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The Alabama Legislature convened for its annual Regular Session on Tuesday, February 4. As the annual Session is limited by law to 30 session days within a 105 calendar day period, the Session must conclude by May 19, 2025. The Legislature generally meets Tuesday through Thursday of each week. Both Houses convened in Session for Days 1, 2 and 3 of the Session. The Legislature will next convene for Day 4 on Tuesday, February 11 with the House convening at 1 p.m. and the Senate convening at 2 p.m.
374 bills, including the pre-filed, have been introduced to date.
DURING THE WEEK
Governor Kay Ivey gave her annual State of the State address Tuesday evening announcing her “Public Safety” agenda. She endorsed legislation aimed at increasing penalties for violent crimes, banning Glock switches, civil liability and criminal prosecution protections for law enforcement, expanding the denial of bail for a wider range of crime, and enhancing supervision of juveniles at a high risk or criminal recidivism.
The Alabama Republican Caucus announced their “Alabama Values” agenda for the legislative session including promoting policies that discourage illegal immigrants, banning taxpayer money from funding DEI programs, banning red flag laws, border protection, honest elections, public safety, and emphasis on the military and veterans, and public education.
The Alabama Democratic Caucus announced their “Forward for Freedom” agenda, vowing to “push back on extremism.” They plan to focus on repealing a law that allows concealed carry of handguns without a permit, passing a law against Glock switches which convert semiautomatic guns to automatic guns, repealing, at least in part, Alabama’s abortion ban, decriminalizing recreational marijuana, and holding parents responsible if a child takes a gun to school.
The Senate unanimously elected Senator Garland Gudger as the new Senate President Pro-Tempore to replace former Senator Greg Reed. Senator Reed resigned in November to become the Senior Advisor for Workforce Transformation, and then Commissioner of the newly created Department of WorkforceDevelopment.
Legislative Budget Hearings were held throughout the day Wednesday and Thursday. Kirk Fulford, Legislative Fiscal Officer, and Bill Poole, Finance Director detailed Alabama’s financial condition and discussed the legislative budget proposals for Fiscal Year 2026 which begins October 1, 2025. Additionally, various state agencies gave presentations to the Budget Committees.
NOTABLE INTRODUCTIONS
HOUSE
HB1 by Rep. Brown: To assess a fee on certain seafood dealer licensees to be deposited into the Imported Seafood Safety Fund; to create the Imported Seafood Safety Fund to be used by the Alabama Department of Public Health to inspect imported seafood products for substances that are harmful to humans (House Ports, Waterways and Intermodal Transit Committee).
HB4 by Rep. Mooney: To further provide for the definition of “sexual conduct;” to provide that criminal obscenity laws do not apply to college or university libraries or their employees or agents, but do apply to public libraries, public school libraries, and their employees or agents in certain circumstances (House Judiciary Committee).
HB6 by Rep. Pettus: To prohibit political parties from disqualifying an individual from running for office based solely on receipt of contributions from a particular person or political action committee (House Constitution, Campaigns and Elections Committee).
HB7 by Rep. Yarbrough: To allow state and local law enforcement agencies to enter into memorandums of understanding and agreements with federal agencies to enforce federal immigration laws (House Judiciary Committee).
HB8 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 of tobacco, tobacco products, electronic nicotine delivery systems, e-liquids, and alternative nicotine products through a vending machine; to require an annual permit fee for the distribution of those products (House Judiciary Committee).
HB10 by Rep. Givan: To provide that during an ongoing active law enforcement investigation or prosecution, the disclosure of recordings made by a body-worn camera or dashboard camera may not be delayed unless the disclosure would substantially interfere with the investigation or prosecution; to require the agency to periodically reassess the withholding and notify the requestor of the status of the disclosure, including the specific basis for the withholding (House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee).
HB12 by Rep. Givan: To prohibit an individual from possessing a bump stock; to provide for criminal penalties (House Judiciary Committee).
HB13 by Rep. Givan: To prohibit the sale or transfer of an assault weapon to any person under 18 years of age; to prohibit any person under 18 years of age from possessing an assault weapon (House Judiciary Committee).
HB14 by Rep. Ingram: To authorize the Attorney General or the Governor to appoint an interim police chief of certain municipal police departments (House County and Municipal Government Committee).
HB16 by Rep. Bolton: To make it a crime to give a false date of birth to a law enforcement officer in the course of the officer’s official duties (House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee).
