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Legislative briefs: Public-private airport expansions, mandatory life sentences, Orr-Melson CPR bill

Mandatory life sentences for Alabamians trafficking minors sees House approval

Described by its sponsor as the “toughest law in the nation” on human trafficking, a bill that would impose a mandatory life sentence for those convicted of trafficking minors saw unanimous support Tuesday in the Alabama House.

“Under existing law, trafficking in the first degree is a Class A felony, which is 20 years,” said Rep. Donna Givens, R-Loxley, the bill’s sponsor. “What this bill does is change it to a mandatory life sentence for human trafficking as long as it’s someone that is 18 years old or younger.”

Dubbed the Sound of Freedom Act after the 2023 film of the same name, the bill is among a series of bills introduced this year to increase penalties for those convicted of human trafficking.

Multiple lawmakers spoke in favor of the proposal, including Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, who called the bill “so important.”

“I’ve been to the movie that’s talked about it, and I think the more attention we draw to this, maybe the better it will improve the situation,” Collins said.

The bill ultimately passed with an unanimous vote, and saw 69 House members join on as co-sponsors following its passage. It now moves to the Senate.

 

House approves bill making those convicted of certain sex crimes against children ineligible for pardons

The Alabama House unanimously approved a bill Tuesday that would permanently bar those convicted of certain sex crimes against children from being eligible for a pardon.

Under existing law, Alabamians convicted of sex crimes against children that constitute either a Class B or A felony are ineligible for early release on parole. Under House Bill 81, sponsored by Rep. Allen Treadaway, R-Morris, those same individuals would also be barred from ever being pardoned.

While the bill saw no outright opposition, some Democratic lawmakers expressed concerns about the potential impact the bill could have on those falsely accused of sexual crimes. 

Rep. Pebblin Warren, D-Tuskegee, told Treadaway of an Alabamian she said had been falsely accused of sexual crimes against children, who under the proposal, would be ineligible for a pardon. Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, shared similar concerns.

“If we set a precedent on defining a sex offender as one of those that will never be able to get pardon, the only problem I have (is that) there are people who are innocent that have been incarcerated, that have been accused of crimes against a child that may not have been true,” Givan said. 

“I know such an individual that is sitting inside the penal system of Alabama that I believe with every fiber of my being, should not be there.”

The bill passed unanimously, with two House members – Reps. Mary Moore, D-Montgomery, and John Rogers, D-Birmingham – abstaining from the vote.

Anti-swatting bill approved by House

A bill that would increase criminal penalties for Alabamians who make false police reports saw approval Tuesday in the Alabama House.

Often referred to as ‘swatting,’ the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Philip Ensler, D-Montgomery, said his goal was to further deter the practice of making false police reports with the intention of eliciting an emergency response from law enforcement, a practice often referred to as ‘swatting.’

Under the bill, the crime of making a false police report would be elevated from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class C felony were the false report to be about a felony offense. The severity of the charge would increase to a Class B felony if the response from law enforcement were to lead to the injury of a person, and a Class A felony if the response led to serious injury or death.

The bill ultimately passed with a vote of 97-2, with Reps. Ron Bolton, R-Northport, and Arnold Mooney, R-Birmingham, voting against the measure.

House moves proposal permitting airports to enter public-private partnerships

The Alabama House approved a bill Tuesday that would permit Alabama’s 96 public-use airports to enter into agreements with companies in the private sector.

“Let’s say you want to upgrade your facility, but yet you don’t have the funds; (under this bill), you could enter into a public-private partnership just like a city could so could upgrade your hangers, your parking, whatever,” explained Rep. Chip Brown, R-Hollingers Island, the sponsor of the bill.

“What this bill is aimed at doing is just providing more economic opportunities for our cash-strapped airports so that they can provide better service.”

Brown said that every airport in the state was “on board” with his proposal, and that allowing such public-private partnerships would help fill funding shortfalls Alabama airports uniquely experience.

“When it comes to spending on our airports, we’re at the very bottom in the southeast,” he continued. “We’re millions of dollars behind our neighboring states on the amount of money that we spend.”

Rep. Mary Moore, D-Birmingham, was the lone lawmaker to openly express concerns with the bill, and characterized it as a potential tool to lessen the value of the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, the state’s largest and busiest airport.

“It really seems to me that you’re opening up doors for these smaller airports to be competitive with your larger airports, and I would have some concern there,” Moore said. “I believe that there’s more in it than meets the eye.”

The bill ultimately passed with a vote of 98-2, with Reps. Moore and John Rogers, D-Birmingham, voting against it, and Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, abstaining from the vote.

Following near-death experience, Orr, Melson file CPR, defibrillator training bill

Alabama Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, credits his colleague and friend Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, for helping to save his life in July by performing CPR when Melson had a cardiac event.

Now, Orr and Melson are sponsoring a bill to expand CPR training in public schools to include hands-on training in the technique and the use of automated external defibrillators. 

The required training would begin in the 2024-2025 academic year, according to Senate Bill 59, which is in committee today.

Melson, an anesthesiologist, has said ventricular fibrillation, a dangerous form of irregular heartbeat, caused him to go into cardiac arrest while on a trip to South Korea with other lawmakers and state leaders.

Orr estimates he performed CPR on and off for about 30 minutes until medical help arrived. Another member of the delegation located a defibrillator and tried to restore Melson’s heartbeat.

Orr said he’d received CPR training a few times in his life but had never had to use it.

“Fortunately, I was able to use that to the best of my recollection and capabilities,” he told Alabama Daily News.

“… The experience in South Korea impressed on me the importance of CPR training and defibrillator use.”

Melson spent about two weeks in a South Korean hospital and about five days on different forms of life support.

Melson is a co-sponsor on the bill.

“I like the concept of having kids be able to save lives in certain situations,” he told ADN. 

On the first day of the Alabama Legislature’s 2024 session earlier this month, Melson took a moment on the Senate floor to thank his colleagues, State House staff and others who reached out to him and his family while he was ill.

“Sen. Orr, I’m not going to say anything cute or funny except thank you,” Melson said.

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