Elections, indictments and signs of an increasingly polarized electorate -- 65 percent of voters cast a straight ticket ballot in November -- marked politics in Alabama in 2018. The new year brings new four-year terms for Gov. Kay Ivey and a Legislature with newcomers holding 42 of the 140 seats. Most of the problems and challenges they face will not be new.

Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com

Gov. Kay Ivey, shown here after winning the Republican nomination in June, begins a new four-year term on Jan. 14.

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Chuck Crow/The Plain Dealer

Gasoline tax

Ivey and the leaders of the Republican-controlled Alabama Legislature say a high priority for 2019 is more funding to maintain, improve and expand the state's roads and bridges. Ivey said she is working with House Speaker Mac McCutcheon and Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh on a plan. The Legislature last raised the gasoline tax in 1992, adding 5 cents a gallon. Advocates for an increase say the total state tax of 18 cents a gallon has not kept pace with the rising cost of sustaining a sufficient highway system. That argument was not enough to convince rank and file members to support gas tax bills that failed in 2016 and 2017.

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Bob Gathany/AL.com

Senate seat scramble

The consequences of Jeff Sessions' appointment as U.S. attorney general continue to ripple through Alabama politics. Republicans are confident they can reclaim Sessions' former Senate seat from Democrat Doug Jones, who won it in a special election in 2017. The election is in 2020, but the race will likely start next year. U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne of Mobile, Sen. President Pro Tem Del Marsh and State Auditor Jim Zeigler have said they are considering the race. Speculators have mentioned a number of other high-profile Republicans as potential candidates. Sessions has not announced his plans since resigning as attorney general in November. Jones is running to keep the seat.

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Julie Bennett/AL.com

Grappling with prison problems

Alabama lawmakers boosted funding for prisons this year. Sentencing reforms have slowly reduced the number of prisoners. But prisons remain above capacity and the remaining inmate population has a higher proportion of violent offenders, contributing to rising violence in prisons with a serious shortage of correctional officers. The Ivey administration has hired companies to assess needs for new prisons and renovations. The state must expand and improve mental health care for prisoners or face uncertain consequences in an ongoing federal lawsuit.

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Marvin Fong/The Plain Dealer

Lottery and sports betting

Alabama lawmakers introduce lottery bills every year but most years the proposals receive little attention. A lottery bill backed by Gov. Robert Bentley did come close to passing in 2016 but unraveled because of disagreements on how narrowly to define a lottery. House and Senate leaders are not leading the charge for a lottery in 2019 and Ivey is not an advocate, though she says she is not opposed to a vote on a constitutional amendment. But with Alabama now surrounded by lottery states and with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in May opening the chance for states to legalize sports betting, the profile of gambling legislation could rise in 2019. The photo shows customers in Brook Park, Ohio in line to buy Mega Millions lottery tickets in October.

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Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/Associated Press

School safety

The mass shooting that claimed 17 lives at a Florida high school on Valentine's Day prompted a variety of school safety proposals that failed to make it through the Alabama Legislature in 2018, ranging from arming teachers to raising minimum ages on gun purchases. Gov. Kay Ivey appointed a panel that made 10 recommendations including more school resource officers, making school buildings more secure and expanding access to mental health services for troubled students. All would require additional funding. House Speaker Mac McCutcheon said he expects school security to be a central issue in the 2019 session. McCutcheon appointed an advisory panel with professionals in education, law enforcement and mental health to help sort out the merits of what legislators propose. In the photo, students hold their hands in the air as they are evacuated by police from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 14, 2018, after a shooter opened fire on the campus.

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Mike Cason/mcason@al.com

Former lawmakers, former GOP chairman on trial

Federal jury trials are scheduled for early 2019 in Montgomery in two cases involving former Alabama legislators. Former Rep. Randy Davis of Daphne and former state Republican Party Chairman Marty Connors are scheduled to go on trial in January for their role in an alleged bribery scheme related to insurance coverage for diabetes clinics. Former Rep. Ed Henry of Hartselle, the lawmaker who led the push to impeach former Gov. Robert Bentley, is scheduled for trial in February on charges of Medicare fraud. All three men have denied any wrongdoing.

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Albert Cesare/The Montgomery Advertiser/Associated Press

Mike Hubbard's appeal

Former Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard has remained free on appeal since a Lee County jury found him guilty of 12 felony ethics charges in June 2016. Hubbard was sentenced to four years in prison. This year, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals upheld 11 of the 12 counts. In October, Hubbard filed a petition asking the Alabama Supreme Court to hear the case. That request is still pending.

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Mike Cason/mcason@al.com

Changes to the state ethics law

A special grand jury that investigated former Gov. Robert Bentley and the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals both suggested this year that the Legislature should clarify and strengthen the state ethics law. A panel of legislators, lawyers, lobbyists, prosecutors and others is expected to make recommendations to lawmakers early next year. Changes in the law would affect more than just public officials because many state employees and educators are covered under the law.

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Mike Cason/mcason@al.com

Pistol permits

Sen. Gerald Allen, R-Tuscaloosa, told Alabama Public Television this month that he will bring back his bill to repeal the requirement for a permit to carry a concealed pistol. Allen has proposed the same bill before and it passed the Senate in 2017 but died in the House. It has generally drawn opposition from sheriffs and police, who say the permit requirement is an important law enforcement tool. Allen and gun rights advocates say citizens should not have to get a permit to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights. Allen does not propose eliminating permits and says people would still get permits, including those who want to carry their guns in other states.

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