MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama Democrats closed out the 2025 legislative session calling it a “mixed bag,” celebrating a handful of bipartisan wins while condemning Republican leadership for blocking key parts of their Forward for Freedom agenda, centered around expanding economic opportunity, health care access and reforming the state’s criminal justice system.
“Like many sessions during my tenure here, this session could be best described as a mixed bag,” said Rep. Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile, speaking on the session’s final day at the Alabama State House during a Democratic House Caucus press conference. “In terms of the efforts made by members of our caucus, we had many significant accomplishments.”
Drummond named a number of Democrat-backed bills that succeeded this year; House Bill 89, which will extend presumptive Medicaid eligibility for pregnant women, House Bill 152, which cuts state sales taxes on feminine and baby products, and her own bill, House Bill 8, which will impose new regulations on vapes, including raising the minimum age to 21. She praised House Bill 199, which expands electronic monitoring for delinquent juveniles.
“On the other hand, our caucus introduced dozens of bills that were never given a fair hearing in committee and voted down for purely political purposes, with little consideration or debate allowed,” she continued.
In particular, Drummond named the failure of the Legislature to extend the state income tax cut on overtime pay, set to expire in June.
The overtime tax cut was first adopted in 2023, carried by House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville. Early projects said it would cost the state about $34 million annually in lost revenue, but the price ballooned to $230 million just nine months after being enacted. Even so, support for extending the tax cut this year amassed bipartisan support, but ultimately failed to advance.
“This will essentially amount to one of the largest tax increases on workers in the history of Alabama,” Drummond said of the failure to extend the overtime tax cut. “Given our current economic uncertainty and rising prices, the timing couldn’t be worse for struggling families who work overtime just to make ends meet.”
Speaking with Alabama Daily News on Friday, Daniels said he had received complaints from constituents about the failure to extend the overtime tax cut.
“Working Alabamians are extremely upset,” Daniels told ADN. “They’ve voiced their concern to me, and I said to them I tried to do what I could to get it done, my caucus as well, and there are some Republicans who were behind it, but unfortunately, leadership chose to focus more on pet projects and some other things.”
Republicans introduced and got passed with bipartisan support legislation to reduce the state’s sales tax on groceries. That’s supposed to have a $122 million impact and will benefit more Alabamians, GOP leaders said.
Daniels also suggested that the Legislature’s failure to extend the overtime tax cut could have impacts at the ballot box, with lawmakers already gearing up for statewide elections next year.
“It is going to be a primary issue and a general issue; our own U.S. senator is pushing the legislation at the federal level, (that) tells you that the issue is going to be alive and well on the campaign in general,” he said.
Rep. Kelvin Lawrence, D-Hayneville, also named the passage of House Bill 202, which expands police immunity, as a particularly sore spot.
“Why did Republicans feel that Alabama police suddenly need expanded immunity from prosecution at a time when we literally had to fire a city’s whole police department due to widespread corruption and rampant illegal activity?” Lawrence said about the situation on Hanceville.
“To us, to move forward for freedom, that means having the ability to get ahead rather than just get by. It also means being able to stay healthy without going broke, being able to keep more of your paycheck to provide for your family, and knowing that the government is part of the solution rather than adding to your problems.”
There were several bills that succeeded this year that, while carried by Republicans, were also priorities for Democrats, including reducing the state sales tax on groceries, or reforming the state’s school funding formula.
In the Senate, Minority Leader Bobby Singleton said the session was very productive, aside from the late slowdown and looming rules change discussion.
“We did a lot of pro growth for the state of Alabama going forward, we did a lot to expand the future growth for businesses with the (Energy Infrastructure Bank bill) that allows our electric companies to be able to expand transmission lines and bring more jobs to the state,” Singleton said. That new law has an emphasis on rural areas like Singleton’s.
Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, also praised the session and the bi-partisan effort to give state employees and teachers paid parental leave for the first time. The new law requiring independent pharmacies be reimbursed at a higher rate for some prescriptions, sponsored by Sen. Billy Beasley, D-Clayton, was also a highlight, Smitherman said.
The new law recognizing Juneteenth as a state holiday was sponsored by a Republican this year after being backed by Democrats for years.
A low point for both House and Senate Democrats was the GOP-backed bill to reorganize the long-troubled Birmingham Water Works Board and allow more representation from the surrounding suburban areas.
Democrats championed these bills, regardless of which party the sponsoring lawmaker belonged to, and called for more bipartisan cooperation in the future.
“I call upon all of us who have been elected to serve to stop the political games and to put the people of Alabama, the people that we serve, first and foremost,” said Rep. Neil Rafferty, D-Birmingham, speaking at the press conference.
“The challenges we face require us to work together, to find common ground. Our caucus will continue to move forward for freedom, knowing that each step brings us closer to a thriving and prosperous Alabama we can be proud of for generations to come.”
Alabama Daily News’ Mary Sell contributed to this report.