known as food stamps.

It could result in cuts at the state level, leaving more Alabama residents dependent on food banks to help feed their families.

That, in turn, could lead to shortages.

This brings it home, in terms o when we talk about what we deal with in Washington, D.C., in terms of trying to, stand up for programs, stand up for people that need government most to be them, stan their stand up for the funding, that helps fund some of the operations here.

This brings it home to a different level, that we don't get to see in Washington, D.C., that most members of Congress don't get to see.

And I honestly feel that if they could see this, if they could come here and walk these floors, if they could see the dedicated volunteers and staff and the team that you guy have here in the local support, that they would think twice, about some of the cuts that they're making.

But these are not cuts that are just some statistics on a spreadsheet.

These are real boxes that are going to real homes, to real people in real communities.

And so I appreciate you guys, even in spite of that, still being at the front lines of making sure that the people that need, the most in this society are able to still receive it.

So thank you.

Thank you to the entire Heart of Alabama Food Bank family love and concern for each other.

It is a function of our humanity and the fact that we're here talking about something as important and as essential as feeding.

I love, I love this title.

I love this motto.

The idea of feeding hope by fighting hunger.

Because what it says is that the idea of hope is not some static idea, but is real.

We can source it.

We can gather it, but we can't take it to everybody in need in 35 counties.

We only do tha because of you, your commitment.

And so it's a true partnership.

Matter of fact, it takes all of us and I thank everybod for the role that they play in helping us be successful each year.

We all do this not for ourselves, not for our own glory, but to serve God and to bless others who are vulnerable in our community.

We do it out of compassion, out of love, and do it with dignity.

Some big news on the education front this week.

A new statewide initiative will now make applying to college cheaper and seamless.

Alabama possible this week launched the Alabama Goes to Colleg initiative, an online platform that will match students with four year and two year college based on their academic profile.

Students will then be able to upload transcripts, apply, and even be accepted by colleges right on the app and all for free.

AP Trish Crane attended th announcement, where Governor Kay Ivey called it a game change for education and the workforce.

I'm proud to say that we have launched the Alabama Goes to College direct admissions initiative.

Both.

Let me just tell you, this is what it looks like when we put our students first and remove unnecessary barriers that stand in their way, thanks to the leadership of Alabama and possible and their partnershi with Ami Apply Match Platform, we are helping students discover better areas and better access if they choose to pursue college career.

With this new initiative, our high school seniors will be proactively admitted to participating Alabama colleges and universities based on their academic merit, without ever having to apply.

This is the first solution that helps our young people make informed decisions about their future.

Whether that means preparing a two year degree, a four year university, or technical credentials that lead straight to a good paying Alabama job.

Our mission is that we want Alabama's workers to be the best educated and most well-trained in America, and that there be more of the tomorrow than there are today.

And if we can accomplish that mission, then Alabama is going to be strengthened in so many ways.

Our economy will be continuing to grow.

The opportunities for the education of our students and our populatio will continue to be at its peak, and we'll be in a positio to accomplish all that Alabama can accomplish.

Also, on the education front, Alabama's Innovation Cente is helping close workforce gaps by connecting students with short term, industry driven training programs.

Capital Journal' Jeff Sanders takes us to Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa to show how the program is creatin opportunities, changing lives, and helping Alabama businesses succeed.

The Alabama Community College System's Innovation Center was launched to bridge the gap between education and workforce needs.

Director Julie Frizzell says the goal is to deliver practical training where it's needed most to help individuals find short term trainings, to bring them the skills that they need to get into jobs quickly.

Through its skills for succes program, the Innovation Center offers short, hybrid courses designed for high demand jobs in industries like construction, manufacturing, health care, hospitality and commercial driving.

We are really seeking that nontraditional student, someone who's not really been engaged in any type of post-secondary education already, or maybe someone who needs to upskil in the industry that they're in.

Matt Heaton with the Innovation Center, says the training is designed directly with business input to prepare students for real jobs.

All of our courses come from an industry request, and we're just there to help justify that, that statewide need.

And so it's industry to tell u where the gaps are in industry and what needed needs to b in that course for the students to learn to get i that line of work is important.

Doctor Jonathan Coe is the president of Shelton State Community College.

Having a student come the hands on opportunities that we provide that really refines those skills and really brings home what they learned online into a contextual format.

Industry partners like Apple Alabama say the partnership is essentia for meeting workforce demands.

They're going to come to your job site.

They're going to sit down with you at your office, okay, this is what we need.

They'll go out and they're going to show you a full game plan of how they're going to help.

And that's why it benefits us so much.

It's not just the little pieces of equipment here, a little piece of equipment there.

They're actually coming in and getting a full blown game plan for you.

With more than 50 courses already available and dozens more in development, the Innovation Center is helping Alabamians quickly gain practical skills that lead to employment, further education, or military service.

