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The Alabama Legislature met for days 16 and 17 in the sixth week of the 2024 Regular Session. 28 committee meetings were held throughout the week. The Legislature will be on a scheduled break next week but will return to begin its 18th legislative day (out of 30) on Tuesday, April 2, 2024 with the House convening at 1 p.m. and the Senate at 2 p.m.
DURING THE WEEK
Governor Ivey signed SB129 by Senator Will Barfoot that prohibits certain public entitiesfrom maintaining diversity, equity, and inclusion officers, from sponsoring diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, and the promotion, endorsement, and affirmation of certain divisive concepts in certain public settings, and requires public institutions of higher education to designate restrooms on the basis of biological sex (Act No. 2024-34).
The Governor also signed SB1 by Senator Garlan Gudger which prohibits any person from prefilling or accepting payment for assisting with an absentee ballot of a voter in certain circumstances and to provide for exceptions (Act No. 2024-33).
There was no action on HB151 and HB152 by Chris Blackshear that addresses gaming in Alabama. After the Senate removed casino gaming and sports betting from the House versions, leaving only a lottery and a state compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, the bills were sent back to the House where they remain in the House basket. The House versions would have allowed for casino gaming and sports betting in addition to the provisions relating to a lottery and state compact. The Senate also amended the Constitutional Amendment to call for the special election in September instead of the House version designating the November general election.
The Governor, Lt. Governor and Legislative Leaders held a media conference to announce seven legislative initiatives aimed at significantly increasing labor participation, among them a new child care and housing tax credit program, an initiative to allow cities and counties to offer new economic incentives, and restructuring and consolidation of the state’s labor department. These are a result of an initiative to identify barriers to employment for Alabamians, with the top impediments being child care costs, transportation, and housing.
NOTABLE FLOOR ACTION THIS WEEK
HOUSE FLOOR
HB65 by Rep. Drummond: To revise the definition of “electronic nicotine delivery system” to include battery powered devices that deliver substances other than tobacco through the inhalation of vapor, to prohibit the distribution through a vending machine, and to require a one-time application fee and an annual permit fee for the distribution of those products (As substituted and Amended).
HB172 by Rep. Chestnut: To provide that the distribution of materially deceptive media intended to influence an upcoming election is a crime, and authorize certain parties to seek permanent injunctive relief against a person who distributes materially deceptive media with the intent to influence an upcoming election (As amended).
HB230 by Rep. Wilcox: To remove the requirement that corporations authorized to transact business in the state provide an annual report to the Secretary of State (As amended).
HB233 by Rep. Sorrells: To require every off-road vehicle manufactured on or after January 1, 2026 to receive a certificate of title at the time of purchase, require dealers of off-road vehicles to obtain a master dealer license, and authorize the dealer to issue certificates of title for off-road vehicles.
HB236 by Rep. Rafferty: To exempt the purchase of certain baby supplies, baby formula, maternity clothing, and menstrual hygiene products for personal use from the state portion of sales and use tax, and to authorize counties and municipalities to adopt exemptions for these items (As amended).
HB275 by Rep. Almond: To further provide for the membership of voluntary indigent defense advisory boards, the board’s review process, and provide that indigent defense attorneys are compensated based on the level of the original criminal charge, and to revise the total compensation caps for indigent defense attorneys (As amended).
HB287 by Rep. Hassell: To establish a separate personnel merit system and a separate human resources department for Montgomery County and the City of Montgomery, provide for separate personnel appeals boards for each separate personnel merit system, and to provide for the transfer of existing employees to the appropriate system (As amended).
HB288 by Rep. Hassell: To provide that certain municipal employees in municipalities in Montgomery County with a population of 5,000 or more are members of the exempt service of the municipality.
HB309 by Rep. Shaver: To provide certain state employees with eight weeks of paid parental leave following the birth or adoption of a child (As substituted).
SENATE FLOOR
SB56 by Sen. Orr: To terminate the right to state retirement benefits for teachers and school employees convicted of certain sex offenses involving a student or minor (As substituted).
SB65 by Sen. Kitchens: To increase statute of limitations on insurance fraud from 2 to 7 years after the fraud was detected.
