Alabama
Alabama senator plans to file to consolidate occupational boards • Alabama Reflector
An Alabama senator is planning to file a bill that would change the oversight structure of occupational boards in the state.
The draft legislation, to be filed by Sen. Chris Elliott, R-Josephine, would create an Office of Occupational and Professional Licensing within the Department of Labor. The executive director of the office would oversee some of the administrative work that is done by occupational boards currently.
“The goal is to streamline the administrative functions of the board,” Elliott said Monday. “So I’m not changing a board. I’m not changing the makeup of the board. And I’m not trying to change any of the regulations or rules promulgated by the board.”
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According to a chart provided by Elliott, boards would be moved into different phases for the consolidation. Some boards are being moved under different departments, such as the Sickle Cell Oversight & Regulatory Commission to the Alabama Department of Public Health.
Elliott provided the Reflector with a transition chart and a breakdown of which boards are in which phase. Some Phase I boards include the Board of Examiners of Assisted Living Administrators; the Alabama Athletic Commission and the Alabama Board of Massage Therapy, which would be tied to the executive director by Oct. 1, 2025.
Elliott said the bill came from his experience on the Contract Review Committee and with sunset bills, or legislation to extend the life of state boards and agencies after a certain period of time. Elliott said he had concerns about some of the for-profit entities that work with some of the boards.
“I saw some some very concerning ways in which these these boards are operated and administered up to and including a lot of for-profit entities out there that are administering these boards and watching the financials of those gave me some concern, and so we thought we would try to start consolidating some of those, and that has ballooned really into what we have now before us,” he said.
He said worked with the legal team in Gov. Kay Ivey’s office on the bill, as well as with the Legislative Services Agency in the State House. A message was left with a spokesperson for the governor’s office Monday.
Elliott said this differs from current sunset law because sunset is more of a review of legal compliance. He said review in this process is more looking at the need for a particular board.
The Alabama Legislature is on spring break, as of Friday. Elliott said he plans to have the bill in committee the week it returns.
Alabama
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WBRC) – Pauline Love, the new head coach of the Alabama women’s basketball team, says her late college coach, Joye Lee-McNelis, is the reason she got into coaching.
Love played for Lee-McNelis at Southern Miss, describing her as a second mother. Lee-McNelis passed away last summer after a long battle with breast cancer.
A relationship that changed her path
Love said she once told Lee-McNelis she would never go into coaching, a conversation the two laughed about often.
“I used to tell her all the time, I would never do this. I would never put up with somebody like me or I would never work for somebody like her. I was like coach, you’re crazy. We used to laugh about it all the time and she was like you’ll see one day, you’ll see,” Love said.
Love had planned to work in the tech industry. Instead, she has spent 15 years in coaching.
“She pretty much paved the way for me. There’s no way I’d be sitting here if it wasn’t for her,” Love said.
High expectations at Alabama
Love returns to Tuscaloosa after previously serving as an assistant at Alabama. She was introduced as head coach in April, and was brought to tears when she mentioned Lee-McNelis during that introduction.
Her goals for the program are clear.
“I’m going to have a passion about it. I want to bring a Final Four to the University of Alabama and make Tuscaloosa proud,” Love said.
This year’s roster includes Spring Garden’s Ace Austin, back for her sophomore season.
Love said she wants her players to know that difficult times are part of the process.
“I can say for them, I’ve been there. I’ve done it. Just learn how to figure out and fight through hard things. You gotta do something hard and fight through it and I promise you it’s rewarding at the end of it,” Love said.
Love said she also wants to be a source of support for her players off the court, the same way Lee-McNelis was for her.
“I know we always get caught up in the money part of it, but I got a group of girls that doesn’t care about that. They want to care about making the fans happy and giving them something good to watch,” Love said.
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Alabama football fans are invited to a preseason pep rally Aug. 4 at the Tuscaloosa River Market.
The pep rally is part of the annual fall kickoff event hosted by the Tuscaloosa County chapter of the University of Alabama National Alumni Association.
The family friendly event will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the River Market, 1900 Jack Warner Parkway. Tickets, which include a barbecue dinner, cost $30 for adults and $15 for children ages 8 to 12. Children 7 years old and younger will be admitted for free.
The pep rally will feature live entertainment, a silent auction and a range of family-friendly activities. There will also be a cash bar with wine and beer.
Tickets can be purchased on the chapter’s website, tuscaloosacountyuaalumni.com. Membership in the local alumni chapter is not required for attendance.
University of Alabama President Peter Mohler and UA baseball coach Rob Vaughn will be part of the festivities.
Mohler began his duties as UA president on July 21, 2025.
Before being named UA president, Mohler spent nearly 15 years at Ohio State University, where he held senior leadership roles overseeing research, innovation and economic development. He also served as OSU’s acting president, providing leadership during a pivotal period for one of the nation’s largest public universities.
Mohler earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Wake Forest University and a PhD in cell and molecular physiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Duke University Medical Center before joining the faculty at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Vaughn has been UA’s head baseball coach for three years, leading the Crimson Tide to the College Baseball World Series in 2026.
The Humble, Texas, native served as head baseball coach at Maryland for five seasons before coming to Tuscaloosa.
Vaughn played collegiate baseball at Kansas State, where his position was catcher.
Alabama begins the 2026 football season on Sept. 5 with a home game against the East Carolina Pirates. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Other Alabama home games include Florida State on Sept. 19, South Carolina on Sept. 26, Georgia on Oct. 10, Texas A&M on Oct. 24, Chattanooga on Nov. 21 and Auburn on Nov. 28.
Reach Ken Roberts at ken.roberts@tuscaloosanews.com. To support his work, please subscribe to The Tuscaloosa News.
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