Employers who are looking to relocate into Alabama.

So economic development is a big part of workforce development.

And they go hand in hand.

And we want to make sure tha as industry comes into Alabama, that we have training programs available.

Reporting in Tuscaloosa, I'm Jef Thank you Jeff.

Last week we hosted Capital Journal on location at the Southern Legislative Conference in Birmingham, where lawmakers from 15 southern states gathered to discuss policy ideas.

Now, the challenge is to put some of those ideas into practice.

Capital journal's Randy Scott caught up with some key state policy staff about how that process might play out.

Birmingham is known for hosting big events, and the 2025 Southern Legislative Conference is the latest is bringing guests from states including Mississippi, West Virginia and South Carolina, just to name a few.

And Alabama is front and center as the host state.

Yeah, SLC ha a great opportunity every year to get together with our peers around the southeast.

The members get a chance to get together with other members from the 15 southeastern states.

And of course, they discuss policy and success.

Off me.

Latham is the director of the Alabama Legislative Services Agency, the nonpartisan professiona staff for the state legislature.

He says it's all about learning and enlightening.

It's kind of a narrow niche that we serve in, and it's good to know our peers in southeastern states and know how to pick up the phone and, you know, and have somebody on the other end in a state that's maybe already tried something or already gone down a path, and it's just a really good opportunity every yea to connect with those people and grow our skills a little bit.

Really good information, excellent dialog amongst the panelists.

I love the bipartisan nature of it and the people who are panelists.

They're experts.

So I'm learning a lot.

It's not a typical conference where you go in there and yawn and walk out.

These people know what they're talking about.

David Morgan is the legislative affairs director of the Reason Foundation of Georgia.

But most importantly, they're giving legislative idea and solutions to the audience.

And I really appreciate that because I go to a lot of conferences and, this conference stands out because, as I said, the panelists, the amount of knowledge an the way that the format of the, the format of the meetings that we're had, workshops we're having this nonprofit think tank helps Georgia lawmakers with a myriad of public policy issues, including transportation criminal justice and technology.

I just left a session.

And, the panelists there are three lawmakers were reall impressive, really insightful, explaining what they're doing in their respective states, what challenges might exist.

And I can see a lot of lawmakers in there really gleaning a lot of information that they could take back to their respective states.

Both men agree.

The end goal is to find ways to help states help each other get better.

There's a lot of areas in which we learn from other states.

There's also a handful of area where we lead other states and and have maybe been the first, first in line to try something and, and to develop a specific area.

And of course we want to share that as well.

Anytime we can have solutions coming from government, making government more efficient, making government more accountable, and making sure that is serving, constituents, that's better for all of us as Americans.

In Birmingham.

Randy Scott, Capitol Journal.

Thank you.

Randy.

Coming up here after the break, I'll be joined by State Representative Matt Simpso and State Senator Apryl Weaver to talk about tha death penalty bill after that.

Chuck Combs of the Alabama Humanities Alliance joins me to talk about some of their upcoming initiatives and how they're dealing with federal funding cuts.

And later in the show, Buc Masters founder Jacqui Bushman is here in studio to promote the upcoming expo and share some interesting history behind Buck Masters.

You'll want to stick around for that.

We'll be right back.

You can watch past episodes of Capital Journal online any time at Alabama Public Television's website.

aptv.org.

Click on the online video tab on the main page.

You can also connect with Capital Journal and link to past episodes o Capital Journal's Facebook page.

Originally designated as a postal route in 1806, the old Federal Road stretched through the creek Indian Territory of Lower Alabama.

Alabama's Federal road functioned as a major thoroughfare for western migration into the Old Southwest, ushering in a new era of national expansion and exploitation of Native American territory.

Although much of the Federal Road has disappeared, portions of it remain today.

Welcome back to Capital Journal.

Joining me next is state representative Matt Simpso and state Senator April Weaver.

Thank you both for coming on the show.

Thanks for having us.

Always a pleasure to be with you.

Absolutely.

Well, we just reported on your press conference and having the legislation that you introduced to essentially enact or enable the death penalty for these child abuse cases.

Obviously, there's been this incredible, unbelievable case in your neck of the woods in Bibb County about child abuse.

And that's I know that you you had this legislation last year, but this has sparked a renewed interest in it.

So that being said, can you just tell me explain what your bill actually does and can you explain the points of it?

What the bill would do would make the offense.

It creates the offense o capital rape and capital sodomy, where the victim is unde the age of 12 years old, meaning the prosecutors could decide to pursue the death penalty or life without the possibility of parole.

If someone is convicted of that, they would present the case to the jury.

The jury would make the determination as to guilt or innocence, and after the guilt phase assuming they are found guilty, the jury would make the determination as to whether or not they would venture the death penalty or life without the possibility of parole.

