‘Fact-based’ history bill clears Senate committee
While an Alabama House committee this week approved a bill banning “divisive concepts” in education, a very different education policy bill moved in a Senate committee.
Sponsored by Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, Senate Bill 180 would apply to all K-12 public school history and social studies classes, and would require them to be “fact-based, historically accurate and inclusive of the history and contributions of minority groups.” Existing law already outlines some requirements for public school class curriculums; Smitherman’s bill, were it to become law, would merely add the inclusivity provision.
“The person that created plasma, the person that created the stoplight… those were African Americans,” Smitherman said during the committee. “You look at a book and it says the traffic light was produced and manufactured by General Electric. So that’s what this (bill) does, it just gives fact-based credit for what (people) have done.”
The bill saw unanimous approval in the committee.
Delta-8 ban for young adults advances through committee
The House Health Committee gave a favorable report Wednesday to a bill that would ban the sale of products containing psychoactive cannabinoids – including Delta-8 – to anyone under 21.
Sponsored by Rep. Russell Bedsole, R-Alabaster, House Bill 219 would levy a Class B misdemeanor charge on anyone under 21 in possession of or purchasing Delta-8 products, along with any other products containing psychoactive cannabinoids. The bill would also levy a 5% tax on all products containing psychoactive cannabinoids.
Rep. Jeff Sorrells, R-Hartford, proposed an amendment during the meeting that would increase the tax on cannabinoid products to 8%, as well as tie a $50-$200 fine for a first offense. The amendment was unanimously approved.
Bedsole later told Alabama Daily News that he settled on limiting the possession of cannabinoid products to those 21 and older rather than 18 because it was a “simple barometer to use, (and) it makes it simple for all the clerks” to categorize cannabinoid products similarly to alcohol.
“Currently, any child could walk into convenience stores (and buy cannabinoid products), and if you look at a lot of the packaging, it’s very clearly designed to look like candy,” Bedsole told Alabama Daily News.
“At the end of the day, I certainly could advocate for a total ban on these products, but I think the sensible first step is to regulate them; at least keep them out of the hands of children until we have a chance to fully understand it.”
Fentanyl trafficking companion bill advances in committee
With the fentanyl trafficking bill signed into law earlier this month, one of its companion bills advanced in the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
Sponsored by Rep. Matt Simpson, R-Daphne – who also sponsored the original fentanyl trafficking bill – House Bill 230 would impose additional criminal charges for those who expose first responders to fentanyl, resulting in either injury or death.
Any physical injury to a first responder from fentanyl contact would result in a Class C felony, or a Class B felony for a “serious physical injury.” Fentanyl exposure that results in the death of a first responder would impose a Class A felony charge.
Under the bill, an individual would have to “knowingly, recklessly, or intentionally” expose a first responder to fentanyl.
The bill saw unanimous approval in the House Judiciary Committee.
Decision-making authority protection bill for adults with disabilities advances committee
The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday approved a bill that would protect the decision-making authority of adults with disabilities, also known as the Colby Act.
Under existing law, adults with disabilities may be placed under a guardianship or conservatorship by order of a probate judge, effectively eliminating their right to make decisions on financial matters. The Colby Act, which is sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, would instead allow for adults with disabilities to enter into a decision-making agreement with an advisory group.
The bill has amassed considerable support from disability advocates, with dozens of them rallying at the State House last month in support of the bill.
The bill ultimately saw unanimous approval Wednesday in the House committee.
House committee approves increased penalties for eluding law enforcement
A bill that would increase penalties for those eluding law enforcement under certain circumstances was approved Wednesday by the House Judiciary Committee.
Under existing law, attempting to elude law enforcement constitutes a Class A misdemeanor charge, and is elevated to a Class C felony were the escape attempt to result in death or physical injury to a bystander.
Sponsored by Rep. Ginny Shaver, R-Leesburg, House Bill 272 would add additional circumstances that would elevate an eluding law enforcement charge to a felony, including were the escape attempt to result in the offender crossing into a neighboring state. Were an individual committing a separate felony or fleeing to avoid apprehension from a separate felony charge, that would also elevate the alluding law enforcement charge to a felony under the new bill.
The bill passed unanimously in the House Judiciary Committee.