Private school tax credits at Alabama Supreme Court

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Supreme Court can decide whether the governor gets to sign private school tax credits into law.

Republican legislative leaders want the all-Republican court to lift a temporary restraining order issued by a Democratic judge. The order by Circuit Judge Charles Price of Montgomery keeps the governor from signing the bill into law while the judge considers a lawsuit filed by the Alabama Education Association. AEA contends the Legislature improperly passed the bill to provide tax credits to parents who move their children from failing public schools to private schools.

The Republican leaders contend the judge shouldn’t be involved in the legislative process. House Speaker Mike Hubbard calls the judge’s order politically motivated. Senate President Pro Tem Del Mash says it’s “judicial activism at its worst.”