Okay.

And I remember talking to you about your bill last session, because I didn't realize this before.

You used to prosecute these cases.

I did.

In in the DA's office.

Right.

So to talk about your experience in that and how it lends to writing a bill like this, you talk about, you know, experience to say that you've seen what happens in Bibb County, what's gone through there.

I can't tell you how difficult it is to talk to families, to talk to children that young and put them through this process.

And when someone takes th innocence of a child that young, that's the problem.

That's something that need to be who needs to be punished?

It's the worst of the worst offenses, taking advantage of the most vulnerable population.

And because it i the worst of the worst offenses, it deserves the worst of the worst punishments.

And I believe that the death penalty is the appropriate punishment for that.

I do want to get to the Bibb County situation in a minute, but let me ask you this.

Are you.

Mean the Supreme Court today ruled on things like this?

Are you worried about constitutionality, or are you kind of seeking another chance at the Supreme Court?

Maybe they could have a different, interpretation or something.

I'm just guessing under the current, you know, precedent, would thi be considered unconstitutional?

The Kennedy case, Kennedy versus Louisiana was decided in 2008 by the Supreme Court.

They ruled that it was it was a situation of cruel and unusual punishment, because at the time, there were only five states that were pursuing that had that potential charge there.

So because it was unusual and the fact that it was only five states, they determined it violated the Constitution.

What we've had since then i there is a push of other states.

Florida in 2023, Tennessee in 2024, Idaho, Oklahoma and Arkansas in 2025.

That has passed similar legislation to this.

So what we're doing is saying, no, it's not unusual.

So we're changing the entire rationale of the Kennedy decision and saying it's not cruel and unusual punishment.

These are what more states are trying to do.

I think we're trying to be active and be part of the spirit of to g after what the Kennedy decision and the rationale behind the decision was.

It was a 5 to 4 decision.

It's a different court.

It's a different time.

And we're showing that more states are actively pursuing this.

I wish we would have passed it in 2025 where we could be on that list.

But our goal working with Senator Weaver is to make sure we're on that list for 2026.

Well, Senator, I wanted to ask.

I've been meaning to talk to you about this because you represent Bibb County.

That's your home.

I do, and I mean, look, it was just hard to believe this could ever happen.

It was like reading something that you couldn't even make up, right?

So let me ask you wha it's been like in the community.

And I know that you were very close with the sheriff's department there from the shooting a couple of years ago.

So talk about wha it's been like in the community.

So it's one of those thing when you see a story like this on the news, you think, wow, how could that happen?

Where, you know, where could that happen?

And and when you see something like this happen in your own backyard, it really just it hits you right in the gut.

I do represent Bibb County in the state Senate, have, big roots there, have grown up there.

And and like you said, I represented, the sheriff's department and the deputies in the Deputy Brad Johnson case that also happened in Bibb County.

And you know, that situation with Brad Johnson sparked a fire in me to revise the good time law.

This situation is the most horrific thing I have ever heard.

And the fact that it happened in my Senate distric is just absolutely unimaginable.

And, you know, I started saying, okay, how do I fix this?

What can I do to fight?

What can I do to fight for these children?

And what can we do to make make Alabama a better place for all the children that live here?

So I automatically reached out to Matt and said, I know you had that bill.

Let's partner.

How can I help you?

This has happened in my district.

I am all in, and I want you to know that I have the same passion for this bill that I ha for the Deputy Brad Johnson act, and it is going to be my priority bill this year.

I have already had a conversation with, Pro Tem Gauger.

He is absolutely on board and, understands that that we both have a huge, huge passion for this bill.

I know that Representative Simpson has also talked to House leadership, and I believe tha this bill will move quickly and we'll get it done.

It's just a simple fact that sometimes it does take a very public tragedy, very high profile tragedy to move legislation.

And so as unfortunate as that may be, do you think the fact that, I mean, you won't find anybody that does it hasn't heard about, has it read about thi horrific child abuse situation?

Do you think that awareness of, of this issue will be helpful to, t passing things in both bodies?

Yeah, how horrible that it had to happen at all.

But I thin because of the awareness of it that people are really, reall focused on this issue right now.

One of the reasons that we haven't already profiled is so many people from, from both of our caucuses have said hey, I want to co-sponsor that.

I totally support it 100%.

And, we're we're going to be reaching out to our caucuses to allow them to have that oppor Back t the prosecutor side of things.

Something this horrendous.

You know, it' just the worst thing imaginable.

And so I think there's a natural human inclination to say yeah put them under the jail.

I mean there's just no it makes you so angry.

But we're a nation of laws, not men, right.

And so, you know, is is this a situation where the punishment would fit the crime?

