Only two weeks into the 2021 Legislative Session, multiple pieces of bipartisan legislation relating to COVID-relief funds, economic incentives and legal protections from lawsuits related to the pandemic have passed through the Alabama Statehouse, addressing key agenda items for House and Senate leadership.
“I am proud to say that the legislature, as of today, has accomplished our goal for the people of Alabama to pass each of these critical, priority pieces of legislation in the first two weeks of the legislative session,” said Senate Pro Tem Greg Reed, R-Jasper, in a statement on the legislation Thursday. “Alabamians expect these kinds of results from their representatives in the legislature, and we have delivered. I appreciate my colleagues in the Senate and the House, as well as the governor’s support and leadership, as we delivered these results for the people of our state.”
The mentioned legislation includes Senate Bill 30, a bill meant to protect businesses, nonprofits, health care providers and others in Alabama from lawsuits related to the pandemic, and Senate Bill 98, which provides income tax exemptions for COVID-relief funds for Alabama residents, businesses and other entities who have received it.
Then, The Jobs Act and the Growing Alabama Act, two reauthorized economic incentive and funding bills, which passed to the governor’s desk at the two-week mark Thursday. Almost every bill passed unanimously, each receiving bipartisan support in both House and Senate.
“We are off to a considerable start here in the legislative session, and I am pleased with the work that has taken place not only among the Senate Republican caucus, but also across the aisle to deliver significant results for the people of Alabama,” said Senate Majority Leader Clay Scofield, R-Guntersville. “There is certainly much work left to be done, and I am confident we will continue to focus our efforts on accomplishing successful results for Alabamians.”
