The Coronavirus Hits Alabama: How API responded to the Pandemic

T H E C O R O N AV I R U S HITS ALABAMA 1819 THE MAGAZINE 2020 ANNUAL REPORT

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Scott Stantis

2020 ANNUAL REPORT 1819 THE MAGAZINE

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By Parker Snider Director of Policy Analysis

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T H E C O R O N AV I R U S HITS ALABAMA 1819 THE MAGAZINE 2020 ANNUAL REPORT

By Parker Snider Director of Policy Analysis

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2020 ANNUAL REPORT 1819 THE MAGAZINE

Page title here

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1819 THE MAGAZINE 2020 ANNUAL REPORT

API & COVID-19

N AN OVAL OFFICE ADDRESS ON THE EVENING OF WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11TH, PRESIDENT TRUMP ANNOUNCED THAT TRAVELERS FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION WOULD BE BANNED FROM ENTERING THE U.S. EFFECTIVE THE UPCOMING FRIDAY, MARCH 13TH.

What Americans had watched move from China to Iran and then to Italy, where millions were already required to stay in their homes, had suddenly become more than just the news. The coronavirus was here.

In the following days, residents of Alabama faced a flurry of press conferences from national, state and local leaders and an array of guidelines and restrictions. The terms “social distancing” and “flattening the curve” became commonplace.

Jefferson County, the state’s largest population center and the home of Birmingham, saw cases of the novel coronavirus and established requirements of its own, which often changed by the hour.

At the same time, API highlighted the need for “balance in an unbalanced time,” especially from our government officials.

While Christians were to respect their leaders, those in authority should never allow power to cloud their vision and turn them into tyrants.

Another week passed as more coronavirus restrictions were implemented. Beaches were closed. Schools were shut down. The City of Birmingham issued a stay at home order and the City of Tuscaloosa established a curfew. A state health order banned gatherings of over 25 people.

What was most clear in this first week of the United States’ coronavirus epidemic was that much was unknown. What we were shown, however, was chaos in Italy, which boasts a disproportionately and especially vulnerable elderly population, as doctors were forced to decide who would receive a ventilator and who would not. Real, human pain was evident, and it was known.

It was in this last week of March, only 15 days after President Trump banned visitors from the European Union API FIRST from traveling to the United SPEAKS States, that API first highlighted TO THE the importance of benchmarks in PANDEMIC, the state’s coronavirus response.

March 20, 2020 “Though few argue with

API therefore first spoke into the topic with a call to action for pro-life, Christian conservatives. For a few weeks, we argued in an op-ed, Christians ought to be willing to sacrifice our plans for the sake of our neighbors. We shouldn’t complain as churches closed or as restaurants switched to takeout only. We’d show the world what a truly pro-life ethic looks like.

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2020 ANNUAL REPORT 1819 THE MAGAZINE

Responding to Government Overreach

In the final week of March, API hosted then-candidates for United States Senate Jeff Sessions and Tommy Tuberville on the 1819 Podcast to discuss the coronavirus and their campaigns. Both interviews, in an 1819 first, were held virtually over Zoom. To this day, these episodes remain some of the most downloaded episodes of 1819 in its blossoming history.

At the beginning of REPORT April, API released a ON THE study examining the IMPACT OF possible impacts of the coronavirus and the COVID-19 ON government-imposed THE STATE shutdowns on the state PUBLISHED, budgets, economy, April 2, 2020 healthcare system, and more. We revealed that, depending on the severity of the economic impact on the state, Alabama’s next fiscal year General Fund budget might need to be cut by nearly $400 million, while the Education Trust Fund could see a shortfall of as much as $1.3 billion.

WASHINGTON President Donald J. Trump listens as Ambassador Deborah Birx, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, delivers remarks at a coronavirus update briefing Monday, March 16, 2020, in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House.

(Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)

[Governor] Ivey and [State Health Director] Harris’s abilities to legally issue such orders, or with the prudence of the orders, ” API’s Joshua Pendergrass wrote, “there does appear to be some concern about the extent and length of the measures being implemented, and whether Ivey’s desire to not harm Alabamians economically is realistic under the emergency actions taken by the state. What is at question is why there has been no communication as to what “success at bending API the curve” looks like or what HIGHLIGHTS milestones are needed to ease restrictions on individuals and NEED FOR BENCHMARKS businesses.

IN ALABAMA’S To this day the Ivey CORONAVIRUS Administration has not publicly RESPONSE, released milestones that would March 26, 2020

API's Justin Bogie coauthored API’s April report entitled “Healthy Citizenry, Healthy Economy, Healthy Society.”