Are you concerned at all about that, including the fact that some people don't support the death penalty for even capital murder?

Right.

It is an actual issue out there.

So how do you speak to that?

I understand people's philosophy on, you know, that's the personal belief of they don't believe in the death penalty.

I'm the exact opposite I believe in the death penalty.

I believe the death penalty is not used enough.

I believe we should use it more.

I believe there should be more crimes that are involved with the death penalty because of what you're doing.

Again, this isn't somebody that can be rehabilitated.

If you're doing this to a chil this young, it's not something where you come back, say, hey, I learned my lesson and I'm sorry, and I'd like to b a productive member of society.

There is something off with someone that does this, and that is a danger to our community, and that I don't think you can come back from that.

I think it's gone too far.

I think it serves, number one.

The death penalty serves as a deterrent to prevent others from doing this.

I do think it helps with accountability to make sure that someone, the the victim's family can see, hey, the person that did this to you is going to be punished for what they did to you.

The children will never get over this.

You don't just say okay, well, that happened to me.

Now I'm better.

It it's something they have to live with for the rest of their lives.

And so if it's if it's that heinou as if it's that big of a crime, it deserves this punishment.

I can't imagine the trauma.

And, God bless them.

And prayers out for that.

You mentioned the deterrent.

It seems to me and over the years I know there have been som reforms to kind of speed it up, but it seems like a death sentence takes a long, long time to take out.

So does it really serve as a true deterrent.

Like am I thinking, I don't know, death row to seem to take so long?

Does there need to be more reforms in terms of making sur that it is an actual deterrent?

Not just this this bill, but the death penalt for capital murder, for example?

Absolutely.

It 100% does.

We've had those discussions.

You know, unfortunately, you have cases where someone is living and on death row for 30 and 40 years before actually the victims, if they're still around, see any type of retribution from what happened.

I think in my opinion, that's cruel and unusual punishment to have someone on death row for 30 or 40 years.

I think we need to expedite this process.

I think you want to make sure everybody has their appeals.

They have their time in court.

They have their opportunitie to have their appellate courts go through the process.

But that process should not be 30 or 40 years.

Understood.

We'll look we'll be following this.

Bill's session doesn't start until January.

So I guess it would get fille with co-sponsors and everything.

Governor's already tweeted her support of the attorney general, so, maybe it might be a very high profile bill.

This next session.

We hope it is.

One thing we did happen today was we were at the white House together on Tuesday, and the white House brought this bill up.

They brought up Alabama.

They brought up the fact that this is part of their America First agenda.

And so when you see other states getting althoug they brought up the Bibb County, I mean, they knew about it.

So it's pretty amazing when yo when you talk to the white House about how much momentum this has right now, because we're really trying to make a difference not only in the state but across this country.

And we were working on thi before they even brought it up.

And to to sit there and see something that happened in my district high profile at a national level just makes you come home and say, you know, guys, I mean, the world is watching and it's time that that we we do this and we do it right.

Well, I wanted to ask you about the Washington trip.

We just had Alec's report on I don't know how many lawmakers went up and state lawmakers went up to D for the Alabama portion of the I guess they're doing kind o state by state policy sessions.

What was that like?

Well I mean, you mentioned this bill.

Was there a kind of an exchange with the delegation with the white House?

How did this come about?

So we received an invitation from the white House, many of us, to come up there.

You know, for me, I was unfamiliar territory.

I served in Trump 45 administration.

So I got to see many of my colleagues fro from the former administration.

But it was a really great opportunity for us to hear from the white House administration and cabinet members to hear about the things that they're currently working o and how we as state legislature can can work with them to implement those policies at the state level.

So it was, exciting time being up there.

And and I learned a lot.

Interesting.

I wanted to ask you this, because there's a lot that Congress is doing right now.

The white House is doing right now that is throwing things back to the States decisions in a federalist model.

Right.

But also funding like there could be funding gaps for Snap for, you know, welfare, things like that.

Did they offer any kind of enlightenment on on that situation, o what the future holds as these cuts and things keep coming, perhaps forcing state legislatures like Alabama to make up the difference?

Was there any discussion about all that?

We talked about that.

So I mean, that' part of the process of what they they wanted to let us know.

It was a great to have that line of communication, to let us know what options were available to us, what options that they're looking at, how they can help us and how we can help them.

Part of the stuff, Alabama's not going to be hit as hard with the cuts as it could have been if we would have expanded Medicaid like some of these other states, we would be facing a completely different scenario than we are now.

We're going to be hit a little bit.

It's going to have to find a way to make that up, but it's not as bad as it could have been.

And one of the things that they talked about, where they talked about the demographics of the number of the age of people that are on Medicaid and that receive these benefits as it goes through.

It's over 30% of able bodied people.

This those are people that were never intended for Medicaid to be received and to begin with.

