Week 3: Alabama Legislative Action
The Alabama Legislature continues to plow through a heavy agenda during this election year session. Below are the bills passed in each chamber this week. Only statewide legislation, bills sponsored by area lawmakers and local bills are listed:
The Senate:
Senate Bill 35, Consolidates the registration fee and fixed registration fee for vessels. The bill passed 102-0. It goes to Gov. Kay Ivey.
Senate Bill 39, Gives the president pro tempore of the Senate appointing power, instead of the lieutenant governor, for the Permanent Legislative Committee on Reapportionment. The bill passed 34-0. It goes to the House.
Senate Bill 40, Allows the Contract Review Permanent Legislative Oversight Committee to recommend that the governor not sign a contract brought to the government. The bill passed 34-0. It goes to the House.
Senate Bill 58, Would require public servants found guilty of corruption to pay interest on their restitution payments. The bill passed 33-0. It goes to the House.
Senate Bill 59, Requires public colleges and universities to submit an annual report on how much money they received from the state and federal governments and to develop plans should federal funding be cut. The bill passed 34-0. It goes to the House.
Senate Bill 62, Creates the Alabama Charter School Finance Authority, which will issue loans to state charter educational institutions. The bill passed 34-0. It goes to the House.
Senate Bill 66, sponsored by Bibb County Sen. April Weaver, (R-14), shortens the University of Montevallo’s board of trustees’ term from 12 to eight years and limits each member to two terms. The bill passed 101-1. It goes to Gov. Kay Ivey.
Senate Bill 71, Prohibits the state from setting stricter environmental regulations than the federal government. The bill passed 25-7. It goes to the House.
Senate Bill 78, Extends the Board of Examiner of Assisted living Administrators until October 2028, and requires the governor to appoint a board member if the nominator does not do so in a timely manner. The bill passed 34-0. It goes to the House.
Senate Bill 86, Extends the current 30-day payment period for assessments made on illegally imported or transported motor fuel. The bill passed 34-0. It goes to the House.
Senate Bill 103, Extends the Alabama Construction Recruitment Institute until October 2030, and places it under the administration of the Alabama Department of Workforce. The bill passed 34-0. It goes to the House.
Senate Bill 113, Extends the Alabama Behavior Analyst Licensing Board until October 2027 and places it under the administration of the Alabama Department of Mental Health. The bill passed 34-0. It goes to the House.
Senate Bill 118, Creates the Alabama Background Check Service, allowing law enforcement to collect biometric identifiers for noncriminal justice purposes to identify individuals. The bill passed 33-0. It goes to the House.
Senate Bill 134, Requires a wholesale dealer and jobber permitted by the Department of Revenue and at least four other states who purchases tobacco products directly from the manufacturer or an affiliate of the manufacturer and only makes sales for resale to a wholesale dealer to register and obtain a permit from ADOR to be an interstate warehouse. The bill passed 101-0. It goes to Gov. Kay Ivey.
Senate Bill 166, Allows political candidates to destroy their personal copies of their campaign finance records after four years. The bill passed 33-0. It goes to the House.
Senate Bill 167, Would end a requirement that courts defer to a state agency’s decision in an administrative dispute. The bill passed 34-0. It goes to the House.
Senate Bill 169, Increases the penalty for criminally negligent homicide, elevating punishment one class to a Class B felony, punishable by two to twenty years in prison, if the victim suffers serious physical injury or dies. The bill passed 34-0. It goes to the House.
Senate Bill 174, Allows oil and gas wells to be converted to geothermal facilities. The bill passed 33-1. It goes to the House.
Senate Bill 180, Changes the Board of Pardons and Paroles term start date from July 1 to March 1. The bill passed 34-0. It goes to the House.
Senate Bill 195, Would allow the removal of estate administration and will contests to circuit courts without assigning special equity if the county’s probate and circuit courts do not have concurrent jurisdiction. The bill passed 34-0. It goes to the House.
Senate Bill 200, Renames the Alabama Office of Minority Affairs the Alabama Office of Civic Engagement. The bill passed 33-0. It goes to the House.
Senate Bill 203, Elevates the crime of indecent exposure with sexual motivation to a minor from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class C felony on a third conviction, punishable by up to one year in prison. The bill passed 34-0. It goes to the House.
Senate Bill 206, Codifies the laws passed by the Legislature in the 2025 Regular Session. The bill passed 33-0. It goes to the House.
Senate Bill 230, Allows political candidates to spend campaign funds to protect themselves, immediate family or staff. The bill passed 34-0. It goes to the House.
The Alabama Legislature continues to plow through a heavy agenda during this election year session.
The House:
House Bill 1, Requires an ignition interlock device upon a first conviction for driving under the influence. The bill passed 100-0. It moves to the Senate.
House Bill 7, Defines what a “credible threat” of terrorism is and revises criminal penalties for making a terrorist threat in the first or second degree. The bill passed 86-0. It moves to the Senate.
House Bill 33, sponsored by Northport Rep. Ron Bolton, (R-61), amends the Alabama code to change the age the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency can deny a driver license or learner permit from 19 to 17. The bill passed 98-0. It moves to the Senate.
House Bill 35, sponsored by Rep. Ron Bolton, R-Northport, creates the Alabama Squat Truck Law to prohibit alterations made to the height of a fender for vehicles. The bill passed 93-7. It moves to the Senate.
