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The Alabama Legislature met for Days 14 and 15 of its 2023 Regular Session this past week. This marks the halfway point of the Session. 26 committee meetings were held throughout the week.
DURING THE WEEK
The Senate passed a joint resolution (SJR47), co-sponsored by each member of the Senate, commending Senator J.T. “Jabo” Waggoner on his 50th year of Legislative service to the citizens of the State of Alabama. Senator Waggoner was first elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 1966 where he served until 1983. After serving as the Governor’s legislative liaison from 1988 until 1990, he was elected to the Alabama Senate in 1990 and is in his 9th consecutive term. Senator Waggoner is currently Chair of the Senate Rules Committee, and has served as both Senate Minority Leader and Senate Majority Leader.
The Senate welcomed Anat Sultan-Dadon, Consul General of Israel to the Southeastern United States and Auburn Men’s Basketball Coach Bruce Pearl to speak in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the founding of Israel and reaffirming the bonds of friendship and cooperation between Alabama and Israel.
The Senate confirmed several appointments to state boards and commissions including confirming Adrian Johnson, Nichole Thompson, Ralph Malone, and William Matthews to the Judicial Inquiry Commission.
NOTABLE FLOOR ACTION THIS WEEK
HOUSE FLOOR
HB4 by Rep. Chestnut: To make it unlawful for certain individuals to require another individual to be implanted with a microchip.
HB23 by Rep. Brown: To permit volunteer fire departments and rescue squads to use restricted funds to buy kitchen equipment and food for the fire station, and authorize mileage reimbursement to members for travel to and from a call (as substituted).
HB82 by Rep. Pringle: To further provide for the crime of manslaughter for someone who knowingly furnishes a controlled substance which is a proximate cause of death (as amended).
HB124 by Rep. Reynolds: General Fund Budget, appropriating just over $3 billion to fund non education state government (as substituted).
HB125 by Rep. Reynolds: To make supplemental appropriations from the State General Fund to various agencies including to the Military Department for Huntsville Armory construction, to the Bureau of Pardons and Paroles for moving expenses, to the Department of Finance for elevator upgrades to the State Capitol, and to the Department of Forensic Sciences for equipment for the Huntsville Lab and the Dothan Lab (as substituted).
HB126 by Rep. South: To create the Medicaid Emergency Reserve Fund and to provide for the use of amounts deposited into the fund (as substituted).
HB153 by Rep. Treadaway: To make it a crime to place an electronic tracking devise on the property of another person without the consent of the owner (as amended).
HB154 by Rep. Bracy: To provide a cost-of-living increase for state employees for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2023.
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 (as amended).
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 (as amended).
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.
SB108 by Sen. Coleman-Madison: To increase the threshold dollar amount for which competitive bidding is generally required for certain state and local public awarding authorities.
SB33 by Sen. Livingston: To provide that a municipality may not set speed limits on county-maintained streets within its corporate limits.
SB117 by Sen. Waggoner: To authorize a licensed manufacturer or importer of alcoholic beverages to donate a limited amount of alcoholic beverages to a licensed nonprofit special event (as amended).
SENATE FLOOR
HB3 by Rep. Hollis: To prohibit smoking or vaping in a motor vehicle when a child under 14 years of age is present.
SB36 by Sen. Elliott: To increase the minimum amount for contracts of city and county boards of education subject to competitive bid from $15,000 to $25,000 (as amended).
SB103 by Sen. Orr: To require the State Ethics Commission to provide an alleged violator with certain exculpatory evidence (as amended).
SB150 by Sen. Givhan: To provide that once a judge of probate vacates a map or plat that is recorded in electronic form, he or she shall issue a certificate indicating that the map or plat has been vacated, and the certificate shall be made a part of the property records to which it pertains.
SB153 by Sen. Orr: To provide that a judge may order that an offender charged with a Class A or Class B violent offense be supervised by the Board of Pardons and Paroles as a condition of his or her bond.
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 (as amended).
SB166 by Sen. Givhan: To provide that Class 3 municipalities (Huntsville and Montgomery) may establish self-help business improvement districts.