So it's not just it's not people that can't work.

It's not the young.

It' not the mothers that go through.

It's the people that hav the ability to work that aren't.

That's really caused the problem in draining this system.

So I do think we have to come up with some way to make up for a gap that's going to be lost.

I the white House is tryin to help us through that process.

Interesting.

And yeah, I was talkin with a lawmaker from Kentucky, the speaker pro tem up there at SLC and their expansion state.

Right.

They made the decision to expand.

And so, yeah, they're in a totall different situation because the the legislation seemed aimed at that specifically.

And it sounded like, yeah, their legislature is going to have some a lot more decisions to make than, than y'all.

Thankfully Well, look, we're out of time.

I hope you all keep us updated as this legislation moves forward.

And just the issue in general especially from the local level, the law enforcement, they're everything they're going through.

Our hearts go out to them.

So I hope you'll, convey that message.

Absolutely.

Thanks again.

Thank you.

We'll be right back.

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You're watching Alabama Public Television celebrating 70 years of service to Alabama.

Welcome back to Capitol Journal.

Do you want to be next?

Is Chuck Holmes, executive director o the Alabama Humanities Alliance.

Job app.

Thanks for coming on the show.

Thanks so much for having me, Todd.

Absolutely.

Well, before we get started, can you kind of remind our audience about the Alabama Humanities Alliance and its role here in the state?

I sure will.

The Alabama Humanities Alliance is what is generically know as a state Humanities Council.

Every state has one.

Every state has a state arts council.

Arts councils, for whatever reason or state agencies, humanities councils or nonprofits.

We're based in Birmingham, and we exist to promote humanities and humanitie programing throughout the state.

And we were created as a way to distribute federal funding from Washington to Alabama to institutions, libraries, museums, colleges, universities that are doing humanities programing and work in the state.

Okay.

Yeah.

Well, I know that you all have this traveling Smithsonian exhibit that you're announcing or I guess it's ongoing.

Talk about what this i and how people can participate.

Sure, absolutely.

We have been for, for quite a number of years, partnering with Smithsonian Institution to bring traveling exhibits to Alabama.

And these exhibits are they travel in a tractor trailer.

They're huge and they're put together and they're multimedia.

And we usually partner with a library or chamber of commerce or city hall.

It's requires a prett big space, and they're themed.

The theme of the one that's that's touring Alabama now is innovation started in Sylacauga a few week ago, opens tomorrow in Dothan.

On.

And we are, we're really proud of this program because we pay for it all.

The only thin the local community needs to do is they need to create programing or an exhibit that complements th theme of the traveling exhibit, kind of a local tie in, local tie in, and its ability to sort of get communities to start telling their own story, their own story about innovation.

Or in the past, we we've had exhibits about water, you know, a place a places relationship to water both economically and environmentally.

So it's a it's a great wa to sort of engage communities.

And we're all about storytelling.

I think if I, if there was a shorthan for who we are and why we exist, it's to help people tell their stories and get people together and bring communities together to learn more about how we all live.

You mentioned Dothan being next on the list.

You talk about innovation.

Yeah from agriculture to everything they're doing in biotech these days.

That's perfect.

Yeah, exactly.

Hudson Health is there.

And it's one of the reasons we definitely wanted to take the exhibit there.

Innovate Alabama is one of the is one of the sponsors of our of our tour this time around along with the Daniel Foundation.

So we're really grateful to them.

Also Athens going up to Athens, the Huntsville area.

Sylacauga has got some amazing things going on there.

So we try to pick locations that sort of also sort of fit the theme in terms of what's going on in the life of the community.

Yeah, well, with school starting back up, this almost sounds like a, you know, perfectly made field trip opportunity.

That's right Do you get a lot of chef's kiss?

Yes.

There you go.

We had we had an exhibit.

Our last Smithsonian exhibit was called crossroads.

It was about life in rural America.

It went to Blunt Count and every school kid in Blount County, I think, was 250 kids went through that exhibit.

It's a great opportunity for communities to sort of have a ready made field trip and for teachers to have sort of a learning experience with their kids going through these going through these exhibits, for sure.

Yeah.

I also wanted to ask you about this event coming up in Birmingham, themed around morality and politics.

Yes, man, that's a timely topic.

It sure.

Yes.

What what is this all about?

There's an author named Kurt Gray, who is a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who's written a book called outraged, outraged, exclamation point.

And he's a social scientist and he's a he he explores why we have such a hard time understanding each othe from different political points of view or other points, or you and he, he kind of draws on human behavior, less about politics and more about why we react the way we react to things.

Well, he's coming down to Birmingham.

We're, we're we are partnering with the Community Foundation and with Leadership Birmingham.

