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The Alabama Legislature met for Day 8, 9 and 10 of its 2023 Regular Session this past week. 37 committee meetings were held throughout the week.
DURING THE WEEK
The Governor’s four bill package of economic development bills (colloquially known as “The Game Plan”) moved forward with the House approving the four bill package. Two companion bills moved in the Senate and passed the body without a dissenting vote. The bills advancing were HB241 by Rep. Garrett, HB257 by Rep.Garrett, HB247 by Rep. Daniels, HB240 by Rep. Almond, SB151 by Sen. Gudger, and SB165 by Senator Orr (all described further herein).
The Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee approved the 16 Sunset bills continuing various state agencies and boards including the Alabama State Board of Occupational Therapy, the State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, the State Board for Registration ofArchitects, and the Board of Examiners on Admission to the State Bar.
The House and Senate held a joint session for a Military Appreciation Day honoring and celebrating Alabama’s veterans and current military. Higher Education Day was held during the week with visits to Montgomery from Alabama’s public colleges and universities board, staff and students.
NOTABLE FLOOR PASSAGE THIS WEEK
HOUSE FLOOR
HB51 by Rep. Ellis: To increase the threshold dollar amount for which competitive bidding is generally required for certain state and local public awarding=authorities, with exceptions.
HB29 by Rep. Treadaway: To prohibit certain motor vehicle speed contests, motor vehicle exhibitions of speed, and motor vehicle sideshows and to provide criminal penalties for a violation (as substituted and amended).
HB34 by Rep. Estes: To provide that it is unlawful to discharge a firearm on school property(as amended).
HB49 by Rep. Ingram: To create the Alabama Local Government Investment Pool Program within the office of the State Treasurer, to provide one or more investment pools in which state and local public entities may deposit monies for investment in the program, to be administered by the treasurer (as substituted and amended).
HB65 by Rep. Collins: To increase the minimum amount for contracts of city and county boards of education subject to competitive bid from $15,000 to $40,000 (as substituted).
HB240 by Rep. Almond: To require the Department of Commerce to publish certain information regarding economic development incentives awarded under the Alabama Jobs Act.
HB241 by Rep. Garrett: To extend the Alabama Jobs Act and the Growing Alabama Act sunset dates to July 31, 2028, to increase the annual cap on outstandingAlabama Jobs Act incentives by $25 million each year for five years up to $475 million, to increase the annual cap on funding approved pursuant to the Growing Alabama Act to $35 million, and to remove certain programs from the Growing Alabama Act for transfer to Innovate Alabama (as amended).
HB247 by Rep. Daniels: To change the name of the Alabama Innovation Corporation to Innovate Alabama, to reestablish the technology accelerator tax credit program and the under-represented company tax credit program a the Innovating Alabama tax credit program, and to exempt working groups, task forces, and subcommittees of the Alabama Innovation Corporation from the Alabama Open Meetings Act.
HB257 by Rep. Garrett: To authorize the State Industrial Development Authority to make site assessment grants and site development grants to certain companies, to provide for the criteria that must be met for grant approval, to limit the funding that may be received by any site under the grant program, and to provide for an annual appropriation to the State Industrial Development Authority (as amended).
SB1 by Sen. Weaver: To reduce the amount of correctional incentive time a prisoner receives and to provide for additional circumstances in which a prisoner may be required to forfeit his or her correctional incentive time.
SB104 by Sen. Elliott: To further provide for the right of action for injuries resulting from the illegal furnishing of alcoholic beverages.
SENATE FLOOR
SB17 by Sen. Butler: To provide that all references to the United States Armed Forces shall include the United States Space Force.
SB71 by Sen. Williams: To provide counties and cities with alternative virtual or electronic methods for the posting of certain public notices required by law.
SB151 by Sen. Gudger: To require the Department of Commerce to publish certain information regarding economic development incentives awarded under the Alabama Jobs Act (as amended).
SB165 by Sen. Orr: To authorize the State Industrial Development Authority to make site assessment grants and site development grants to certain companies, to provide for the criteria that must be met for grant approval, to limit the funding that may be received by any site under the grant program, and to provide for an annual appropriation to the State Industrial Development Authority (as amended).