SB115 by Sen. Givhan: To provide for the continuance of the State Licensing Board for General Contractors until October 1, 2027.
SB122 by Sen. Kelley: To provide for the continuance of the Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors until October 1, 2026, to prohibit the board from issuing new provisional electrical contractors licenses, and to permit the renewal of existing electrical contractors licenses.
SB146 by Sen. Coleman-Madison: To provide for the continuance of the Board of Exeminers of Assisted Living Adminstrators until October 1, 2026.
SB161 by Sen. Beasley: To authorize sheriffs to conduct fundraising events within their respective counties, and to provide for the proceeds of a fundraising event to support the operations of their respective offices.
NOTABLE COMMITTEE ACTION THIS WEEK
HOUSE COMMITTEES
HB130 by Rep. Butler: To prohibit classroom instruction related to gender identity or sexual orientation in public K-12 schools, and to prohibit the display of certain flags and insignia in public K-12 schools (Amended in House Education Policy Committee).
HB158 by Rep. Colvin: To prohibit governmental entities and the State Health Officer from imposing any face mask mandates to prevent the spread of COVID-19 or any variant of COVID-19 (Amended in House Health Committee).
HB165 by Rep. Brown: To require written consent of a parent or legal guardian for any minor to receive a vaccination (Amended in House Judiciary Committee).
HB195 by Rep. DuBose: To require that any sex education or human reproductive curriculum or program in a public K-12 school exclusively teach sexual risk avoidance and encourage the avoidance of any nonmarital sexual activity, prohibit any sex education or human reproductive curriculum or program from supporting, demonstrating, or providing a referral to or information about how to acquire an abortion, from demonstrating the use of or providing distribution information regarding contraceptives, and from using graphic materials that are sexually explicit, normalize teenage sexual activity, or promote or encourage nonmarital sexual activity, and would provide each parent or guardian with the ability to opt his or her child out of the curriculum or program (Amended in House Education Policy Committee).
HB270 by Rep. Sells: To provide that an owner who is unable to redeem his or her property or the tax lien certificate would have an opportunity to receive the difference between the amount owed to the government and the value of their property as reflected by the property’s sale price (Amended in House State Government Committee).
HB303 by Rep. Shirey: A proposed Constitutional Amendment to remove any real property owned by the University of Mobile in the corporate limits of any municipality from the corporate limts of the municipality (Public Hearing but no vote in House County and Municipal Government Committee).
SB31 by Sen. Waggoner: To define the purpose of the Distressed Institutions of Higher Education Revolving Loan Program, change the administrator of the program to the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, more specifically define eligible institutions to which loans shall be made, and establish certain terms and conditions of loans to eligible institutions (Public Hearing, and amended and substituted in House Ways and Means Education Committee).
SB62 by Sen. Orr: To provide for a state sales and use tax exemption for purchases of certain baby supplies, baby formula, maternity clothing, and menstrual hygiene products, and to allow local governments to adopt exemptions for these items (Amended in House Ways and Means Education Committee).
SENATE COMMITTEES
HB66 by Rep. Brown: To require food service establishments to notify consumers of the country of origin of seafood products, use the correct common name of seafood products, and notify consumers as to whether fish or shrimp are farm-raised or wild (Amended in Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee).
HB87 by Rep. Brown; To authorize an airport authority to form any necessary legal business entity or venture relating to airport operations and conduct any activities required for the operation of the authority (Amended in Senate Transportation and Energy Committee).
HB101 by Rep. Clarke: To include additional items that are considered election expenses which must be reimbursed to counties by the state (Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee).
HB126 by Rep. Hulsey: To require emergency medical services personnel to undergo annual training on interacting with individuals with sensory needs or invisible disabilities (Senate Veterans and Military Affairs Committee).
HB156 by Rep. Robertson: To exempt a candidate running for a municipal office from filing campaign finance reports unless and until the candidate receives contributions or makes expenditures greater than $1,000 in the aggregate (Senate County and Municipal Government Committee).