And he's not only going to talk about his book, but kind of take the audienc through some kind of exercises and, and some, some examples of why we sort of think the way we think and how we can kind of maybe alter our behavior t listen a little more carefully and maybe have a little more humanity about maybe somebody we disagree with politically.

And I think it's really important in the time we're living in right now, doesn't matter which sid of the political spectrum you're on, we've got to find way to talk and communicate better.

Absolutely Couldn't say it better myself.

And in a timely, there's just doesn't seem to be enough listening.

That's right.

Exactly.

You know, I want to say what I want to say, but I'm not going to liste to what you have to say.

Right.

I do hope we can find a way to to get back to that.

I don't know, normalcy in politics, but it's it's a weird time right now.

I'm with you.

Well, this is also the era of funding cuts.

It is indeed.

Seems like nobody's really immune.

I know that you all went through it.

Some funding cuts related to Doe.

That's right.

Yeah.

So talk about wha that has looked like for y'all.

And just what it means for the organization.

Sure.

So in early April, Dog went into the National Endowment for the Humanities, which is the federal agency that gives us our funding.

And, Doge kind of did its thing.

A lot of rifts, layoffs.

And they terminated our funding and that of every state humanities Council on all of it, restored a little bit of it in June, but but basically, we depend on federal fundin for 65% of our operating budget.

Overnight gone.

We were about halfwa through the federal fiscal year, so that translated to about 600, $650,000 for us this year.

A good chunk of change.

We tried to make it up in terms of fundraising.

We're still generally operating.

We had to cut back a little bit on our grant making and some of our programs, but we're still in business and we're still doing the work for the people.

I think what's important her and what we've tried to sort of get the congressional delegation in Washington to understand, is we were working under a system for 50 years.

That kind of is a conservative fiscal policy, federal dollar coming to us, my volunteer board with my staff deciding where those needs are in our state, federal dollars coming, local decisions about local needs.

And, and I think that resonates that resonates with Democrats and Republicans.

It's a syste that kind of really has worked a lot of bang for the buck for relatively small numbers of dollars.

We get about $1 million a year from the feds.

We're trying to make that up.

We hope we'll make it up.

We're hoping that our congressional delegation is working on our behalf.

We've we've generally in the past have great support from Senator Brett and Representative Aderholt.

I've had some conversations with state leaders about whether the state could help us out if that federal money doesn't come back.

But there are a lot of needs out there.

As you know, it's kind of get in line time in Montgomery as far as that goes.

But but we're hopeful and we're going to keep doing the work no matter what, understand?

Yeah.

You're right.

Because of some of the decisions made by decision by Congress lawmakers here, or they're having to, pick up some of that tab.

It's going to be an interesting next legislative, really interesting.

And a lot of really hard needs in terms of, children and elderly services and things out there.

So we we completely understand the pressures that are on the legislature and on the philanthropic community.

We go to we go to private foundations in the state seeking money for our programs.

And they, too, are feeling the pressures of, of, federal cuts that hav that have affected other sectors beyond beyond the ones that we serve.

Yeah.

Well, look, we're out of time but I wanted to say thank you.

The Alabama Humanities Allianc is a really great organization that does important work in this era, in this age of social media addiction and everybody on their phones having you know, support and interest in the humanities, growing interest in the humanities is critical to our future.

So I want to thank yo and your team for what you do, and I hope you'l keep us informed.

I sure will.

Thank you for having me.

It was great talking to you.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

We'll be right back.

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Welcome back to Capitol Journal.

Joining me next is Jackie Bushman, founder of Buck Masters.

Jackie thanks for coming on the show.

It seems like I was just here, but it's been a year and it's been a year because you were here leading up to the expo, which I want to get to.

The expo is coming here in a couple of weeks.

But yeah, it has been You didn't feel like that?

No.

So time is moving very quickly.

And speaking of that, it is, coming up on the 40th anniversary of Buck Masters.

So I was hoping you could kind of share with our audienc a little bit about that history, the founding of Buck Masters and its role, not just here in Alabama, but nationwide.

You know, it's hard to believe it's 40 years.

It seems like just yesterday.

But, you know, a lot of folks know I was a tennis player.

And, then I moved on fro my professional tennis playing to being the director of, Lagoon Park Tennis.

And my dad and I ran the blue and gray tennis tournaments.

And, Perry Mendel, who was the chairman of KinderCare Corporation, was sponsoring our tennis tournament and asked me what I wanted to do besides hit tennis ball to old ladies and little kids.

And I said, you know what I'd love to do a race got did with bass fishing, but do it for deer hunt.

And he said, man race.

Been very successful.

Let's take a look at it.

So I put some numbers together and you know, Mr. Mantle put up the money, believed in me personally.

