Alabama Governor Kay Ivey

Gov. Kay Ivey's plan to lease Alabama prisons has been set back after running into financial troubles.

Ivey announced that she is looking for more options after the June 1 deadline passed for companies to have finances in order for the leases.

She plans to meet with state legislators about new plans to fund the construction and maintenance of new prison facilities and look at options available with private companies.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey is running for another term in 2022.

She made the announcement on Wednesday in a video released by her campaign.

The 76-year-old Republican put an emphasis on her administration's investment in infrastructure, job creation, the state's recovery from COVID-19 and its low employment rate.

Ivey succeeded Gov. Robert Benley in 2017 after serving as his lieutenant governor until his sudden resignation. She won a full tern in 2018.

Curbside voting in banned in Alabama after Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation by Rep. Wes Allen prohibiting it.

The law will forbid election workers from setting up curbside voting areas including voting machines outside of polling places.

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill argued in court last year that existing state law did not allow curbside voting.

The fight to ban yoga from Alabama public schools has ended after Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill allowing the practice to be taught to K-12 students.

The legislation was sponsored by Democratic Rep. Jeremy Gray who did yoga as part of his training during his time as a college athlete.

The law says schools can opt out of teaching the practice.

In 1993 the Alabama Board of Education voted to prohibit yoga, hypnosis and meditation in public school classrooms.

Medical marijuana is officially legal in Alabama after Gov. Kay Ivey signed it into law on Monday.

People with qualifying medical conditions can now purchase medical marijuana with the recommendation of a doctor. Some of the qualifying conditions include cancer, terminal illness, depression, epilepsy, panic disorder and chronic pain.

Wine deliveries will soon be hitting the stoops of Alabamians.

Gov. Kay Ivey signed a law that allows wineries to obtain direct wine shipping licenses from the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board and ship limited amounts of wine to residents 21 years and older. Wine-of-the-month clubs are also allowed, but only if they are through the producer and not a retailer. 

The bill by Republican Rep. Terri Collins was approved after years of debate.

Gov. Kay Ivey is asking Alabamians not to hoard gas after a cyberattack on one of the country's largest pipelines.

The governor urged that the state does not have a fuel shortage but panic buying from gas stations could create one.

A spokesperson for the governor said the U.S. Department of Energy is sure the pipeline would be operational in just a few days.

Ivey said people should only fill up with gas if they need to and to avoid filling up multiple containers with fuel.

Alabama is giving the axe to all the federal pandemic unemployment compensation programs, including the additional $300 federal unemployment benefit.  

Gov. Kay Ivey said she believes the increased unemployment assistance intended to bring emergency relief during the pandemic is now contributing to a labor shortage. 

Governor Kay Ivey’s “safer apart” plan, currently suggests wearing masks and social distancing, is now set to expire at the end of the month. The asssociated "State of Emergency" will end in July.

Alabama continues to relax its traditionally strict alcohol control laws in the wake of COVID-19. The state may soon have another law that expands access to access to alcoholic beverages.

House Bill 437 is about to be sent to Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk for her signature. It will allow wine to be delivered from out-of-state by postal services such as FedEx or UPS.

Discriminatory language is being removed from Alabama's sex education law.

The section that says students should be taught that homosexuality is socially unacceptable and illegal has been around since 1992.

Gov. Kay Ivey signed the bill sponsored by Rep. Laura Hall that removed the language.

State sex education laws will keep an emphasis on abstinence.

A group has filed a lawsuit to block Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey's plan to lease private prisons.

The suit was filed on Tuesday and alleges the plan does not have the state legislature's approval. Supporters of the proposal see it as a partial solution to the state's troubled correctional system.

Attorney Kenny Mendelson filed the lawsuit in the Montgomery County Circuit Court on behalf of four plaintiffs.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has signed off on the sweet potato becoming the state vegetable.

The state already has a state fruit, bird and amphibian. The idea to add the sweet potato to the list of emblems came from a Harvest homeschool class.

Alabama's state fruit is the blackberry, the bird is the yellowhammer and the amphibian is the Red Hills salamander.

Alabama might soon name the sweet potato as its official state vegetable.

The Alabama Legislature approved the bill 94-4 on Tuesday, sending it to Gov. Kay Ivey.

The state already has an official state fruit, bird and amphibian.

The idea to name the state vegetable came from a Harvest homeschool class.

Alabama gun carriers may soon be able to buy lifetime permits to carry concealed firearms.

The House of Representatives aprroved the bill with a 69-18 vote. Gov. Kay Ivey will decide whether or not to sign into law.

The bill would allow purchases for permits that would last for a year, five years or a lifetime, and it would create a registry of people prohibited from carrying firearms.