HB196 by Rep. Ingram: To authorize the Land Commissioner to contract with an online auction company to sell tax-delinquent property in the state’s inventory which has passed the three-year administrative redemption period (Senate State Governmental Affairs Committee).
HB226 by Rep. Almond: To further provide for the procedures for an aggrieved party to file an appeal of the final decision of a municipal zoning board of adjustment in the circuit court, require a notice of appeal to be filed within 15 days after the final decision to the board and for an appeal to circuit court to be filed within 30 days after the final decision of the board, and provide for the decision of the board to remain in effect during an appeal, unless the circuit court grants a stay (Senate County and Municipal Government Committee).
HB253 by Rep. Brown: To provide that the Alabama State Port Authority is a body corporate with the ability to employ non-merit system employees (Senate County and Municipal Government Committee).
SB21 by Sen. Givhan: To provide a cap in increases on Class IV property tax assessments under certain conditions (Public Hearing but no vote in Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee).
SB110 by Sen. Sessions To limit the assessed value of certain real property for ad valorem tax purposes, with exceptions (Public Hearing but no vote in Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee).
SB128 by Senator Melson To abolish the State Board of Health and confer all duties and authorities to the State Committee of Public Health (Senate Healthcare Committee).
SB150 by Sen. Gudger: To provide that an accommodations intermediary shall collect the tax imposed on the charge for rooms, lodgings or accommodations, including the charge for use or rental of personal property and services furnished in a room (Substituted in Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee).
SB154 by Sen. Albritton: To authorize the county commission of a Category 2 or Category 3 county to increase the salary of the sheriff effective beginning the next term of office under certain conditions (Amended in Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee).
SB191 by Sen. Givhan: To authorize the board to own its warehouses used for holding and distributing alcoholic beverages (Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee).
SB212 by Sen. Williams: A proposed Constitutional Amendment to remove any real property owned by the University of Mobile in the corporate limits of any municipality from the corporate limits of the municipality (Public Hearing but no vote in Senate County and Municipal Government Committee).
SB220 by Sen. Roberts: To prohibit any state or local awarding authority from awarding a contract to an entity organized under the laws of the People’s Republic of China or that is owned or operated by the People’s Republic of China and to provide criminal and civil penalties for a violation (Senate County and Municipal Government Committee).
SB224 by Sen. Elliott: To establish the Office of Occupational and Professional Licensing within the Department of Labor to serve as a centralized entity providing leadership, support, and oversight to certain professional or occupational licensing boards operating within the state (Public Hearing but no vote in Senate County and Municipal Government Committee).
SB234 by Sen. Givhan: To include county public building authorities that contract for the purchase or construction of certain plants, buildings, or other facilities designed for industrial development in the exemption for certain competitive bidding requirements (Senate County and Municipal Government Committee).
NOTABLE INTRODUCTIONS
HOUSE
HB321 by Rep. Bedsole: To extend the minimum validity period of motor vehicle license plate designs from 5 to 10 years (Assigned to House Boards, Agencies and Commissions Committee).
HB325 by Rep. Kiel: To require the Secretary of the Department of Commerce to appoint and establish the salary for the Director of the Alabama Film Office (Assigned to House Economic Development and Tourism).
HB326 by Rep. Kiel: To rename the Alabama Film Office as the Alabama Entertainment Office , allow music albums to be included as qualified productions, set the minimum expenditure threshold for music albums to qualify for incentives, and set aside incentives for music albums until July 1 of each year (Assigned to House Ways and Means Education Committee).
HB330 by Rep. Woods: To require the governing body of each public institution of higher education to provide annual reports to the Governor and certain legislators regarding funding received from foreign countries of concern and certain entities and individuals associated with those countries, and to define foreign countries of concern to mean the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Republic of Cuba, the Venezuelan regime of Nicolás Maduro, and the Syrian Arab Republic (Assigned to House Education Policy Committee).
HB336 by Rep. Brown: To allow an individual who holds a state office, or another county or municipal office, to simultaneously serve as a director of a water, sewer, or fire protection authority as long as the individual is not compensated for serving as a director (Assigned to House Boards, Agencies and Commissions Committee).