And, we were off to the races, had our first event called the Buck Masters Classic, which, had Bo Jackson and, Lynn Dickey of the green Ba Packers had Jody Davis and Rick Sutcliffe, Chicago Cubs and, Johnny Lee, the Urban Cowboy.

Country music singer.

So it started off with an event.

It was set up.

I remember I was watching, on NBC.

It was called The Superstars and became superstars and it was athletic events with different folks.

It was swimming and track and field.

And in my head, as a promoter, I was going, all right, let's just flip it around.

I'll have outdoor, you know, things knife throwing, hatchet throwing, skeet shooting, you know bow and arrow golf.

I do that.

So I put that together with the celebrities along with outdoor riders and that.

And I did a pilot for the Ol Nashville Network called Tiny, and, sent it to them in 1988.

And, they looked at it and put it on Sunday night and knocked over.

And I flew down that next Monday and Mr. Mendel came and said, Bush, you got some, folks just flew in from Gaylord Entertainment One.

I said, I'm soaking wet, man.

I'm said, you come on right now.

And, I'll never forget I walked in Mr. Mendel's board room and the four guys were there and said, young man, you just brought us the highest rated show we've had on TNT.

Wow.

And we want to talk about doing the first ever hunting deer hunting show on cable television.

And that's what started the TV.

And then we got in the magazine business.

And, you know, we're 40 years into it.

A lot of change is happening right now with the media and a lot of youth and stuff change the logos, the whole nine yards.

So yeah, I wanted to ask you about the logo, because that's just in the last couple of weeks has been announced because you're wearing the previous logo and previous logo, and here's another one.

But it's because of the story.

Yes.

You're you're what if Buck, can you kind of tell that story a little bit and how it led to the updated logo?

Well, when I was talking about our Buck Masters classic, I had outdoor rider style, and one of the outdoor riders was Russell Thornberry, one of the, main white tail riders out there.

And, we were talking to him.

He was an outfitter plus a rider, and we were talking to hi about all the science and stuff.

And he said, you know, his averag owned shooting deer were 160in.

Well, that's a big, big deer on an average.

Now that's the range of the range.

The antlers, the inches, the antlers.

That's that's record book class, you know what I'm saying.

So when he said that, Allen Brewer, my vice president, I said, well, look, we'll we'll come up hunt with you.

And and we booked that hunt for November of 86, I believe it was.

And we went up there and, Russell was telling me how big the deer were and stuff, and, you know, it's 40 below, and you take.

Oh, redneck from Alabama.

I was buying about everythin I could buy out of the catalog, but it didn't las maybe ten minutes, you know?

So.

But Russell put me in some clothes and I'll never forget and then put me in boots that were for the North Pole weather man.

And, I was able to weather the climate anyway.

And we got to hunting a few days.

You know, there was a guy that shot a deer, and we'd gone down to help him get his deer out.

And Russell said, look, we're not going to be able to get to your hunting spot, so let's just go over here and sit on this little mountain right here.

We'll look across this river and on the side.

A lot of the bucks will, yo know, chase the dogs and stuff.

So we were sitting there and, and all of a sudden this doe came ou and this big bucket was looking.

I said, that's a that's a record class.

And I said, well, let me look at I didn't have binoculars at that time.

That was like I said, before my binocular dies.

And then I looked and went, wow, I've never seen anything like that.

So he said, look, let's just go down a little bit and see if we can rattling and shooting distance to you.

And we went and tried rounded more.

So, he said, I got another stand right down here with this wall down here, 200 yards.

We'll sit there till dark.

And then he said, and see, Russell was sitting now he put me on a tripod, and he had sit below me, said, now you're on your own.

You're gonna have to judge any deer.

It comes out.

I can't help you.

How far away from the deer at this point?

I would be about 300 yards instead of 600 yards.

Okay, so this doe comes out, this little man, it was too little woodlot.

Woodlot here, woodlot here.

I a little matter in between the.

They come out, the dog come out the bugs and chase him.

So we're sitting there and all of a sudden I see this doe running out.

And I'm saying, I see this bu and I'm just sitting and going, I'm not sure if it was the buck I was looking at up there, because I know he was there.

I could, but I said this, this is pretty good.

And he was just running with, you know, all I could see was his side.

And I said, well it's a big deer I've ever seen.

I won't shoot whether it is or not.

So I thin I threw a warning shot out there because he didn't stop on the first one.

Then, you know, he stopped and I shot and and then I was able to make a finishing shot and Russ said, come on.

So we went after he said, I said, Russ, my boots aren't tall enough to go through the river.

I think he said, it'll b the best cold you've ever felt.

I'll never forget the cold like that.

I got out on the other side and I just started running and I started running in circles.

My feet were so cold and I went to look where I thought the deer wasn't one there.

And then Russell had circled back and said, I think I found what you're looking for, and it ended up being the buck that we saw.

And I moved on.

