What, When and How to Take Action

Please act now on these issues!

In Alabama...


LWVAL Action Alerts will be posted here when issued.

The Regular Session of the Alabama Legislature adjourned on April 22, 2010. The 2010 WVAL Legislative Report remains posted so that readers can review League priority issues and related bills followed during the session. It was last updated 4/24/10.

When the legislature convenes again on Tuesday, March 1, 2010 (unless an interim Special Session is called by the governor), please check here for action alerts issued by the LWVAL regarding legislation impacting League positions, principles and legislative priorities. Your, phone calls, emails, and/or letters to your legislators are powerful tools that can affect the progress of bills in the legislative process. Thank you for taking immediate action when LWVAL issues an action alert!

You may also be interested in reading the 2009 LWVAL Legislative Report.

In Washington...


ACTION ALERT from LWVUS issued 5/26/10.


ACTION ALERT: The 2010 Elections Are at Stake

The 2010 elections are in danger. The League of Women Voters needs YOU to take action to protect our democratic system of government.

Take action to send a critically important message to Congress.

In this year's elections, corporations and unions will be able to spend unlimited amounts of money in secret to support or oppose candidates because of the Supreme Court's recent decision in Citizens United v. FEC, which overturned the ban on corporate spending in candidate elections that was in place for more than a century. Even foreign-controlled corporations will be able to spend in secret!

Special interests and corporate lobbyists now have even more opportunities to corrupt our democracy.

We, as concerned citizens, must take action to protect our elections. Very soon, the House of Representatives will consider the DISCLOSE Act (H.R. 5175). This bill will require complete disclosure of corporate and union election advertising and require CEOs to "stand by their ads" with clear disclaimers. The DISCLOSE Act is expected to be voted on in the House soon. We must act quickly to protect the 2010 elections from being swamped with secret corporate and union money.

Voters deserve to know who is paying for election advertising. Secret money, especially secret foreign money, has no place in our democracy. Act now to urge Congress to act quickly to protect the 2010 elections.

TAKE ACTION

1. Contact your Representative now and tell him or her to support the DISCLOSE Act. Tell them to take action now, before the 2010 elections.

2. Send this alert to other concerned citizens - your grassroots network, your friends, neighbors and coworkers. Encourage them to contact their Representative today!

BACKGROUND

Learn more about what the League is doing to support campaign finance reform.

Sign up to receive Action Alerts directly by email. Don't miss an opportunity to take action! It's easy to sign up and the League will never share your email with others.

For additional information, please contact LWVUS Grassroots Lobbyist Christina Vamvas at lobbying@lwv.org.

League of Women Voters
1730 M Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036



Also:

ACTION ALERT from LWVUS issued 5/19/10  Please tell your Senators to defend the Clean Air Act.


Visit the LWVUS Action Center for more information about these and other important issues of national interest.

Find officials & representatives

Find Your State Legislators

Find Officials & Representatives at All Levels of Government

About these resources
When an Action Alert is issued (by state or national League), contact your government representatives and take action as directed in the alert.
• Find Your State Legislators Type in your 9-digit zip code or address to look up your senator and representative. Includes contact information, bio, and committee(s) on which serving. This is a service of the Alabama Legislature.
• Find Officials & Representatives at All Levels of Government Includes a search engine to find your national, state and local officials and representatives. Action alerts of the LWV of the United States are also posted here.

What's happening in the AL Legislature

The 2010 Regular Session of the Alabama Legislature adjourned on April 22, 2010. The next Regular Session of the Alabama Legislature will convene on Tuesday, March 1, 2011.

2010 LWVAL Legislative Report
In this report, LWVAL followed state legislation on which the League has a position and on which it took take action. (See the 2010 LWVAL Legislative Priorities list for the issues on which our Action Team was focused.) For each bill, the report includes bill sponsors, bill summary, complete bill text, final status of the legislation, LWVAL's position on the legislation, and LWVAL's action. The Report was updated weekly. New legislation impacting the League's positions and principles was added to the report throughout the session. A list of monitored legislation was also reported. These were bills of interest for which the League does not express support or opposition but followed during the legislative session.

2010 LWVAL Legislative Priorities
The LWVAL Advocacy Team established these legislative priorities for the 2010 legislative session based on LWVAL positions, LWVUS positions, and League principles, and the League's assessment of opportunities to affect change. The League is always watching for legislation impacting our priority issues and for opportunities to take action.

ALISON (Alabama Legislative Information System Online)
Find state legislation & follow its progress first hand! ALISON provides information about bills such as sponsors, history, fiscal notes, amendments and substitutions, and status. Search bills by number, keyword or content. Use that knowledge to focus and time your own advocacy effort.This system was originally established for the state legislators to help them keep up with the hundreds of bills introduced each session. However, it is available to the public, so every Alabama citizen can follow the legislation using this powerful tool! Legislation from previous sessions is also available. See this LWVAL guide for assistance in navigating ALISON.

Visit the Alabama Legislature online.


Study the legislative process and past action by the legislature with these resources:

The Alabama Legislature: Facts and Issues
Read this objective, unbiased study report to increase your understanding of the Alabama legislature. Published by the WVAL Education Fund.

2009 LWVAL Legislative Report
Read the advocacy actions taken by the LWVAL during the last Regular Session of the Alabama Legislature. In this report LWVAL follows the progress of legislation important to its positions and legislative priorities. Read about the actions taken by the League and citizens like you who support our efforts. 

Where LWAL stands

The LWVAL supports:

          Issue positions of the LWV of Alabama

          Issue positions of the LWV of the United States

          Principles of the League of Women Voters

About League Positions & Principles

LWVAL uses the issue positions of the LWVAL, the issue positions of the LWVUS , and the principles of the LWV to support our advocacy for or opposition to public policies and legislation. League issue positions are determined by our members after careful study and deliberation. Our reputation for conducting diligent, unbiased research on public issues is one reason why the League of Women Voters has been a respected and trusted nonpartisan organization since 1920. LWVAL issue positions and current issue studies make up the LWVAL Program which is reviewed by our members annually and revised as necessary.