HB337 by Rep. Lomax: To include county public building authorities that contract for the purchase or construction of certain plants, buildings, or other facilities designed for industrial development in the exemption for certain competitive bidding requirements (Assigned to House Economic Development and Tourism Committee).
HB344 by Rep. Garrett: To rename the Alabama Department of Labor to the Alabama Department of Workforce, to change the title of the head of the department from Secretary of Labor to Secretary of Workforce, to further provide for the duties and responsibilities of the secretary, to transfer certain state and federal workforce programs, staff, and assets from the Department of Commerce to the department, to establish seven regional workforce boards, add responsibilities to the new Department, and further provide for the responsibilities of the Department of Commerce and the Alabama IndustrialDevelopment and Training Institute (Assigned to House Economic Development and Tourism Committee).
HB346 by Rep. Almond: To establish the Alabama Workforce Housing Tax Credit Act to authorize and provide a tax credit for qualified taxpayers owning an interest in a qualified workforce housing project located in the State of Alabama (Assigned to House Ways and Means Education Committee).
HB349 by Rep. Lomax: To authorize counties and municipalities to authorize the incorporation of an innovation district within the county or municipality as a public corporation for the purpose of undertaking activities or acquiring property by the district, and using public revenues for the establishment, benefit, or support of qualified enterprises, as designated by the Department of Commerce, through public revenues (Assigned to House Economic Development and Tourism Committee).
HB358 by Rep. Daniels: To create the employer tax credit, childcare facility tax credit, and nonprofit childcare provider tax credit to incentivize employers to fund childcare for their employees and to enable childcare providers to offer more readily available, affordable, high-quality childcare (Assigned to House Ways and Means Education Committee).
HB359 by Rep. Bedsole: To provide for the commitment of respondents who meet the criteria for involuntary commitment to the custody of the Alabama Department of Mental Health to include individuals suffering from a substance use disorder that occurs secondarily to a primary diagnosis of one or more mental illnesses (Assigned to House Judiciary Committee).
HB365 by Rep. Hill: To require mayors and members of municipal governing bodies elected on or after January 1, 2025 to participate in and complete a training course, provide for the creation of a training course, and provide for expenses incurred while participating in the training course (Assigned to House County and Municipal Government Committee).
HB368 by Rep. Rafferty: A proposed Constitutional Amendment to allow the Legislature to authorize the state and political subdivisions of the state, without an election, to provide for use of public funds, revenues, property, and services to, or for the benefit of, innovation districts, and to allow the Legislature to authorize innovation districts to provide any public funds, revenues, or property of or under the control of innovation districts to, or for the benefit of, any public or private person or entity (Assigned to House Economic Development and Tourism Committee).
HB373 by Rep. Lawrence: To establish the Alabama Workforce Pathways Act which would provide different pathways towards earning a high school diploma based on the further workforce or continuing education plans of the student, provide, subject to funding, for the upgrade or additional construction of career and technical education centers throughout the state, and provide, subject to funding, for the Alabama Short-Term Credential Program to provide additional scholarships for the training of individuals through the Alabama Community College System (Assigned to House Education Policy Committee).
HB381 by Rep. Ingram: To provide a tax credit for employers in an amount corresponding to costs incurred for childcare provided to children of employees, and provide a tax credit for owners of childcare facilities in an amount corresponding to the number of children attending and the quality of the facility as determined by the Department of Human Resources (Assigned to House Ways and Means Committee).
SENATE
SB219 by Sen. Shelnutt: To create the Agriculture Exhibition Center Corporation to operate the Alabama Farm Center, to provide for the composition and operation of the board of directors, to permit certain counties and municipalities to sell property and appropriate public funds to the corporation, permit the corporation to allow the consumption of alcohol on the center’s premises, exempt the corporation and its property from municipal ordinances and rules, to exempt the corporation and its property from certain state, county and municipal taxes, and to provide that the Alabama Farm Center is an economic development organization for the purposes of the Growing Alabama Act (Assigned to Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee).