Previous efforts to abolish the permit requirement failed under opposition from law enforcement officials.

Governor Kay Ivey’s mask mandate ends today. Local school districts now have the choice on whether to make face coverings mandatory. Other guidelines have also been relaxed. The CDC has moved its social distancing guidelines from six feet to three feet in the classroom. More students will attend in-person instruction in closer proximity as a result.  Michael Sibley is the Director of Communications at the Alabama Department of Education. He said school district mask wearing policies will probably reflect the views of their community. 

A bill that would allow alcohol delivery in Alabama has made its way to Gov. Kay Ivey's desk.

The Alabama Senate approved changes from the House that were made to the bill sponsored by Sen. Jabo Waggoner of Vestavie Hills.

It would allow beverages to be delivered to people 21 years and older by companies licensed to deliver. Limits would also be places on how much could be delivered in a 24-hour period. 

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey is maintaining that the statewide mask mandate end April 9, despite President Joe Biden's request it be extended.

On Monday Biden asked that mask requirements and other restrictions to be upheld out of precaution of a "fourth surge" of COVID-19. 

An Ivey spokeswoman said the state is moving toward personal responsibility over government mandates.

Governor Kay Ivey held a press conference in Calhoun County after tornadoes caused extensive damage in the area last week.

Over 230 miles of tornadoes ripped through Alabama on Thursday, March 25.  Ivey was hopeful and goal-oriented about the recovery process. She said she’s working with local, state and federal emergency officials to distribute disaster relief services. 

State lawmakers are reviewing the $2 trillion coronavirus relief package that includes financial incentives to expand Medicaid.

Doing so would help provide health coverage for low-income Alabamians and mean that more than 300,000 people throughout the state would be covered.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Kay Ivey said the governor is reviewing the state's share of the cost and that she is open to discussing it after receiving more information. 

Gov. Kay Ivey has declared a state of emergency in response to the threat of severe weather on Wednesday.

The National Weather Service predicts there is potential for strong winds, flooding, hail and tornadoes throughout the state.

Ivey's proclamation activates the Alabama Emergency Operations Plan and the Alabama Emergency Management Agency State Emergency Operations Shelter.

Read the full proclamation below.

With and end date to the governor's mask mandate in place, officials are recommending that Alabamians continue wearing masks even after the deadline.

State Health Officer Scott Harris said people should keep taking precautions after April 9 when the mandate ends. 

Gov. Kay Ivey announced last Thursday that she would not extend the order after it expires.

Harris said he hopes that on April 10 as many people will be wearing masks as the day before.

Gov. Kay Ivey is extending her Safer at Home order. Alabamians will still have to wear their masks until April 9. Ivey said while she is extending the mask order, this will be the last time. 

“After April the 9th, I will not keep the mask order in effect," she said in a press conference. "There is no question that wearing masks has been one of our greatest tools in combating the spread of the virus. That, along with good hygiene and social distancing has helped more people from getting sick, or worse, dying.” 

Gov. Kay Ivey has authorized a program to help Alabama residents who are struggling to pay rent during the pandemic.

The Alabama Housing Finance Authority will implement the state's new COVID-19 emergency rental assistance program.

The AHFA starting accepting application from landlords and tenants on Monday.

The Alabama House of Representatives passed a bill that would give that would give them more oversight over large expenditures.

The 98-0 vote on Tuesday approved the bill by Republican Rep. Mike Jones that will now move to the Alabama Senate.

Alabama's face mask order is once again set to expire, but hospitals throughout the state are hoping for an extension until more people become vaccinated against COVID-19.

Gov. Kay Ivey is set to announce later this week whether or not she will extend the mask mandate that is scheduled to end Friday.

Gov. Kay Ivey has high hopes for Alabama in the coming year. 

During her annual State of the State address, the governor talked about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, infrastructure plans and her proposed budget for the legislature to tackle this session. Ivey said she wants to make sure Alabamians can benefit from federal aid during the pandemic.  

Watch Gov. Kay Ivey's 2021 State of the State address.

Gov. Kay Ivey has signed a lease for two new mega-prisons with a private prison company.

CoreCivic is one of the largest private prison companies in the country and agreed to build two new prisons. A third is planned for a total cost of $3 billion. The first two will house 7,000 inmates.

Lawmakers are raising concerns after hearing about Gov. Kay Ivey's plan to lease three new mega-prisons.

Republican Rep. Rich Wingo of Tuscaloosa said he and other lawmakers want to see more financial details about the proposal since they will be responsible for any shortfall.

Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn said an announcement about the leases will be released soon.

The mega-prisons would hold 10,000 inmates total and close many existing prisons throughout the state.