NOTABLE INTRODUCTIONS THIS WEEK
HOUSE INTRODUCTIONS
HB276 by Rep. Bolton: To provide that the highest ranking deputy sheriff, not the county coroner, would become the acting sheriff in the event the office of the sheriff is vacant or the sheriff is otherwise unable to serve.
HB277 by Rep. Harrison: A proposed Constitutional Amendment to authorize the Legislature to call itself into a special session.
HB281 by Rep. Estes: To require a defendant convicted of a misdemeanor to pay housing and maintenance associated with his or her incarceration in a county or city jail.
HB291 by Rep. Givens: To provide that industrial access roads constructed by a public corporation and used for secured entry to an industrial facility shall not constitute a taking of public property.
HB293 by Rep. Brown: To expand tax incentives for business and enterprises who increase their cargo volume through Alabama public ports.
HB297 by Rep. Lipscomb: To require the State Health Officer to issue advisories concerning fish consumption and to require the Department of Environmental Management to test fish for pollutants and post signage at water bodies notifying of an active fish consumption advisory.
HB298 by Rep. Sells: To require certain manufacturers of Internet enabled devices to activate existing filters to restrict access to certain material that may be harmful to minors.
HB301 by Rep. Ingram: To establish a list of criminal offenses deemed felonies dangerous to human life and to provide enhanced criminal penalties for the possession, brandishing, or discharge of a firearm during the commission of a felony dangerous to human life.
HB304 by Rep. Rafferty: To further provide for alcoholic beverage sales by food and beverage trucks within established entertainment districts by extending the license to municipalities in all classes.
HB310 by Rep. Easterbrook: To authorize counties and municipalities to adopt procedures for the installation and activation of temporary-permanent electricity or temporary-permanent gas under certain conditions.
HB311 by Rep. Baker: To further provide for the circumstances under which the approval of a local government is needed by a solid waste management facility.
SENATE INTRODUCTIONS
SB192 by Sen. Albritton: To provide that industrial access roads constructed by a public corporation and used for secured entry to an industrial facility shall not constitute a taking of public property.
SB194 by Sen. Livingston: To define a new category of low-alcohol content liquor beverages called mixed spirit beverages, and to provide for the licensing and distribution of mixed spirit beverages.
SB200 by Sen. Williams: To exempt from sales tax the gross proceeds from the sale of materials to be used as fencing in agriculture livestock applications.
SB203 by Sen. Waggoner: To authorize any county, municipality, or governmental entity subject to a countywide civil service system to elect by a majority vote of the governing body to opt out of the countywide civil service system.
SB205 by Sen. Orr: To add additional entities, including tax increment districts, improvement districts and cooperative improvement districts, as government units that may receive loans or financial assistance from the Alabama Transportation Infrastructure Bank.
NOTABLE COMMITTEE ACTION THIS WEEK
HOUSE COMMITTEES
HB7 by Rep. Oliver: To prohibit certain public entities, including state agencies, local boards of education, and public institutions of higher education, from promoting or endorsing, or requiring affirmation of, certain divisive concepts relating to race, sex, or religion (House State Government).
HB45 by Rep. Gray: To require K-12 coaches to undergo training and follow all health and safety guidelines related to sudden cardiac arrest, and to require the training to be coordinated with existing training requirements related to CPR and automated external defibrillators (AEDs) (Substituted in House Children and Senior Advocacy Committee).
HB52 by Rep. Drummond: To require that at least one residential transition center established by the Board or Pardons and Paroles be a women’s facility (Amended in House Ways and Means General Fund Committee).
HB106 by Rep. Almond: To provide that a county, municipality, or political subdivision of a county or municipality may satisfy a notice requirement by publishing the notice on a website maintained by the state, county or municipal governing body (Amended in House County and Municipal Government Committee).
HB123 by Rep. Drummond: To provide a criminal penalty for a parent or legal guardian who fails to reasonably secure their firearm resulting in their minor unlawfully possessing the firearm on the premises of a public school (Amended in House Judiciary Committee).
HB191 by Rep. Treadaway: To identify gang members and enhance penalties for gang related criminal activities (Amended in House Judiciary Committee).