SB174 by Sen. Carnley: To provide further for the compensation of retired law enforcement officers providing services as school resource officers for local boards of education.
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.
NOTABLE INTRODUCTIONS THIS WEEK
HOUSE INTRODUCTIONS
HB374 by Rep. M. Moore: To expand Medicaid and to provide for appropriations for adequate funding.
HB375 by Rep. Simpson: To exempt the purchase of gun safes and gun safety devices from sales and use tax.
HB378 by Rep. Brown: To provide potentially responsible parties with limitations of liability with respect to a brownfield site and to provide for the creation of brownfield redevelopment districts.
HB379 by Rep. Stadthagan: To prohibit Chinese citizens, the Chinese government, or Chinese entities from acquiring real property in the state.
HB385 by Rep. Ensler: To prohibit persons from possessing any part or combination of parts designed or intended to convert a firearm into a machine gun.
HB386 by Rep. Ensler: To prohibit persons from possessing or selling a firearm that does not have a serial number as required by federal law.
HB392 by Rep. Almond: To provide that a person prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal law is prohibited from possessing a firearm under state law and would provide criminal penalties for a violation.
HB394 by Rep. Mooney: A proposed Constitutional Amendment to limit a legislator to a maximum of five full terms of office.
HB396 by Rep. Mooney: To begin phasing-out the state sales and use tax on food on September 1, 2024, to establish the sales and use tax rate on food for purposes of county and municipal sales and use taxes, and to authorize a county and municipality to reduce or eliminate the sales and use tax rate on food.
HB398 by Rep. Mooney: To require photo identification to be submitted with the absentee ballot rather than the absentee ballot application, to prohibit the extension of hours beyond normal business hours during an election year, to require the reporting of certain information regarding absentee ballot requests to the Secretary of State and Attorney General, and to post a list of voters who have requested an absentee ballot each day.
HB400 by Rep. Givan: To prohibit the sale or delivery of an assault weapon to any person under 18 years of age, and to prohibit any person under 18 years of age from possessing an assault weapon.
HB401 by Rep. Mooney: To provide that the use of any premises to distribute material that is harmful to minors is a public nuisance, and to further provide for the definition of “sexual conduct.”
HB405 by Rep. DuBose: The “What is a Woman Act” to define the terms female, male, woman, girl, man, boy, mother, father, equal, and separate, and to provide that an individual born with a medically verifiable diagnosis of “disorder or difference in sex development” be provided legal protections and accommodations afforded under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
SENATE INTRODUCTIONS
SB240 by Sen. Singleton: To increase the amount of Historic Tax Rehabilitation Credits that may be provided in a tax year, to allow rehabilitation credits to be tied to the year in which the reservation is allocated, and to provide for additional rehabilitation credit allocations.
SB242 by Sen. Kelley: To remove the limit on the amount that a landlord may require a tenant to pay as a security deposit under a residential rental agreement.
SB247 by Sen. Barfoot: 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.
SB255 by Sen. Kelley: To provide for the licensing and registration of certain all-terrain and off road vehicles for use on certain public roads under certain conditions.
SB257 by Sen. Jones: To begin phasing-out the state sales and use tax on food on September 1, 2023, to require certain growth targets in the Education Trust Fund for future sales tax reductions on food, to establish the sales and use tax rate on food for purposes of county and municipal sales and use taxes, and to authorize a county and municipality to reduce or eliminate the sales and use tax rate on food.
SB261 by Sen. Roberts: To prohibit a governmental entity from entering into a public contract for goods or services with certain companies or businesses that engage in the economic boycott of businesses in certain sectors and industries, that fail to meet or commit to meet certain environmental standards, that fail to meet or commit to meet certain corporate governance criteria, or that fail to facilitate certain activities.
NOTABLE COMMITTEE ACTION THIS WEEK
HOUSE COMMITTEES
HB136 by Rep. Chestnut: To allow the Alabama Supreme Court to increase the mileage rate and expense allowance paid to jurors by order or rule (House Ways and Means General Fund Committee).