HB17 by Rep. Bolton: To create the Alabama Squat Truck Law; to prohibit the alteration of a motor vehicle in such a manner that the height of the front fender is raised four or more inches greater that the height of the accompanying rear fender (House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee).
HB23 by Rep. Hassell: To require a person to have a permit to legally carry an assault weapon in a vehicle or on his or her person; to require a person to have a permit to purchase or otherwise acquire an assault weapon (House Judiciary Committee).
HB26 by Rep. Ensler: To prohibit persons from possessing a pistol with a part or combination of parts designed or intended to convert a pistol into a machine gun install on or attached to the pistol (House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee).
HB30 by Rep. Wood: To require the judge of probate of each county to conduct a post-election audit after every county and statewide general election to determine the accuracy of the originally reported results of the election (House Ways and Means General Fund Committee).
HB31 by Rep. Clarke: To allow a voter who is disabled, blind, or unable to read or write to designate an individual to deliver the voter’s application for an absentee ballot, and to deliver the absentee ballot to the absentee election manager (House Constitution, Campaigns and Elections Committee).
HB34 by Rep. Bolton: To add giving a false date of birth to a law enforcement officer to the existing crime of giving a false name or address to a law enforcement officer, and to provide that a violation would be subject to the existing criminal penalties (House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee).
HB36 by Rep. England: To levy an additional simplified sellers use tax and provide for the distribution of the proceeds from the additional tax (House Ways and Means General Fund Committee).
HB41 by Rep. Hammett: To further provide for certain criminal offenses related to gambling; to increase penalties, provide for forfeiture of certain gambling equipment and proceeds, and for the revocation of certain licenses and permits issued by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (House Economic Development and Tourism Committee).
HB47 by Rep. Hill: A proposed Constitutional Amendment to provide that the Legislature, by general law, may authorize, license, tax and provide for the operation of traditional paper raffles and paper bingo conducted for noncommercial charitable purposes (House Economic Development and Tourism Committee).
HB51 by Rep. Givan: To prohibit possession of bump stocks in Class 1 municipalities (Birmingham) (House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee).
HB58 by Rep. England: To establish a criminal penalty for failure to inform a law enforcement officer of one’s possession of a concealed pistol or firearm under certain circumstances (House Judiciary Committee).
HB59 by Rep. Jackson: To require each county to provide at least one early voting center to be open during the week immediately proceeding election day (House Constitution, Campaigns and Elections Committee).
HB64 by Rep. Tillman: To add Election Day as a state holiday (House State Government Committee).
HB65 by Rep. Sellers: To require the State Board of Education to adopt a model policy restricting the use of cell phones in public K-12 schools, and to require each local board of education to adopt a policy based on that model (House Education Policy Committee).
HB69 by Rep. Givan: To provide prohibitions on the unlawful possession of a firearm or the unlawful transfer of a firearm in a Class 1 municipality (Birmingham)
HB71 by Rep. Clarke: To provide a process for early voting in certain elections, and to prescribe the number, location, and hours of operating of early voting centers in each county (House Constitution, Campaigns and Elections Committee).
HB73 by Rep. Sellers: To prohibit the possession of a trigger activator in Jefferson County, and to establish civil penalties for a violation (House Jefferson County Legislation Committee).
HB74 by Rep. Shirey: To exempt the gross proceeds from the sale of optical aids, including eyeglasses and contact lenses, from sales and use tax (House Ways and Means Education Committee).
HB77 by Rep. Clarke: To allow a voter who is disabled, blind, or unable to read or write to designate an individual to deliver the voter’s application for an absentee ballot, and to deliver the absentee ballot to the absentee election manager (House Constitution, Campaigns and Elections Committee).
HB81 by Rep. Warren: To require the State Board of Education to adopt a model policy restricting the use of cell phones in public K-12 schools, and to require each local board of education to adopt a policy based on that model (House Education Policy Committee).
HB91 by Rep. Clarke: To provide further powers to a county housing authority to manage housing projects and community facilities, including powers to participate in lawful forms of business organizations, make loans, create subsidiaries or other lawful business organizations, and enter into contracts (House State Government Committee).
HB92 by Rep. Brown: To create the Alabama Seagrass Restoration Task Force and to provide for its membership and duties (House Ports, Waterways and Intermodal Transit Committee).
HB101 by Rep. Shirey: To authorize the Sheriff of Mobile County to establish procedures for using a credit or debit card to make purchases (House Mobile County Legislation Committee).
HB103 by Rep. Drummond: To provide firearm storage requirements, and to provide a criminal penalty for a violation of these requirements that result in a minor possessing the firearm under certain circumstances (House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee).