SB223 by Sen. Weaver: To set up a Rural Hospital Investment Program to function as an institutional conduit for financial support from the public for rural hospitals in the State of Alabama and, to incentivize donations to rural hospitals by creating a tax credit for individuals and entities to offset their state income tax liability (Assigned to Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee).
SB226 by Sen. Allen: To authorize motor vehicles that are equipped with an automated driving system, which is defined as hardware and software that performs the entire dynamic driving task on a sustained basis, to be operated on the public roads of this state under certain conditions (Assigned to Senate Transportation and Energy Committee).
SB231 by Sen. Orr: To condition an employer’s eligibility for economic development incentives upon the employer refraining from certain practices relating to employee representation by a labor organization (Assigned to Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee).
SB240 by Sen. Barfoot: To provide for the commitment of respondents who meet the criteria for involuntary commitment to the custody of the Alabama Department of Mental Health to include individuals suffering from a substance use disorder that occurs secondarily to a primary diagnosis of one or more mental illnesses (Assigned to Senate Judiciary Committee).
SB241 by Sen. Allen: To require the Secretary of the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency to create and publish a list of approved unmanned aircraft systems for this state, and prohibit any county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state from purchasing an unmanned aircraft system that is not an approved unmanned aircraft system (Assigned to Senate Transportation and Energy Committee).
SB242 by Sen. Singleton: To authorize counties and municipalities to authorize the incorporation of an innovation district within the county or municipality as a public corporation for the purpose of undertaking activities or acquiring property by the district, and using public revenues for the establishment, benefit, or support of qualified enterprises, as designated by the Department of Commerce, through public revenues (Assigned to Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Development Committee).
SB243 by Sen. Roberts: A proposed Constitutional Amendment to allow the Legislature to authorize the state and political subdivisions of the state, without an election, to provide for use of public funds, revenues, property, and services to, or for the benefit of, innovation districts, and to allow the Legislature to authorize innovation districts to provide any public funds, revenues, or property of or under the control of innovation districts to, or for the benefit of, any public or private person or entity (Assigned to Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Development Committee).
SB247 by Sen. Livingston: To rename the Alabama Department of Labor to the Alabama Department of Workforce, to change the title of the head of the department from Secretary of Labor to Secretary of Workforce, to further provide for the duties and responsibilities of the secretary, to transfer certain state and federal workforce programs, staff, and assets from the Department of Commerce to the department, to establish seven regional workforce boards, add responsibilities to the new Department, and further provide for the responsibilities of the Department of Commerce and the Alabama Industrial Development and Training Institute (Assigned to Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee).
SB250 by Sen. Elliott: To establish the Alabama Workforce Housing Tax Credit Act to authorize and provide a tax credit for qualified taxpayers owning an interest in a qualified workforce housing project located in the State of Alabama (Assigned to Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee).
SB252 by Sen. Reed: To establish the Alabama Workforce Housing Tax Credit Act to authorize and provide a tax credit for qualified taxpayers owning an interest in a qualified workforce housing project located in the State of Alabama (Assigned to Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee).
SB253 by Sen. Chesteen: To establish the Alabama Workforce Pathways Act which would provide different pathways towards earning a high school diploma based on the further workforce or continuing education plans of the student, provide, subject to funding, for the upgrade or additional construction of career and technical education centers throughout the state, and provide, subject to funding, for the Alabama Short-Term Credential Program to provide additional scholarships for the training of individuals through the Alabama Community College System (Assigned to Senate Education Policy Committee).
SB259 by Sen. Singleton: To define a new category of ready to drink mixed liquor beverages containing no more than eight percent alcohol by volume called “mixed spirit beverages, ” and would require all mixed spirit beverages, other than those distributed by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, to be distributed through a licensed wholesaler and sold to licensed retailers in Alabama for on-premises and off-premises consumption (Assigned to Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee).
ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
Senator Garlan Gudger introduced SB225, a companion bill to Representative Ron Bolton’s HB229, to designate Little Bluestem as the official state native grass of Alabama. If either of these bills is enacted Little Bluestem will join the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Official State Butterfly), the Monarch Butterfly (Official State Insect), and the American Black Bear (Official State Mammal) as an official symbol of the State of Alabama.