HB219 by Rep. Bedsole: To prohibit the sale, distribution, marketing, or possession of psychoactive cannabinoids found in hemp for certain age groups, and to levy a 5 percent tax on the gross proceeds of products containing psychoactive cannabinoids sold at retail (Amended in House Health Committee).
HB234 by Rep. R. Wood: To prohibit the possession and use of a trigger activator and provide criminal penalties for a violation, and to further provide for the duties of a law enforcement officer during an investigatory stop involving a firearm (House Judiciary Committee).
HB242 by Rep Crawford: To provide that no municipal governing body may adopt or continue in effect any ordinance, rule, resolution, or directive that prohibits th permitting of livestock or animals to run at large upon the premises of another or public lands but does not require the same mental state as state law (House Agriculture and Forestry Committee).
HB254 by Rep. Clouse: To require the proceeds from motor fuel taxes levied by a municipality or county be used for road and bridge construction and maintenance with certain exceptions (Public Hearing but no vote in House County and Municipal Government Committee).
HB259 by Rep. Wilcox: To limit an industrial or research enterprise tax abatement recipient to using the same method used by the county for calculating the fair market value of its property when appealing the county’s ad valorem tax assessment, and to prohibit the consideration of obsolescence in determining the fair market value of an industrial or research enterprise’s property, for the duration of any period that the enterprise receives a tax abatement (Carried over in House State Government Committee).
HB261 by Rep DuBose: To prohibit a biological male or female from participating on an athletic team or sport designated for the opposite gender at a public institution of higher learning (House Education Policy Committee).
HB274 by Rep. Ingram: To provide that a municipal or county governing body, or any agency thereof, may not directly or indirectly adopt or enforce any ordinance, rule, bylaw, order, or local building code provision that would require, in the construction of a residential structure, certain latent features including wiring, plumbing, gas tubing, or framing, which features would not be operational at the time of completion (Amended in House County and Municipal Government Committee).
SB40 by Sen. Elliott: To provide that a municipal or county governing body, or any agency thereof, may not directly or indirectly adopt or enforce any ordinance, rule, bylaw, order, or local building code provision that would require, in the construction of a residential structure, certain latent features including wiring, plumbing, gas tubing, or framing, which features would not be operational at the time of completion (House County and Municipal Government Committee).
SB33 by Sen. Livingston: To provide that a municipality may not set speed limits on county-maintained streets within its corporate limits (House Transportation, Utilities and Infrastructure Committee).
SB68 by Sen. Chambliss: To reopen the State Police Tier II Plan to any employee of the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) who is certified by the Alabama Peace Officers’ Standards and Training Committee and performs law enforcement duties (House Ways and Means General Fund Committee).
SB131 by Sen. Figures: To rename the Alabama Board of Funeral Service and the Alabama Board of Funeral Services, and to transfer the Preneed Funeral and Cemetery Act, and the regulation of preneed contracts from the Department of Insurance to the Alabama Board of Funeral Services (Amended in House Insurance Committee).
SB147 by Sen. Sessions: To provide that no municipal governing body may adopt or continue in effect any ordinance, rule, resolution, or directive that prohibits the permitting of livestock or animals to run at large upon the premises of another or public lands but does not require the same mental state as state law (House Agriculture and Forestry Committee).
SENATE COMMITTEES
SB24 by Sen. Albritton: To provide regulations for indemnification agreements in certain construction contracts (Public Hearing but no vote in Senate Judiciary Committee).
SB143 by Sen. Barfoot: To identify gang members and enhance penalties for gang related criminal activities (Senate Judiciary Committee).
SB154 by Sen. Barfoot: To provide that an individual’s driver license or driving privilege may be suspended for violating his or her written bond to appear or otherwise failing to appear for an initial court date or for failing to appear in court on two or more occasions when the court appearance is for a post adjudication compliance review of court ordered conditions (Amended in Senate Judiciary Committee).
SB165 by Sen. Orr: To authorize the State Industrial Development Authority to make site assessment grants and site development grants to certain companies, to provide for the criteria that must be met for grant approval, to limit the funding that may be received by any site under the grant program, and to provide for an annual appropriation to the State Industrial Development Authority (Amended in Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee).
SB180 by Sen. Smitherman: To require social studies and history instruction in public K-12 school to be fact-based, historically accurate, and inclusive (Senate Education Policy Committee).