HB104 by Rep. Drummond: To provide that a Class 2 municipality (Mobile) may declare certain abandoned or discarded debris a nuisance and require its abatement or removal at the expense of the owner of ther property (House Mobile County Legislation Committee).
HB107 by Rep. DuBose: To define man, woman, boy, girl, father, mother, male, female and sex for purposes of state law, to provide policy of the differences between sexes, to provide that state and local public entities may establish separate single-sex spaces or environments in certain circumstances, and to require the state or political subdivisions that collect vital statistics related to sex as male or female for certain purposes to identify each individual as either male or female at birth (House Judiciary Committee).
HB133 by Rep. Ingram: To authorize the Board of Pardons and Paroles or other state agency to provide electronic monitoring to children in certain circumstances (House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee).
HB145 by Rep. Clarke: To authorize the governing body of a Class 2 municipality (Mobile) to establish a delegation agreement with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management to enforce the Alabama Scrap Tire Environmental Quality Act (House Mobile County Legislation Committee).
HB150 by Rep. Ensler: To prohibit the transfer of a deadly weapon or ammunition to an intoxicated individual (House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee).
HB152 by Rep. Rafferty: To provide for a state sales and use tax exemption for purchases of certain baby supplies, bay formula, maternity clothing, and menstrual hygiene products, and to allow local governments to adopt exemptions (House Ways and Means Education Committee).
HB155 by Rep. Hall: To specify that the State of Alabama shall observe as holidays all days designated as a holiday by the federal government (House State Government Committee).
HB158 by Rep. Clouse: To provide for an annualized benefit increase procedure for the funding of future benefit increases to state and education retirees of the Employees’ Retirement System and the Teachers’ Retirement System in a manner that does not increase the unfunded liability of either system (House Fiscal Responsibility Committee).
HB166 by Rep. Hulsey: To prohibit the use, operation, and possession of wireless communication devices on certain public school properties, to require local boards of education to adopt an Internet safety policy, and to require students to complete a social media safety course prior to entering the eighth grade (House Education Policy Committee).
HB169 by Rep. Garrett: Education Trust Fund Budget (House Ways and Means Education Committee).
HB170 by Rep. Garrett: Supplemental Appropriations from the Education Trust Fund totaling $524,276,588 (House Ways and Means Education Committee).
HB176 by Rep. Shirey: To exempt the gross proceeds from the sale of optical aids, including eyeglasses and contact lenses, from sales and use tax (House Ways and Means Education Committee).
HB178 by Rep. Gidley: To require each local board of education and public institution of higher education to display the Ten Commandments and a context statement in schools (House Education Policy Committee).
HB179 by Rep. Gidley: To allow a public K-12 school or public charter school to accept a campus chaplain who meets certain requirements as a volunteer, to prohibit certain individuals from volunteering as a campus chaplain, and to allow each local board of education and the governing body of each public charter school to vote on whether to allow the volunteer services of a campus chaplain (House Education Policy Committee).
HB186 by Rep. Reynolds: General Fund Budget (House Ways and Means General Fund Committee).
HB187 by Rep. Hill: To allow funds allocated to the Sheriff’s Office to be expended to support the function of his or her office (House Ways and Means General Fund Committee).
HB188 by Rep. Treadaway: To establish a program to grant tuition money to dependents of law enforcement officers for use in participating public or private institutions of higher education in the State (House Ways and Means Education Committee).
HB191 by Rep. Baker: To establish conditions for exemption of county or municipal sales and use tax (House County and Municipal Government Committee).
HB196 by Rep. Wilcox: To further provide for the management of county juvenile detention facilities (House County and Municipal Government Committee).
HB198 by Rep. Faulkner: To establish a shark alert system for Baldwin and Mobile Counties, to provide for the development, implementation, and operation of the alert system by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and to set minimum conditions and requirements for a shark alert system (House Ways and Means General Fund Committee).
HB199 by Rep. Hendrix: To authorize the Board of Pardons and Paroles or other state agency to provide electronic monitoring to children released from custody in certain circumstances (House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee).
HB202 by Rep. Reynolds: To establish immunity for law enforcement officers from civil liability and criminal prosecution, and to provide exceptions (House Judiciary Committee).
HB206 by Rep. M. Moore: To prohibit the possession, sale or transfer of an assault weapon subject to certain exceptions, and to require a person who possesses an assault weapon to take specified actions (House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee).