HB217 by Rep. Daniels: To exclude work performed in excess of 40 hours in any week from being included in the calculation of gross income for tax purposes beginning January 1, 2024 and ending December 31, 2026 (Amended in House Ways and Means Education Committee).
HB253 by Rep. Clarke: To increase the amount of Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits that may be provided in a tax year, to allow rehabilitation credits to be tied to the year in which the reservation is allocated, and to provide for additional rehabilitation credit allocations (Public hearing but no vote in House Ways and Means Education Committee).
HB287 by Rep. Stringer: To create the crime of doxing, intentionally electronically publishing personal identifying information of another individual (Substituted in House Judiciary Committee).
HB292 by Rep. Sells: To exempt certain aircraft from ad valorem taxation (amended in House Ways and Means General Fund Committee).
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 (House Commerce and Small Business Committee.
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 (House County and Municipal Government Committee).
HB306 by Rep. Lee: To provide for the regulation of licensed dentists performing teledentistry orthodontia services in the state by the Board of Dental Examiners, and to require patients to have in-person visits with a dentist before starting, and annually during teledentistry treatments (Public hearing and amended in House Health Committee).
HB318 by Rep. Whitt: To provide that Class 3 municipalities (Huntsville and Montgomery) may establish self-help business improvement districts (Amended in House Economic Development and Tourism Committee).
HB329 by Rep. Holk-Jones: To authorize individuals 18 to 20 years of age employed by a restaurant or hotel that is a restaurant or special retail licensee of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to serve alcoholic beverages under certain specified conditions (House Economic Development and Tourism Committee).
HB352 by Rep. Baker: To provide requirements pertaining to the operation and maintenance of amusement rides and water slides relating to inspections, liability insurance, and operator and patron conduct (Amended in House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee).
HB356 by Rep. Hulsey: To require the Alabama Peace Officers’ Standards and Training Commission to collaborate with a nonprofit company to provide annual training about interacting with individuals with sensory needs or invisible disabilities (Substituted in House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee).
HB358 by Rep. Shaver: To establish a new classification of a criminal offense as a boating violation, to reclassify various misdemeanor boating offenses as boating violations, and to establish that the penalty for a boating violation would be similar to a penalty for a traffic infraction (Amended in House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee).
SB66 by Sen. Melson: 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 (Substituted in House Health Committee).
SENATE COMMITTEES
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 (Senate Veterans and Military Affairs Committee).
HB55 by Rep. Givan: To require the Alabama Department of Public Health to adopt rules allowing for the parents of a nonviable birth occurring before the twentieth week of gestation to request a Certificate of Nonviable Birth (Senate Healthcare 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 (Amended in Senate Education Policy Committee).
SB158 by Sen. Elliott: To require the judge of probate to notify the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency when an individual is involuntarily committed to either inpatient or outpatient treatment, and to require the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency to enter the court order into the state firearms prohibited person database (Senate Judiciary Committee).
SB182 by Gudger: To revise the amount of alcoholic beverages that may be sold using curbside pick-up or takeout services in a 24-hour period to match the amounts that may be sold by a delivery service licensee (Amended in Senate Tourism Committee).
SB210 by Sen. Roberts: To provide for the regulation of licensed dentists performing teledentistry orthodontia services in the state by the Board of Dental Examiners, and to require patients to have in-person visits with a dentist before starting, and annually during teledentistry treatments (Public hearing but no vote in Senate Healthcare Committee).
SB214 by Sen. Weaver: To confirm that centralized motor vehicle registration is specifically prohibited and that motor vehicle registration shall remain at the county level with no centralized motor vehicle registration system provided by any state agency (Public hearing but no vote in Senate County and Municipal Government Committee).
SB215 by Sen. Hatcher: To authorize counties and municipalities to adopt procedures for the installation and activation of temporary-permanent electricity or temporary-permanent gas under certain conditions (Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee).
SB230 by Sen. Albritton: To provide requirements pertaining to the operation and maintenance of amusement rides and water slides relating to inspections, liability insurance, and operator and patron conduct (Amended in Senate Tourism Committee).
