US EditionAlabama governor overhauls state’s largest water utility amid cries of racial discrimination
- Birmingham city officials, including Mayor Randall Woodfin, filed a federal lawsuit on May 6, 2025, against Alabama Governor Kay Ivey to stop a bill altering the state's largest water utility board.
- The bill passed the Alabama Legislature last week mainly along party lines amid claims it redistributes control from majority-Black Birmingham to mostly white neighboring suburbs, raising racial discrimination concerns.
- The legislation would reduce Birmingham’s board seats from six to two on the new seven-member authority, shifting appointment power to the governor, lieutenant governor, and four surrounding counties.
- The lawsuit argues that the bill infringes upon constitutional protections, including those related to voting rights, and violates both the state and federal constitutions, describing the racial bias claims as clear racial discrimination; meanwhile, Mayor Woodfin criticized the bill as plainly unconstitutional.
- A hearing on the lawsuit is set for May 15, 2025, following a federal judge’s decision to not temporarily block the bill before hearing arguments from both sides.
32 Articles
32 Articles
ADEM’s retiring director: Alabama’s environment is cleaner and healthier
It has been said that one way to measure success is whether you left a place better than it was before you arrived. American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson explained it this way: “To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived – that is to have succeeded.” As I look back at my 15 years at ADEM, I am confident Alabama’s en…
Associated Press News
Alabama governor overhauls state's largest water utility amid cries of racial discrimination
Alabama governor Kay Ivey sided with the state legislature by signing a bill that will overhaul the Birmingham Water Works Board.
Governor Signs Bill to Restructure the BWWB - BirminghamWatch
Gov. Kay Ivey speaks during an April 2025 policy summit. (Courtesy of Governor’s Office) Gov. Kay Ivey today signed a bill passed by the Legislature to restructure the Birmingham Water Works Board as a regional board and reduce the city of Birmingham’s influence. City officials have filed suit to block implementation of the new law, and a federal judge has set a May 15 hearing for arguments. The suit alleges that the law is racially motivated, u…
Birmingham fights against losing control of its water board
MONTGOMERY — Birmingham city officials sued the Alabama governor on Tuesday in an effort to halt the codification of bill that would strip the city of control over the state’s largest water board, alleging the move “constitutes blatant racial discrimination.”
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