Anti-Riot Bill Passes Committee With Changes

A bill that would increase penalties for those who participate in riots passed out of committee on Tuesday with several changes.

House Bill 445 is sponsored by Rep. Allen Treadaway, a retired Birmingham assistant police chief, who said the changes to the bill did not alter his intended goal of stopping violent protests.

“What I’ve maintained all along is that it protects lives, it protects citizens, protects law enforcement officers and it protects those protesting peacefully,” Treadaway said.

This bill was created in reaction to the summer protests in Birmingham and across the nation in response to the killing of George Floyd.

The changes were made after conversations with various concerned lawmakers such as Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, who said they were worried the bill would hurt people’s rights to protest.

“I want to make sure that the word and what we know as a riot is the conduct that we are attempting to criminalize versus just the ability for people to express their First Amendment right to peacefully assemble,” England said.

An amendment was approved that changes the definition of a riot to “the assemblage of five or more persons resulting in conduct which creates an immediate danger of damage to property or injury to persons.”

This new definition takes out any mention of protestors obstructing law enforcement or other government functions. Treadaway said obstructing governmental functions is punishable by state law.

The substitute bill also says that if a person receives an order to disperse or is in violation of a curfew, the person is intentionally participating in a riot.

The new bill also changed the original 48-hour mandatory hold period for someone arrested for assaulting a first responder, participating in a riot or blocking traffic. It’s now a 24-hour hold.

The new bill also stipulates that if a municipality decides to reduce its law enforcement budget by more than 50%, it may not be eligible to receive grants, gifts or any other sum of money from the state. This does not apply if the agency employs 20 officers or less, which Treadaway says is most agencies in Alabama.

The bill passed with Rep. Merika Coleman, D-Birmingham, Rep. Prince Chestnut, D-Selma and England voting against it.

 

Voter Info Bill Passes House

A bill that would allow certain individuals to omit their personal identifying information from the state’s voter registration list passed the House on Tuesday.

House Bill 123 from Rep. David Faulkner, R-Homewood, would allow a federal or state prosecutor, federal, state, probate, or municipal judge, or law enforcement officer to have their information omitted.

“The idea is that people who are making arrests, judges, prosecutors or someone who is taking someone’s civil liberties away and putting them in jail or prison, to protect them from any kind of violent actor,” Faulkner said.

The bill passed on a final vote of 72-12. Secretary of State John Merrill supports this bill.

Rep. Sam Jones, D-Mobile, offered an amendment that would have added  legislators to the list of protected individuals but it failed to pass with a vote of 31-64. Jones said he has experienced many threats since serving as mayor of Mobile and being a legislator.

“Everyone you have in the bill should be protected, but I also think the case should be the same for legislators,” Jones said. “We’re the ones making the laws that they have to enforce.”

Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, agrees that legislators should be included in the bill.

“I have a problem when we start singling out these individuals versus another section of individuals,” Givan said. “When does it stop? When do we stop singling out individuals?”

Rep. Mike Jones, R-Andalusia, said he was against including legislators because it might set a dangerous precedent for legislators not being as available to the public as they should be.

“They are taking on a role and job that takes people’s liberties and sometimes their lives,” Jones said. “We put ourselves out in the public very intentionally.”

Alabama statute already allows private information to be omitted from the registered voter list if they are a victim of domestic violence.