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The Alabama Legislature convened for Day 11 of its annual Regular Session on Tuesday, March 4 and convened in Session Wednesday and Thursday for Days 12 and 13. 32 committee meeting were held during the week. The Legislature will be on a scheduled break next week and will next convene for Day 14 on Tuesday, March 18 with the House convening at 1 p.m. and the Senate convening at 2 p.m.
652 bills have been introduced to date.
NOTABLE BILLS ENACTED
SB79, 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.
SB70, Sen. Jones: To create the Alabama Veterans Resource Center, provide for a board of directors to manage the center as a comprehensive, coordinated system of support for veterans and their families.
SB36, 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.
NOTABLE FLOOR ACTION THIS WEEK
HOUSE FLOOR
HB3 by Rep. Brown: To provide that a criminal defendant who is an illegal alien who is convicted of a felony offense where the victim was a minor must receive an enhanced sentence, and to provide that a criminal defendant who is an illegal alien who is convicted of a misdemeanor where the victim was a minor shall be sentenced to a Class C felony (as substituted).
HB202 by Rep. Reynolds: To expand immunity for law enforcement officers from civil liability and criminal prosecution, and to provide exceptions (as substituted).
HB209 by Rep. DuBose: To provide an exemption from jury service for nursing mothers (as substituted and amended).
HB265 by Rep. Lovvorn: To further provide for the crime of resisting arrest, and to provide for enhanced penalties in certain circumstances (as substituted).
HB302 by Rep. Robbins: To require labor brokers who recruit a certain number of foreign workers for employment in the State to register with the Department of Workforce, and to require labor brokers and nonprofit organizations to inform the Department if they directly sponsor a foreign worker or identify individuals or organizations they may be using to act as sponsors (as substituted).
HB315 by Rep. Lovvorn: To require the Department of Revenue to adjust the dollar value of “covered items” that are exempt from sales tax during certain weekends based on changes in the Consumer Price Index, and to increase the number of days prior to which a local government must pass a resolution or ordinance to adopt such exemptions for local sales tax.
SB64 by Sen. Livingston: 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.
SB67 by Sen. Jones: To authorize the Governor to appoint the Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Affairs to serve at the pleasure of the Governor, and to revise membership and powers of the board.
SB115 by Sen. Chambliss: To include additional activity that would constitute the crime of impersonating a peace officer.
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 (as substituted).
SENATE FLOOR
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.
SB91 by Sen. Kelley: To require a person seeking to construct a tall structure within a minimum distance of a military installation to receive approval from the local government before construction may begin, and authorize a local government to seek enjoinment of the construction of a tall structure if prior approval was not granted (as amended).
SB130 by Sen. Melson: To provide that refined gold and silver bullion, specie, or certain coins may be recognized as legal tender.
SB194 by Sen. Melson: To authorize an agriculture authority to terminate or move easements on authority owned property using the power of eminent domain in the same manner as the state (as amended).
SB199 by Sen. Figures: To provide for paid parental leave for eligible employees following the birth, stillbirth, or miscarriage of a child or the placement of a child for adoption (as amended).
NOTABLE COMMITTEE ACTION THIS WEEK
HOUSE COMMITTEES
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 (amended in House Ways and Means General Fund 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 Economic Development and Tourism Committee).
HB253 by Rep. Colvin: To exempt the gross receipts from the sale of certain aircraft and aircraft parts from state sales and use tax, to provide conditions regarding the application of rental or lease taxes to the rental or lease transactions of commercial aircraft, to authorize county or municipal governing bodies to adopt a local sales and use tax exemption by resolution or ordinance, and to provide for effective dates from September 1, 2025 to August 31, 2030 (amended in House Ways and Means Education Committee).
HB258 by Rep. Carns: To change the primary election in off-presidential years to the second Tuesday in May (House Constitution, Campaigns and Elections Committee).
HB319 by Rep. Collins: To create the Imagination Library of Alabama Program to provide free age-appropriate books to children through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (House Ways and Means Education Committee).
HB322 by Rep. Holk-Jones: To require the Alabama Department of Public Health to develop educational materials on postpartum depression for health care professionals and parents of newborns, and would further require doctors and other health care professionals to assess birth mothers for postpartum depression as part of postnatal or pediatric care (substituted in House Health Committee).
HB327 by Rep. Shaver: To provide for paid parental leave for eligible employees following the birth, stillbirth, or miscarriage of a child or the placement of a child for adoption (House Ways and Means Education Committee).