HB209 by Rep. DuBose: To provide an exemption from jury service for nursing mothers (House Judiciary Committee).
HB212 by Rep. Kirkland: To require persons engaging in the business of cutting or uprooting aquatic plants in public waters to use certain methods to remove this plant matter (House Agriculture and Forestry Committee).
HB231 by Rep. Ingram: A proposed Constitutional Amendment to require local boards of education to adopt policies requiring each public K-12 school to recite The Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. flag and a prayer consistent with Judeo-Christian values at the commencement of each school day, to require the State Superintendent to withhold state funding allocated to certain offending local board of education, and to authorize the Legislature to further reduce funding upon continued violations (House State Government Committee).
HB235 by Rep. Faulkner: To require social media platforms to verify the age of new users and to prohibit individuals under 16 years of age from creating a new account (House Children and Senior Advocacy Committee).
SENATE
SB2 by Sen. Gudger: 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 of tobacco, tobacco products, electronic nicotine delivery systems, e-liquids, and alternative nicotine products through a vending machine; to require an annual permit fee for the distribution of those products (Senate Children and Youth Health Committee).
SB3 by Sen. Barfoot: To authorize the Attorney General or the Governor to appoint an interim police chief of certain municipal police departments (Senate Judiciary Committee).
SB5 by Sen. Elliott: To further provide for the composition of the Board of Trustees of the Department of Archives and History and to further provide for the filling vacancies on the board (Senate County and Municipal Government Committee).
SB10 by Sen. Allen: To rename the Alabama Clean Indoor Air Act to the Vivian Davis Figures Clean Indoor Air Act and to prohibit the smoking of electronic nicotine delivery systems in the same manner as the smoking of tobacco products is prohibited (Senate Healthcare Committee).
SB12 by Sen. Elliott: To prohibit a state or local agency from conditioning the issuance of a license or permit on the person first obtaining a difference license or permit from another state or local agency (Senate County and Municipal Government Committee).
SB13 by Sen. Allen: A proposed Constitutional Amendment to require local boards of education to adopt policies requiring each K-12 public school to broadcast or sanction the performance of the first stanza of The Star Spangled Banner at least once per week during school hours (Senate Education Policy Committee).
SB16 by Sen. Coleman: To prohibit the use of certain techniques by law enforcement officers and to require law enforcement agencies to adopt certain policies and procedures (Senate Judiciary Committee).
SB20 by Sen. Coleman: To provide that it is unlawful for a law enforcement officer to use a taser on an individual who is restrained (Senate Judiciary Committee).
SB24 by Sen. Coleman: To further provide for the release of certain law enforcement recordings and to provide for an appeal process (Senate Judiciary Committee).
SB29 by Sen. Elliott: To require state and local governmental bodies in certain circumstances to approve or deny licenses and permits within a proscribed time frame and if a government body fails to do so, deem the license or permit approved (Senate County and Municipal Government Committee).
SB30 by Sen. Smitherman: To establish firearm storage requirements and to establish criminal penalties for violations (Senate Judiciary Committee).
SB31 by Sen. Smitherman: To prohibit the knowing possession of a machine gun, the frame or receiver of such a weapon, a part or parts intended to convert a firearm into a machine gun, and parts from which a machine gun may be assembled (Senate Judiciary Committee).
SB32 by Sen. Smitherman: To create the definition of machinegun, and to provide for mandatory enhanced sentences for a person who causes the death of another by means of a machinegun or causes an injury by means of a machinegun (Senate Judiciary Committee).
SB33 by Sen. Smitherman: To require couples seeking to enter into a marriage to complete a premarital conflict resolution class before the marriage may be recorded (Senate Judiciary Committee).
SB34 by Sen. Smitherman: To require instruction in violence prevention, conflict resolution, and mediation before graduation from high school (Senate Education Policy Committee).
SB36 by Sen. Kitchens: To provide further for who is subject to state competitive bid laws, to provide further for electronic bid submissions, to provide further for the procedures for protesting certain competitive bid contracts, and to revise requirements for disclosure statement forms (Senate County and Municipal Government Committee).
SB43 by Sen. Melson: To bar enforcement of contractual provisions between health insurers and health care providers and pharmacists which forbid or penalize disclosure of information to patients about the cost and availability or treatment or drugs (Senate Banking and Insurance Committee).
SB46 by Sen. Sessions: To authorize the governing body of a Class 2 municipality (Mobile) to establish a delegation agreement with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management to enforce the Alabama Scrap Tire Environmental Quality Act (Senate Mobile County Legislation Committee).
