By TODD STACY, Alabama Daily News
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama lawmakers are planning a rare work week of four legislative days to conclude the 2022 regular session, an ambitious challenge that shows how eager some are to return home in an election year.
Rumors about the four-day week have been swirling around the State House for several days. Appearing on Alabama Public Television’s Capitol Journal, House Majority Leader Nathaniel Ledbetter confirmed that was the plan.
“If I were coming down here as a member I would get my room for three nights,” Ledbetter said when asked about the coming week’s schedule. “I think we’ll have a four-day week next week and clean everything up.”
See the exchange in the video below.
A typical legislative week consists of two legislative days on Tuesday and Thursday when lawmakers meet in their chambers to consider bills, with a committee day in between on Wednesday. However, this year, the House and Senate most weeks have also convened on Wednesday after committee work was finished in what is known around the State House as a three-day week.
This has made for a fast-paced session, which is a challenge for lawmakers, lobbyists and the media alike. A four-day week would mean the chambers would convene Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, using all four remaining legislative days to end the session.
There are several high profile bills remaining to be dispensed with before the session concludes. The House is expected to ask for a conference committee on the education budget when it convenes Tuesday. Also on the House agenda are bills to delay the hold-back provision of the Alabama Literacy Act, revise tax credits for those donating to scholarship-granting organizations, limiting the percentage of revenue cities can budget from traffic fines and provide for the regulation of telehealth.
The House is scheduled to convene Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. and the Senate at 2:30 p.m.