HB329 by Rep. Starnes: To require a person seeking to construct a tall structure within a minimum distance of a military installation to receive approval from the local government before construction may begin, and authorize a local government to seek enjoinment of the construction of a tall structure if prior approval was not granted (amended in House County and Municipal Government Committee).
HB333 by Rep. Faulkner: To allow two or more municipalities to establish a regional law enforcement training facility authority to maintain and operate a regional law enforcement training facility, and to provide for the composition, terms, and powers of the board of directors of the regional law enforcement training facility authority (amended in House County and Municipal Government Committee).
HB342 by Rep. DuBose: To further provide for the provision of elective credit for public K-12 students who attend religious instruction during the school day (public hearing but no vote in House Education Policy Committee).
HB360 by Rep. Robertson: To rename “drug courts” to “accountability courts” and to expand the scope of accountability courts to include offenders with mental illness and offenders who are veterans (amended in House Judiciary Committee).
HB362 by Rep. Sells: To require local governing bodies and local boards of education to record each open and public meeting of the body and to publish the recording online within 2 business days after adjournment of the meeting (amended in House County and Municipal Government Committee).
HB363 by Rep. Lomax: To define foreign national and prohibit foreign national contributions and donations to fund Alabama campaigns and ballot measures (House Ethics and Campaign Finance Committee).
HB386 by Rep. Garrett: To reduce the state sales and use tax rate on food to 2% on September 1, 2025 (amended in House Ways and Means Education Committee).
HB387 by Rep. Garrett: To revise the provisions authorizing a county or municipality governing body to reduce their sales and use tax on food to eliminate the restriction on the amount of rate cut and remove the growth requirement (House Ways and Means Education Committee).
HB388 by Rep. Garrett: To increase the income tax exemption amount for taxable retirement income of individuals who are 65 years of age or older to $12,000 (House Ways and Means Education Committee).
HB389 by Rep. Garrett: To increase the optional standard income tax deduction and expand the adjusted gross income range allowable for the maximum optional standard income tax deduction, and to expand the adjusted gross income range allowable for the maximum income tax dependent exemption (House Ways and Means Education Committee).
SB54 by Sen. Roberts: To further provide for the term “critical infrastructure facility” to include communications service infrastructure and facilities, and further provide for the crimes of unauthorized entry of a critical infrastructure facility and criminal tampering in the first and second degrees (House Judiciary Committee).
SB55 by Sen. Elliott: To invalidate the use of certain classes of driver licenses, and to prevent certain individuals from qualifying for certain driver license exemptions (House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee).
SB60 by Sen. Albritton: To allow the Alabama Corrections Institution Finance Authority to increase the amount of bonds issued to implement the existing prison modernization plan from $785,000,000 to a total of $1,285,000,000 (House Ways and Means General Fund Committee.
SB76 by Sen. Weaver: To provide an exemption from jury service for nursing mothers (amended in House Judiciary Committee).
SB102 by Sen. Coleman-Madison: To extend the existing pregnant women benefit under the state Medicaid plan for up to 60 days to women who have not been formally approved for Medicaid coverage but who submit proof of pregnancy and household income information to a qualified provider of ambulatory prenatal care (House Ways and Means General Fund Committee).
SB108 by Sen. Weaver: To establish the crime of mail theft, which is committed when a person takes mail addressed to another person from the addressee’s mailbox or other premises without the consent of the addressee and with the intent to deprive the addressee of the mail (amended in House Judiciary Committee).
SENATE COMMITTEES
HB2 by Rep. Brown: To require written consent of a parent or legal guardian for any minor to receive a vaccination, with exceptions (Senate Judiciary 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 (Senate Veterans and Military Affairs Committee).
HB89 by Rep. Lands: To extend the existing pregnant women benefit under the state Medicaid plan for up to 60 days to women who have not been formally approved for Medicaid coverage but who submit proof of pregnancy and household income information to a qualified provider of ambulatory prenatal care (Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund 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 (Senate Mobile County Legislation 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 the property (Senate Mobile County Legislation Committee).
HB159 by Rep. Lovvorn: To rename the Alabama Space Science Exhibit Commission as the U. S. Space and Rocket Center Commission, to provide that the Governor serve as an ex officio nonvoting member of the commission, to authorize interested public and private partners to provide facilities for U. S. Space and Rocket Center exhibits, and to specify that the commission operates outside of the State Treasury (Senate State Governmental Affairs Committee).
