House Committee Passes $9.9 Million Teacher Insurance Plan

An Alabama House committee has passed a bill that would provide all state-employed teachers liability insurance for free in an attempt to further hurt the Alabama Education Association:

A House committee this morning approved a bill that would require the state to buy liability insurance for teachers and school support personnel, something the employees' currently receive through membership in the Alabama Education Association.

The Legislative Fiscal Office estimated the cost to the state for providing the insurance at between $475,000 and $2.4 million -- if the insurance were provided by a commercial insurance company -- or $9.9 million -- if the policies were provided by the Department of Finance's Risk Management Division.