“There is no question that COVID-19 is going to make an impact on how our state does business,” commented report co-author Justin Bogie, API’s Senior Director of Fiscal Policy. “We know that the state is going to see a contraction in income which is going to affect every aspect of life in our state; all we don’t know at this point is just how bad it is going to be.”

The day after the report’s release, Governor Kay Ivey announced a mandatory statewide “Stay at Home” order. All individuals, under the April 3rd order, were to remain at home unless they were working a job the state deemed “essential” or were getting food or exercising. The economic fallout of the coronavirus, it seemed, had just begun.

allow restrictions to be lifted.

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API & COVID-19

"April is the cruelest month.” - T.S. Elliot For many Alabama residents, Elliot’s line in “The Waste Land” proved especially poignant.

Unemployment rates skyrocketed in April as businesses quickly found themselves without customers or, by order of the state, shut down completely.

On the day of Governor Ivey’s “Stay at Home” order, API published a podcast with Senate Pro Tem Del Marsh in which we highlighted the economic fallout of such an order and the disproportionate effect restrictions were already having on small businesses. In fact, the first few weeks of April were dedicated by API almost completely to speaking up for those whom the government had largely disregarded. We published yet another podcast on the topic with State Representative Danny Garrett and released an op-ed that was published in some of the state’s top newspapers and online media outlets.

(Photograph by Trent Penny, Anniston Star)

With April also came the first Easter in living memory in which it was illegal in Alabama for churches to hold worship gatherings. Instead, members of churches across the state gathered virtually to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and be reminded of the impregnable future that Christians can cling to even in the midst of uncertainty. These reminders prompted API to begin its “Anchored in Alabama: Stories of Hope” publication which highlighted how private companies, churches, and individuals were tackling the challenges of the pandemic head-on. Since April’s inaugural edition, API has collected over 150 stories through “Anchored in Alabama.”

For twenty-four days following April 3rd, it was illegal for individuals to leave their homes outside of meeting basic needs.

"ANCHORED IN ALABAMA" FIRST PUBLISHED, April 15, 2020

Anchored in Alabama Since April's inaugural edition, API has collected over 150 good news stories though "Anchored in Alabama."

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During this period, API drafted a report to be sent to the Governor’s Coronavirus Task Force at the request of Senate Pro Tem Del Marsh, a member of the task force’s executive committee. The report warned the governor against the unconstitutional use of executive power and addressed the unintended consequences of increased unemployment benefits which paid recipients, in many cases, over $21 an hour, incentivizing some residents to stay at home even when they were called back to work.

On April 21st, this report, entitled “Healthy Citizenry, Healthy Economy, Healthy Society” was submitted to the task force. Though unbeknownst to us at the time, it would be less than 48 hours before API saw direct impact.

2020 ANNUAL REPORT 1819 THE MAGAZINE

Responding to Government Overreach

April in Alabama Left: Life Church Anniston hosts a drive-in church service.

Right: The Alabama Department of Labor, which responded directly to an API report on April 23.

On April 23rd, the Alabama Department of Labor (ADOL) issued a warning that deciding to leave work or failing to return to work in order to collect increased unemployment benefits may qualify as fraud and be subject to prosecution.

Thus ADOL clarified that, even with new benefits available, the criteria to receive unemployment compensation still required that an employee be involuntarily separated from his or her employer.

This was a direct response to our April 21st report, which was brought to the attention of Secretary of Labor Fitzgerald Washington who then issued the guidance from the Department of Labor. In the months to come, API would be recognized nationally for our work on this report.

REPORT SENT TO GOVERNOR'S TASK FORCE, April 21, 2020

On April 28th, Governor Ivey announced the end of the “Stay at Home” order and the beginning of the “Safer at Home” mandate which allowed some businesses to reopen and gave

individuals the freedom to go back to work, though significant restrictions remained intact. Under the new rule, individuals not in the same household would still be legally barred from being within six feet of another unless they are gathering for AL DEPARTMENT OF work. Though largely LABOR CLARIFIES unenforced, something as commonplace as UNEMPLOYMENT a hug or a high-five RULES IN RESPONSE TO API between friends, for the vast majority of REPORT, 2020, has been illegal.

April 23, 2020 Over six months since its original date of effect, and twenty emergency declarations into the pandemic, the Safer at Home order has yet to be rescinded.