But it was called the what if buck.

Because what if we a gone an help that guy get his deer out?

What if we wouldn't have moved from the stand that we were first time down?

The next thing, what if I wouldn't have met Russell Thornberry at the Buck Masters classic, right.

Everything was what if, what if, what if?

And it's just such a beautiful buck that, ended up making it our logo buck and has been our logo buck ever since.

That's a great story.

I love hearing it, and it is kind of almost like a retro looking logo, which I think really fits the organization and the history there.

Sure.

Okay.

You got the expo coming up August 15th through 17th.

I mean, so much to goes on at these things, what do we need to know?

And is there still time to sponsor a booth for, you know, for vendors and things?

We have a few booths left.

And if they would, anybody would like a booth.

We'd love to have them.

They can just call back Masters at (334)215-3337.

Ask for Shirley Swain.

She's got that.

And new this year.

We've got a golf tournament, for our big dreams outdoors.

It's one of our new sponsors that does, take in kids with down syndrome and autism and special needs out to the woods.

And we just video two kids with down syndrome shot the grand slam turkey.

Gracie and Justin first ever.

How about that?

So we got that golf tournament.

Somebody wants to play golf, give us a call or they want to sponsor a hole.

But it's a great calls and we're doing that on Thursday.

And then get into Friday.

The doors will open at three and they'll go three to I think 3 to 8 on Friday.

Let's see, 9 to 7 on Saturday and 10 to 5 on Sunday.

And the Bulls we got them back.

Go run run.

How about that.

Now this is an interesting because this is professional bull run.

And normally you got to go to, you know, a rodeo to see something like this.

Talk about how that works.

Well, I met this group, Buck Wild Productions.

They do, the Bulls on the beats dance floor by Buck Wild Productions.

Yeah.

And I told Jerry and Cody Harris, I said, come up, measure our parking lot.

Their name is Sing and see if it'll work.

And I came up and they said, yeah, we can make it work.

So I went to talk to Meyer and everything.

I think Meyer thought I was going to let bulls out in the street, you know, at first, Pamplona.

Yeah.

But, I said we can make this thing work.

And, you know the city does a wonderful job.

They bring in, like, 40 tons of dirt, lay it all out, smooth it out.

Then the gates go up and it's.

And then the bulls come in and we put bleachers up.

It's become a real spectacle.

So.

And that's Friday and Saturday night.

Okay.

That's great.

What else can we expect from the expo this year?

Well, we got a like I said, we're going to have a lot of blues.

If you're an outdoors person, you know, if you want to buy a Christmas present birthday present, we got everything.

Everybody's there no this year, a lot for the kids.

We're bringing a mechanical bul into the Young Bucks Pavilion.

So we're going to have the professional bull riders in working with the kids on on the mechanical bull.

So that's that'll be fun.

I don't know about kids.

I would love to do well, the adults too.

But try your hand at it.

Not getting thrown off.

Yeah.

So we got that.

That's our new attraction.

We moved everything inside because it's so hot outside.

So we're bringing that we had the Swifty Swine, the pigs last year.

So we're giving them a year off and bringing the mechanical bull this year.

But, you know, it doesn't cos anything except a canned good.

If you don't have a canned goods, a dollar, everything goes friendshi mission and the Salvation Army.

I think we fed over 100,000 meals last year.

So big event, great cars.

A lot of social media influencers are going to be there tha they recognize off of YouTube.

So you know just a it's a great group.

And like I said, we couldn't do it without the you know, the governor's behin county commission chamber City.

Everybody's involved in it.

Yeah.

Well Buckmaster it has become just an institution, not just here in Alabama, but we're proud of that.

It's based here in Alabama.

And congratulations on so much growth evolving with the times and everything.

And on 40 years now that' that's that's really something.

So yeah, congratulations I appreciate that.

As I said it's hard to believe it's 40 years but got a lot of uses.

We hired a lot of use and all the social media I'm still learning it.

But we got a great staff and you know, a new logo.

It's looking in a different direction and that's where we're headed.

We want to continue the great name of Buck Masters and the great workin outdoors that all our folks too.

Absolutely.

Always looking forward.

Well, Jackie, thanks again for coming on the show.

My pleasure.

We'll be right back.

Tuscaloosa served as the second capital of Alabama from 1826 to 1846, when the capital moved to Montgomery.

The Greek Revival and Federal styled Capitol building was leased to Alabama Central Female College for us as a concert hall and classrooms until it was destroyed by fire in 1923.

The architectural influence of the structure is reflected in many of the buildings on the University of Alabama campus and the ruins are a city park.

That's our show for this week.

Thanks for watching.

We'll be back next week at the same time right here on Alabama Public Television for our Capital Journal team.

I'm Todd Stacey.

We'll see you next time.

On.

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