SB74 by Sen. Weaver: To require the State Board of Education to create a cyber safety education program, to provide parameters for the curriculum of the program and the training or instructors, and to require the state board to adopt rules and local boards of education to implement the program (Senate Education Policy Committee).
SB76 by Sen. Weaver: To provide an exemption from jury service for nursing mothers (Senate Judiciary Committee).
SB92 by Sen. Chesteen: To prohibit the use, operation, and possession of wireless communication devices on certain public school properties, to require local boards of education to adopt an Internet safety policy, and to require students to complete a social media safety course prior to entering the eighth grade (Senate Education Policy Committee).
SB107 by Sen. Sessions: To provide for the recalculation of the distribution of the proceeds to municipalities as a result of annexation, deannexation, or incorporation (Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee).
SB112 by Sen. Orr: Education Trust Fund Budget (Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee).
SB113 by Sen. Orr: Supplemental Appropriations from the Education Trust Fund totaling $524,276,588 (Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee).
SB116 by Sen. Barfoot: To prohibit persons from possessing a part or combination of parts designed or intended to convert a pistol into a machine gun (Senate Judiciary Committee).
SB117 by Sen. Barfoot: To authorize certain municipalities to enter into memorandums of understanding with sheriffs regarding traffic enforcement (Senate Judiciary Committee).
SB118 by Sen Barfoot: A proposed Constitutional Amendment to provide for additional offenses that would allow a judge to deny bail under certain circumstances (Senate Judiciary Committee).
SB119 by Sen. Barfoot: To further provide for the list of persons prohibited from possessing a firearm, and to increase the penalty for the offense of discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling, building or other designated space (Senate Judiciary Committee).
SB129 by Sen. Bell: To establish immunity for law enforcement officers from civil liability and criminal prosecution, and to provide exceptions to such immunities (Senate Judiciary Committee).
SB131 by Sen. Livingston: To provide for the standardization of certain building codes in the state, and to authorize certain coastal counties and municipalities to adopt supplemental coastal building codes (Senate County and Municipal Government Committee).
NOTABLE FLOOR ACTION THIS WEEK
HOUSE FLOOR
The House passed several Sunset bills aimed at continuing various state agencies including the Board of Podiatry, the Home Builders Licensure Board, the Board of Chiropractic Examiners, the Board of Physical Therapy, and the Board of Midwifery.
SENATE FLOOR
SB4 by Sen. Elliott: To authorize certain public entities to contract with a nonpublic K-12 school to provide school resource officers in certain circumstances, and to require public entities to charge the nonpublic school for the full cost of employing any school resource officer.
SB78 by Sen. Weaver: To prohibit the possession or use of certain inhalants and other chemical compounds, including butyl nitrite, nitrous oxide, or amyl nitrite, except under certain circumstances.
SB79 by Sen. Weaver: To define man, woman, boy, girl, father, mother, male, female and sex for purposes of state law, to provide policy of the differences between sexes, to provide that state and local public entities may establish separate single-sex spaces or environments in certain circumstances, and to require the state or political subdivisions that collect vital statistics related to sex as male or female for certain purposes to identify each individual as either male or female at birth (As substituted).
NOTABLE COMMITTEE ACTION THIS WEEK
HOUSE COMMITTEES
HB2 by Rep. Brown: To require written consent of a parent or legal guardian for any minor to receive a vaccination, with exceptions (House Judiciary Committee).
HB93 by Rep. Brown: To exempt all property used by the Alabama State Port Authority from the state personal property inventory and audit requirements (House State Government Committee).
SENATE COMMITTEES
SB6 by Sen. Elliott: To further provide for the appointment of county and municipal library boards and to provide reporting requirements (Senate County and Municipal Government Committee).
SB53 by Sen. Kitchens: To require an administrator of a state, county, or municipal jail, or his or her designee, to attempt to determine whether an individual arrested and detained in the jail is an illegal alien, and to establish the crimes of concealing an illegal alien and human smuggling (Senate County and Municipal Government Committee).
SB63 by Sen. Bell: To require law enforcement agencies to collect fingerprints and DNA from any illegal alien in the agency’s custody and submit the fingerprints and DNA for testing or cataloging (Senate County and Municipal Government Committee).
SB77 by Sen. Weaver: To require money transmission businesses to collect on outgoing international electronic wire transfers a fee and percentage, and provide that the fees collected be periodically deposited into the Sheriffs’ Immigration Enforcement and Detainer Fund (Senate County and Municipal Government Committee).
