General Fund budget goes to governor; ETF pending final votes
The state’s $3.3 billion 2025 General Fund budget got final approval in the Alabama Legislature on Tuesday but the $9.3 billion education budget and other spending bills need House and Senate concurrence votes. Those could happen today.
Gov. Kay Ivey said Tuesday she’d sign the record General Fund budget.
“While being good stewards of taxpayer dollars and ensuring our budgets are prepared for whatever may lie ahead, we are increasing funding in critical services like public safety and mental health care,” Ivey said in a written statement. “Our General Fund will make possible a pilot program that will start hosting checkups for pregnant women at nine county health departments in areas of need. We are protecting our veterans who have served by investing in Dovetail Landing. This General Fund is solid and will go far in making Alabama the best place to live, work and raise a family.”
Dovetail Landing in Lincoln helps veterans transition to civilian life.
The education spending bills, including the budget and a current year supplemental spending plan for the current year were sent to a conference committee Tuesday to work out differences between House- and Senate-passed versions.
One change in the supplemental was to take $5 million for a retirees’ raise fund and redistribute it. The $5 million was added in the Senate by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, in an effort to start funding future pay increases for retired teachers. Orr previously said there needs to be at least $100 million in the fund before retirees see any increases.
Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, on Tuesday said that $5 was largely symbolic and could be better spent distributed to various grant programs around the state.
He said lawmakers would work in the future to address raises for retirees. Orr said on the Senate floor it will be a priority next year when the drafting of the education budget starts in his committee.
Bill easing child labor restriction goes to Ivey
A bill that would allow some Alabama minors to work without school administrator permission got final passage in the House and Senate on Tuesday.
Sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, and carried by Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, Senate Bill 53 had a committee substitution that requires parents to notify their child’s school of their employment, and their employment would be terminated if their academic performance or attendance falls below administrative standards.
Opposed by mostly Democratic representatives, the bill shifts the law to parental rights, DuBose said on the House floor. Under existing law, 14- and 15-year old Alabamians must obtain permission from their schools to have a job where they can work up to three hours per day and 18 hours per week. While school is not in session, they can work up to 40 hours per week, DuBose said.
“The main thing is: It’s only three hours a day,” she said. “It gives them experience. It gives them the opportunity to learn some responsibility.”
Allowing minors to work lets them get a head start on basic skills, like showing up to work on time, DuBose said.
“The sooner they start learning the skills, we know, statistically, the better off they’re going to be throughout their lifetime,” she said.
The bill goes to Gov. Kay Ivey for her signature.
Lawmakers approve bill allowing ABC to own warehouses
A bill that would allow the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to own warehouse space passed the House Tuesday afternoon 90-5.
It now goes to the governor.
Current law says ABC must lease both its retail and warehouse spaces.
Sponsored by Sen. Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville, and carried by Rep. Margie Wilcox, R-Mobile, Senate Bill 191 passed with little discussion from the chamber. Rep. Ben Robbins, R-Sylacauga, raised a concern of guardrails and taxpayer dollars, but said that he would not bring an amendment to the bill because there are two days of legislative session left.
“This late in the session, that would likely kill the bill,” Wilcox said.
Last year, ABC sought new proposals to lease a larger central warehouse in Montgomery. Ultimately, it delayed any decisions, but has said its current space, which is more than 40 years old, is too small to meet consumer demand. Almost all liquor sold in the state goes through that space.
Dean Argo, a spokesman for ABC, told ADN on Tuesday plans for a new warehouse are still on hold.
“However, once a course is ultimately determined, Sen. Givhan’s legislation gives the ABC Board a financial option it’s not had before,” Argo said. “Senate Bill 191 says the board ‘may’ own its warehouse, but we’ll have to weigh all of our options to see which, if any, are in the best interest of the State. We’re certainly happy that the Alabama Legislature trusts the board with this authority.”
Trigger activator ban bill passes through committee
House Bill 36, which would prohibit Alabamians from possessing handguns modified with trigger activators, narrowly passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
The bill would make it a Class C felony – and subsequent violations a Class B felony – to be in possession of a handgun modified with a trigger activator, a firearm modification that allows a semi-automatic weapon to fire at rates similar to that of a full-automatic weapon.
While it received the backing of several law enforcement agencies, including the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the bill has received some pushback from Republican lawmakers over concerns that it may infringe on Second Amendment rights.
When it appeared before the Judiciary Committee, no discussion was had, and members gave the bill a favorable report in a vote of 6-4, with two abstaining from the vote. The bill now heads to the Senate.
Committee passes vaccine parental consent bill
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill Tuesday that would require minors to receive written parental consent before receiving vaccinations.
Sponsored by Rep. Chip Brown, R-Hollingers Island, House Bill 165 would give exceptions to the parental consent requirement for those 14 and older who are married, divorced or pregnant, or to minors that are no longer dependent on a parent or guardian, living apart from their parent or guardian, and are managing their own affairs.
In the committee, Brown introduced a substitute to his bill that slightly expanded exceptions to the parental consent mandate by making the aforementioned exceptions stand alone, and not be required collectively.
The substitute was adopted unanimously, as was the bill itself, which now must receive Senate approval and House agreement before being sent to Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk.
Bill that increases penalties for firing into building passes committee with Democratic opposition
A bill that would increase criminal penalties for firing into both occupied and unoccupied dwellings passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, though faced some opposition from two Democratic lawmakers and public speakers.
House Bill 174, sponsored by Rep. Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile, would increase the penalty for firing into an occupied dwelling from a Class B to a Class A felony, punishable with up to life in prison. Firing into an unoccupied dwelling would be increased to a Class C felony.
A public hearing component was permitted for the bill, which saw three members of the public sign up to speak on the legislation — two in opposition and one in support — with the first being Jermaine A. Burrell, a resident of Mobile.
“As a victim of the very crime myself as my home in Mobile was shot into multiple times while I was away, firing a weapon into an occupied dwelling is undeniably a serious offense, and I empathize with victims who endure such dramatic events,” Burrell said.
“I oppose HB174 for the following reasons: the bill fails to address gun violence in our communities, and (it) risks imposing life sentences regardless of intent and loss of life.”
Burrell went on to argue that existing law was sufficient in holding those who fire into occupied dwellings responsible, and that the bill would “increase the school-to-prison pipeline, disproportionately affecting the Black community.”
The second speaker, Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch, instead spoke in support of the bill, and picked up on Burrell’s comments as they pertained to the Black community.
“First off, this has nothing to do with race; we’ve had seven shootings into occupied (homes) in the last week, one of which a five year old was struck in the face; thank God the injuries were minor,” Burch said.
“What we’re trying to stop is the recklessness of firing into someone’s home, and I say it is a detergent. It’s not about incarceration of one race or another; my brother’s in prison right now for bad choices.”
Sen. Vivian Figures, D-Mobile, a member of the committee, echoed Burrell’s comments in that she felt that the bill did not address the root causes of gun violence in her district.
“It pains my heart to vote against my House sister, Rep. Drummond, and also my sheriff, Sheriff Burch, but I have to tell you that I’m also a victim of having my dwelling shot into when I was not at home as well,” Figures said.
“However, just as I don’t believe in the death penalty because it does not deter people from committing crimes, I don’t feel that this will deter that either. I think this problem goes a lot deeper than just charging somebody and putting them in jail for life.”
The bill ultimately passed out of the committee, with Figures and Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, voting against it. Having already passed out of the House, all that’s left for the bill is to be adopted in the Senate before being sent to Gov. Kay Ivey.