MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, and Gov. Kay Ivey are standing behind a proposal to enhance legal protections for police officers following pushback this week from House Democrats, who in a statement argued the proposal would make it “nearly impossible” to prosecute police misconduct.
“We’re going to pass the bill regardless of what they think, and it’s a sad day when we don’t protect our police officers and defend them for serving us every day,” Ledbetter told Alabama Daily News Thursday, speaking just outside the House chamber in the State House.
Dubbed the Back the Blue Legal Protection Act, the bill is part of Ivey’s ‘Safe Alabama’ legislative package, a series of eight bills designed to reduce violent crime and improve public safety in the state. While the majority of the package has garnered strong bipartisan support, Democrats have taken issue with the idea of enhancing legal protections as outlined under the Back the Blue Legal Protection Act.
Carried in the House by Rep. Rex Reynolds, R-Hazel Green, and in the Senate by Sen. Lance Bell, R-Riverside, the bill would make it significantly harder to sue or prosecute law enforcement officers unless their conduct is overtly reckless or unconstitutional. For example, the bill would impose higher pleading standards for lawsuits against officers, would automatically stay lawsuits while officers assert immunity, and facilitate early dismissal of lawsuits that don’t meet the new, higher pleading standards.
“This bill would place a bad police officer, who is not upholding his or her oath to protect and serve, above the law,” House Democrats said Wednesday in a joint statement.
Ledbetter said he had not seen House Democrats’ joint statement, but that he still saw an opportunity to work with them.
“I certainly think we can, and that’s the goal,” he said.
Gov. Kay Ivey also reaffirmed her support for the proposal, with her spokesperson telling ADN Thursday that she remained committed to working to advance the entire package with bipartisan support.
“On the Back the Blue Protections bill specifically, Gov. Ivey believes this is a solid, responsible proposal that shows the brave men and women in law enforcement that we have their backs,” said Gina Maiola, communications director for Ivey’s office, in an email to ADN. “Alabamians want safe communities.”
The Back the Blue Legal Protection Act, along with the other seven bills in the ‘Safe Alabama’ package, have been named by Ivey as her number-one priority this year, with the package having amassed significant support from members of law enforcement, mayors from across the state, and elected officials of both the Democratic and Republican parties.
Both the House and Senate versions of the bill are scheduled to be heard in their respective chambers’ judiciary committees, with the Senate version having already amassed 20 co-sponsors, all of them Republicans.