API has never been content to allow restrictions on freedom to pass unquestioned and the “Safer at Home” order was no exception. In a matter of hours, API recorded a limited edition podcast series with Adam MacLeod, Professorial Fellow and Professor 23

1819 THE MAGAZINE 2020 ANNUAL REPORT

API & COVID-19

MONTGOMERY The Alabama State Senate meets in May 2020, masks on, after taking a two-month hiatus.

of Law at Faulkner University, Jones School of "LIBERTY Law. The podcast, in which MacLeod and API’s Joshua FIRST" Pendergrass discuss the PODCAST importance of liberty in RELEASED, American society and the May 1, 2020 balance of power between the legislature and the executive branches of our government, quickly became a hit. Only days after its initial release, in fact, Apple Podcasts listed Liberty First in its “Top New Government Podcasts” category.

On May 4th, the Alabama Legislature returned to finish its legislative session after a nearly two month hiatus caused by the state’s response to the coronavirus. That very week, reforms proposed in Liberty First began to be considered in the State House, specifically the legislature’s retrieval of the power to quarantine from the governor.

At the same time, however, the legislature had some missteps. A $1.25 billion bond issue was quickly moved through the State House, with the Senate passing the debt measure by a vote of 29-0 the very first day they were back in Montgomery. On May 8th, only four days later, it passed the House, 68-5.

Photograph by Todd Stacy, Alabama Daily News

budgets, the bond issue, and local bills.

But this was certainly not enough. The legislature had failed to make any meaningful changes to the emergency powers of the governor and state health officer and allowed other important measures, like coronavirus liability API protections, to fall by the ANNOUNCES wayside. In an increasingly OPPOSITION virtual school and work TO $1.25 culture, Alabama’s rural BILLION DEBT broadband problem also came out of session untouched and INCREASE, largely ignored. Making the May 20, 2020 governor’s lifting of regulation on hospitals more permanent, renewing the Alabama Jobs Act, and offering increased options for students stuck in online public schools all faced the same fate: no action.

Budgets, the $1.25 billion bond issue, and local bills were the priority.

Days later API released an op-ed and a podcast highlighting the folly of increasing the state’s debt during a global pandemic that promised to have wide-ranging effects on the economy, and the state’s financial situation, that were just beginning to materialize. And while API would certainly question going into debt regardless of the state’s reason, increasing debt in exchange for more capital projects at closed public schools proved ironic to a fault.

Apart from the debt increase and passing the two largest budgets in Alabama history, the legislature’s short return to the State House was not incredibly productive. While the Senate considered a variety of bills, including protections from frivolous lawsuits for businesses and churches, House members were adamant that they stick to the 24

2020 ANNUAL REPORT 1819 THE MAGAZINE

Responding to Government Overreach

Masks, effective less than two days from her announcement, would be required for all individuals above the age of 6 in public places.

This announcement followed an exponential increase in coronavirus cases and similar actions by governors in Mississippi and Louisiana. Florida and Georgia, though they experienced the same increase in cases, have yet to require face masks statewide.

Only a few weeks later, Governor Ivey announced in yet another press conference that, although schools would be reopening soon, masks would be required for all students in second grade and above.

Less than ten days after the legislature ended the 2020 session, the Alabama Policy Institute called for a special legislative session and announced its RESTORE Alabama Agenda, which highlighted all six of the issues. If the governor called a special session on these issues, API argued, the legislature could fully grapple with the effects of the coronavirus shutdown.

To API, this was a clear example of executive overreach.

While the coronavirus poses a real threat, API's Caleb Crosby API’s President and released a statement on governor's "Masks in CEO Caleb Crosby the Class" order. argued in a statement that “Governor Ivey’s ‘masks in class’ RESTORE order goes too far, is unenforceable, and burdensome to the students and teachers ALABAMA of our state.“ Over the next few days, AGENDA PUBLISHED, API staff appeared on both television and radio to detail the overreach of the May 27, 2020 governor’s actions, including on WSFA Montgomery’s evening news.

In the following weeks, API published an oped on each plank of the RESTORE Alabama agenda. This campaign, with a total of seven op-eds published in AL.com, Yellowhammer News, the Alabama Political Reporter, the Mobile Press Register, the Birmingham News, the Huntsville Times, and a host of smaller venues, took us from late May through the summer months and into August.

MASKS IN CLASS API Chief Policy Officer and General Counsel Phil Williams appears on WSFA Evening News to voice concerns over the governor's order.

On July 15th, Governor Ivey announced a statewide mask mandate.