HB191 by Rep. Baker: To establish conditions for exemption of county or municipal sales and use tax (amended in Senate County and Municipal Government Committee).
SB85 by Sen. Orr: To specify that a parent or guardian’s written declaration is sufficient documentation to his or her child from a vaccine requirement for religious reasons, and to provide that if a public institution of higher education requires students to be vaccinated a student my exempt because he or she objects for religious reasons (Senate Education Policy Committee).
SB166 by Sen. Kelley: To require each local board of education and public institution of higher education to display the Ten Commandments and a context statement in schools (public hearing but no vote in Senate Education Policy Committee).
SB191 by Sen. Figures: To require the Alabama Department of Public Health to develop educational materials on postpartum depression for health care professionals and parents of newborns, and would further require doctors and other health care professionals to assess birth mothers for postpartum depression as part of postnatal or pediatric care (substituted in Senate Healthcare Committee).
SB200 by Sen. Jones: To rename “drug courts” to “accountability courts” and to expand the scope of whom accountability courts would serve to include offenders with mental illness and offenders who are veterans (amended in Senate Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee).
SB221 by Sen. Williams: To further provide for the compensation of the Mobile County Judge of Probate (Senate Mobile County Legislation Committee).
SB224 by Sen. Sessions: To further provide for the electronic monitoring of certain individuals in Mobile County (Senate Mobile County Legislation Committee).
NOTABLE INTRODUCTIONS
HOUSE
HB379 by Rep. Garrett: To exclude certain nonresident, remote workers from state income tax (House Ways and Means Education Committee).
HB380 by Rep. Rigsby: To create the crime of human cloning and provide criminal penalties (House Judiciary Committee).
HB385 by Rep. Robbins: To prohibit certain governmental agencies and quasi-governmental agencies from acquiring or purchasing property under the power of eminent domain (House Boards, Agencies and Commissions Committee).
HB402 by Rep. Travis: To require the Legislative Services Agency to complete a Rural Impact Report on a bill, if so requested (Hosue Ways and Means Education Committee).
HB403 by Rep. Bedsole: To provide for the establishment, development, management, and maintenance of the Alabama Criminal Enterprise Database (House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee).
HB406 by Rep. Bracy: To prohibit a beer wholesaler from providing draft line cleaning services to licensed alcoholic beverage retailers (House Economic Development and Tourism Committee).
HB407 by Rep. Ingram: To authorize local redevelopment authorities to require payment in lieu of taxes for transient occupancy tax, and to require these authorities to report certain payments in lieu of taxes to the Department of Revenue (House County and Municipal Government Committee).
HB409 by Rep. Yarbrough: To prohibit the enforcement of any red flag laws in this state, and to provide a cause of action for the enforcement of a red flag law (House Judiciary Committee).
HB412 by Rep. Stringer: To further provide for the crime of unauthorized entry of a critical infrastructure facility, and to further provide for the crime of criminal tampering in the first degree (House Judiciary Committee).
HB414 by Rep. Lamb: To increase the total annual expenditures of a municipality that determine if the municipality must undergo an annual or biennial audit, or submit an annual report to the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts (House County and Municipal Government Committee).
SENATE
SB213 by Sen. Williams: To exclude the use of natural gas or electricity in poultry houses from the utility gross receipts tax and utility service use tax (Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee).
SB217 by Sen. Orr: To require the bond financing agreement documents to include a schedule of all of the debt obligations of the county under certain conditions and to require the chair of the county commission and the authorized signatory for the bond underwriter to sign an acknowledgment that the total amount of debt obligations and a schedule of the total debt payments have been presented and explained to the county commission (Senate County and Municipal Government Committee).
SB229 by Sen. Shelnutt: To further provide for the provision of elective credit for public K-12 students who attend religious instruction during the school day (Senate Education Policy Committee).
SB230 by Sen. Figures: To require the state to reimburse Alabama residents for stolen benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee).
BUDGETS
HB169, Rep. Garrett: Education Trust Fund Budget Pending in House Ways and Means Education Committee
HB186, Rep. Reynolds: General Fund Budget Pending in House Ways and Means General Fund Committee
SB112, Sen. Orr: Education Trust Fund Budget Pending in Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee
SB148, Sen. Albritton: General Fund Budget Pending in Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee
