Area Legislators Prefile 13 Bills For Upcoming Alabama Session

Three West Alabama state lawmakers in the Alabama Legislature have prefiled 13 of the 51 bills already proposed for the January 2026 legislative session. Rep. Ron Bolton (R-61) has submitted five bills in the House, while Senator Gerald Allen (R-21) has offered six bills, and April Weaver (R-14) has already proposed two bills.

Rep. Bolton's proposed legislation includes:

• HB 29 would add sexual extortion of an individual under 18 years of age, which proximately causes the victim's death, under manslaughter charges.
• HB 32 would revise the weight and age ranges for determining the appropriate child passenger restraint system and would increase penalties associated with a violation.
• HB 33 amends law to remove all school enrollment and attendance requirements for the application for, and renewal of, driver licenses and learner permits.
• HB 34 would provide that if a person willfully refuses to answer specific questions during an investigatory (law enforcement) stop, the person is guilty of a Class C misdemeanor.
• HB 35 would create the Alabama Squat Truck Law and would 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 than the height of the accompanying rear fender and would provide penalties for a violation.

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Sen. Allen's proposed legislation includes:

• SB 5 proposes an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, relating to public K-12 schools, to require local boards of education to adopt policies requiring each public K-12 school to broadcast or sanction the performance of the first stanza of The Star-Spangled Banner at least once per week during school hours.
• SB 6 would require a controlling governmental entity that replaces a memorial building to maintain the original name or erect a marker memorializing the name. It would also deem a petition for a waiver denied if the Committee for Alabama Monument Protection fails to act on an application within 90 days.
• SB 7 would prohibit slap fighting in the state.
• SB 8 would specify that the Alabama Emergency Management Agency Director has the authorization to purchase, with public funds, promotional and educational materials that further public awareness of the agency and emergency preparedness.
• SB 9 would rename the Alabama Clean Indoor Act the Vivian Davis Figures Clean Indoor Air Act. This bill would also prohibit the smoking of electronic nicotine delivery systems in the same manner as the smoking of tobacco products is not permitted.
• SB 10 would propose an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, relating to Tuscaloosa County, to prohibit the levy of any additional county or municipal sales and use tax in the county after ratification of this amendment except upon approval by a majority vote of the qualified electors of the area where the proposed tax will be paid voting at a referendum held for that purpose on the date of a regularly scheduled general election. The amendment would also provide for the publication of notice of the referendum and for public hearings on the proposed sales and use tax increase. It would require public hearings in the county before any referendum election held pursuant to this amendment.

Sen Weaver's proposed legislation includes:

• SB 1 would provide that only nonpsychoactive cannabinoids derived from or found in hemp are exempt from the Schedule I controlled substances list, thus classifying psychoactive cannabinoids as controlled substances. It would also provide that products that are ingested, whether orally or absorbed through the skin, that contain cannabidiol (CBD) or other nonpsychoactive cannabinoids found in or derived from hemp may only be sold in licensed pharmacies that obtain certification from the Alabama State Board of Pharmacy. This bill would require the Alabama State Board of Pharmacy to inspect pharmacies under this act. This bill would require testing of consumable hemp products prior to sale. This bill would establish testing protocols for the testing of hemp and consumable hemp products. This bill would provide that only consumable hemp products using hemp cultivated in this state may be sold. This bill would also require the Department of Agriculture and Industries to establish a tracking program of hemp and consumable hemp products as well as the testing of these products.
• SB 2 would prohibit permittees of the Alabama Liquefied Petroleum Gas Board from filling or storing LP-Gas cylinders for retail sale within a certain distance of public gathering places.

All three legislators are likely to prefile more bills. Several of the bills are holdovers from this year's session.

This past legislative session, Alabama lawmakers filed 968 bills. This includes 621 bills in the House and 347 in the Senate. The session saw a total of 310 bills enacted into law, according to legislative tracking, reporting, and data service LegiScan.