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1819 THE MAGAZINE 2020 ANNUAL REPORT

API & COVID-19

Governor Ivey, it seems, was not to be outdone.

Days later, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board announced a new requirement: bars and restaurants were banned from serving alcohol after 11 p.m. The punishment for failing to comply? Forfeiting their license to sell alcohol altogether.

API RESPONDS TO ABC BOARD BAN ON ALCOHOL SALES AFTER 11 P.M.,

This garnered our attention and opposition quickly, with API’s Phil Williams publishing an op-ed on the topic and pushing the need for restraint in government August 7, 2020 action on local radio shows.

Unfortunately, API’s advice would not be fully heeded until late September, when the ban was finally lifted.

As the start of school got even closer, API highlighted the importance of families having the ability to decide where and how their children receive a high quality education. It should not be the government alone, API argued in an op-ed, which determines what school in a pandemic looks like. Parents and families, instead, should be able to ascertain what is best for them and for their children. They should also, API continues to argue, be empowered to use the funds the state has set aside for their children’s education in whatever manner they see fit. Whether it is a public school, a private school, or homeschool, all options should be on the table.

In early September, at the State Policy Network’s Annual Meeting (which met online for the first time in its history), API’s work on coronavirus unemployment claims before the Department of Labor was recognized nationally as the winner of the Bob Williams Award for Most Influential

Research. Competing against sister organizations in Tennessee and Massachusetts, API ultimately won the award by popular vote after our initial nomination.

API's Bob Williams Award from the State Policy Network.

Publicly, these issues are what dominated API’s work in the summer of 2020. Privately, however, API had yet another priority.

API WINS AWARD FOR RESEARCH ON THE IMPACT OF GOVERNMENT CORONAVIRUS RESTRICTIONS,

In short, the team at API determined that a statewide weeks-long sales tax holiday would be a possible use of part of the $1.8 billion in CARES Act funds that Congress had allocated to the state in March. Using less than a third of the funds, Alabama could offer a month-long sales tax holiday, invigorating the local economy and bringing hope (and revenue) to small businesses across the state. To ensure this was a legal plan that would be allowed by the U.S. Department

September 2, 2020

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API EARNS NATIONAL AWARD API won the Bob Williams Award for Most Influential Research in 2020 at the State Policy Network's Annual Meeting.

sent to the state of Alabama are left unspent. What’s worse, however, is that if the governor doesn’t spend it before the end of the year, Alabama won’t get to keep it.

When it became clear that the governor would not pursue it out of her own desire, API published multiple op-eds and met with other state officials, including Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth, about the proposal. It was received with resounding support.

And many of the actors we met with are now calling the governor to change her mind and do something truly monumental for the state’s economy.

In addition to continually calling for a special legislative session, detailing and comparing the coronavirus restrictions of neighboring states, and signifying the importance of a clear and public coronavirus plan, the sales tax holiday remained a priority into the fall. In fact, our work on the topic likely continues as you read this report. Until the money is spent or December 31st rolls around, API will remain steadfast in our call for Governor Ivey to use these federal relief funds to provide true relief to Alabama’s consumers and small businesses alike.

of the Treasury, API solicited an opinion from the governor’s former chief counsel, who found that the plan did not go against the Treasury’s current guidance. Over the summer months, API regularly met and conferred with the Governor’s Office, the State Treasurer, and officials in Idaho, who were pursuing a property tax holiday in the same manner as our proposed sales tax holiday.

Many times, we were told by state officials that our plan was a good one. That it would be an obvious boon SALES TAX for the economy.

HOLIDAY

PROPOSED

BY API IS REJECTED BY GOVERNOR IVEY,

But, in the end, the governor declined to pursue it. In fact, the governor declined to even ask the U.S. Autumn 2020 Department of the Treasury if it aligned with their guidelines. And as of this writing in late November, over $860 million of the federal CARES Act funds

Overall, 2020 turned out to be much different than what API had planned. Much of our legislative agenda was put on hold and our priorities readjusted. At the same time, 2020 may be one of the most full API has ever seen. The pandemic, and the state government’s response to it, has proven that an organization like API is needed, not just in Alabama, but in every state in the nation. We have been privileged to serve as a conservative watchman, a beacon of hope, and a source of positive change in the state. As the coronavirus continues to impact our world, we are especially grateful for your regular support of the Alabama Policy Institute. We know this year has not been easy. But we hope that, in this report, we have shown that your investment in our organization has been well worth it.

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