House Bill 37, Increases the penalty for eluding law enforcement from a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail, to a Class D felony, punishable by one to five years in prison, and expands the circumstances in which the charge can be upgraded to a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, or a Class B felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The bill passed 103-0. It moves to the Senate.
House Bill 41, Allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty for those convicted of sexual assault of a child under the age of 12. The bill passes 33-1. It goes to Gov. Kay Ivey.
House Bill 67, Caps the cost of voter rolls at $1,000 and prohibits the publication of Social Security numbers and emails. The bill passed 85-16. It moves to the Senate.
House Bill 79, Consolidates the registration fee and fixed registration fee for vessels and adds a monthly schedule for registration by owners. The bill passed 103-0. It moves to the Senate.
House Bill 91, Would allow money collected from a docket fee currently used to fund operations of a jail to be used to support “the functions of the office of sheriff for law enforcement purposes.” The bill passed 99-1. It moves to the Senate.
House Bill 111, Makes it a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, to clone, attempt to clone or participate in an attempt to clone a human being. The bill passed 96-0. It moves to the Senate.
House Bill 117, Allows county commissions to adopt a procurement or purchasing program to simplify purchases that apply only to purchases of tangible personal property and allows them to consider whether a procurement or purchasing program provides administrative savings in addition to cost savings and allows them to designate another individual to oversee and manage a procurement or purchasing program besides the county’s chief administrative officer. The bill passed 34-0. It goes to Gov. Kay Ivey.
House Bill 139, Amends the Alabama Code to add corn masa flour to the list of products that must be enriched with folic acid. The bill passed 83-14. It moves to the Senate.
House Bill 140, Requires that transfers of land from developers to their immediate family members be exempt from specific regulations to expire after two years. The House concurred in Senate changes on a 103-0 vote, sending the bill to Gov. Kay Ivey.
House Bill 149, Designates the Board of Commissioners of the Alabama State Bar as an agency of the judicial branch. The bill passed 32-2. It goes to Gov. Kay Ivey.
House Bill 156, Enrolls Alabama in an interstate physician assistant licensure compact providing for licensing, regulations and enforcement. The bill passed 101-0. It moves to the Senate.
House Bill 159, sponsored by Rep. Ron Bolton, R-Northport, adds a section to the Alabama Code to allow qualifying circuit clerks to participate in the Employees’ Retirement System. The bill passed 93-0. It moves to the Senate.
House Bill 161, Requires app stores to have age verification for minors. The bill passed 35-0 with an amendment. It goes to the House for concurrence or conference committee.
House Bill 166, Allows the Secretary of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to suspend the license of a person convicted of driving with an expired license or without one for additional six months and allows impoundment of vehicles if an individual does not have proof of license and a law enforcement officer cannot verify that they do. The bill passed 99-1. It moves to the Senate.
House Bill 178, Establishes a process allowing two or more city school boards to merge and create a single consolidated system. The bill passed 104-0. It moves to the Senate.
House Bill 183, Allows homeschool students to participate in career and technical education programs at public schools; directs the Alabama State Board of Education to adopt rules to implement the program; directs local boards of education to adopt rules to implement the state board’s rules, and allows full-time, stand-alone career and technical education schools to opt out. The bill passed 85-2. It moves to the Senate.
House Bill 188, Removes the requirement that making a terrorist threat in the second degree must be “credible and imminent.”. The bill passed 83-10. It moves to the Senate.
House Bill 192, Establishes a presumption in prosecutions involving deadly force that a defendant is not justified in using physical force in self-defense if he or she disposes of the weapon. The bill passed 104-0. It moves to the Senate.
House Bill 214, sponsored by Rep. James Lomax, R-Huntsville, prohibits foreign nationals from contributing to campaigns, ballot measures, political parties, or political action committees and prohibits political parties, political action committees, principal campaign committees, and others from soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals. The bill passed 94-0. It moves to the Senate.
House Bill 245, Requires the Alabama Department of Revenue to oversee the operation of the Rural Hospital Investment Program Board. The bill passed 33-0. It goes to Gov. Kay Ivey.
House Bill 254, Prohibits law enforcement officers from stopping or boarding vessels for safety or marine sanitation equipment inspections. The bill passed 102-1. It moves to the Senate.
House Bill 255, Sponsored by Rep. Russell Bedsole, R-Alabaster, increases the time that crime victims may apply for compensation from the Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Commission from one year after the injury or crime to two years. The bill passed 101-0. It moves to the Senate.
House Bill 256, sponsored by Bibb County Rep. Russel Bedsole, (R-49), amends the Alabama Code to extend the validity of license plate designs from five years to 10 years. The bill passed 100-3. It moves to the Senate.
House Bill 274, Adds a section to the Alabama Code that allows the Department of Corrections to take action against drones flying over correctional facilities. The bill passed 104-0. It moves to the Senate.
House Bill 287, Moves the Permanent Joint Legislative Committee on the Law Enforcement Medal of Honor and Meritorious Service Award into a statute. The bill passed 100-0. It moves to the Senate.
House Bill 289, Prohibits the inclusion of the date of deposition from being on death certificates. The bill passed 102-0. It moves to the Senate.
House Bill 292, Allows any veteran who has at least a 50% disability to get a special disabled veteran license plate. The bill passed 102-0. It moves to the Senate.
The House will reconvene Tuesday at 1:00pm while the Senate gavels back into session at 2:00pm.
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