House Passes Bill Requiring Pre-K and Community Corrections, Aniah’s Law and Others
Here's a rundown of legislative action in the Alabama House of Representatives Tuesday. Read more.
Government
Police Jurisdiction Bill Gets Public Hearing
A bill in the Alabama Legislature would stop the growth of police jurisdictions in the state and rein in municipalities’ ability to enforce planning and zoning requirements outside their limits. Senate Bill 107 from Sen. Chris Elliott, R-Daphne, was approved in the Senate 30-to-0 earlier this month. On Tuesday, it had a public hearing in the House County and Municipal Government Committee. “What is before you is a bill that essentially freezes police jurisdictions where they currently exist, allowing the municipality to outgrow them in time,” Elliott said. “As amended, the bill freezes planning jurisdictions at a mile-and-a-half out from the current city limit lines. It continues to allow the collection of sales taxes to fund public safety in those jurisdictions. It also rolls back municipal authority over building permits (in the jurisdictions).” Read more.
Medical Marijuana Bill Gains Senate Approval
A bill to legalize and regulate medical marijuana passed the Alabama Senate Wednesday, a major step forward in a years-long effort to allow the use of the drug to treat chronic pain and other conditions. Senate Bill 46 sponsored by Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, would allow doctors to prescribe medical marijuana products to treat more than 16 qualifying medical conditions and symptoms listed in the bill, including post-traumatic stress disorder, autism spectrum disorder, Crohn’s disease, HIV/AIDS-related nausea, and cancer-related chronic pain and nausea. An amendment added on the Senate floor by Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, added sickle cell anemia to the list of approved conditions. The bill would create a Medical Cannabis Commission to oversee regulations and licensing for medical marijuana cultivators, processors and dispensaries, and also would require a statewide seed-to-sale tracking system for all cannabis in the state. Read more. House Passes Bill Requiring Pre-K and Community Corrections, Aniah’s Law and Others Citing Census Data Delay, Lawmakers Seek to Move 2022 Elections Police Jurisdiction Bill Gets Public Hearing Ivey Declares Monday Supermarket Employee Day Read complete legislative coverage.
Birmingham Mayor, Council Pushing Two Separate Wish Lists in Legislature
This year, the city of Birmingham is sending two sets of lobbyists to Montgomery — one from Mayor Randall Woodfin’s office and one from the City Council. Councilors made that decision last month, claiming they’d been excluded from planning the city’s legislative agenda, and on Tuesday they approved a legislative agenda of their own — one that only slightly overlaps with Woodfin’s priorities. The primary area of agreement between the two agendas is about bolstering city revenue through fines. Both the mayor and council are pushing legislation that would increase penalties for littering, dumping and weed abatement. Both also want to tie parking tickets to car tag renewal, providing a built-in enforcement mechanism for a ticketing system that currently lacks one. Woodfin and the council also are both pushing for an increase in the maximum number of entertainment districts allowed in a municipality. Birmingham has four such areas — Pepper Place, Uptown, Five Points South and Avondale — where people are allowed to drink alcohol outside, though they must have purchased that alcohol from a restaurant, bar or venue in that district. State law caps the number of entertainment districts a city can have at five; Woodfin and the council both hope to raise that number to 15. The similarities mostly end there. Read more.
Ivey Declares Monday Supermarket Employee Day
MONTGOMERY — Gov. Kay Ivey proclaimed Monday Supermarket Employee Day in Alabama as a way to honor grocery store workers who continued to work throughout the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more.
Report Shows Lower Recidivism Rates in Community Corrections Programs; Legislation Pending
Criminal offenders who served their sentences in programs in which they stayed in their own communities under supervision were on average significantly less likely to commit new felonies than other offenders under the Alabama Department of Corrections oversight, a recent study found. But some community correction programs had recidivism rates much higher than others and varied in the fees offenders had to pay. Meanwhile, the programs for non-violent felony offenders aren’t available in some areas of the state. “The better the program and the better managed it is at the local level, the lower the recidivism rate,” said Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur and chairman of the Alabama Commission on Evaluation of Services. Read more. Citing Census Data Delay, Lawmakers Seek to Move 2022 Elections Police Jurisdiction Bill Gets Public Hearing Ivey Declares Monday Supermarket Employee Day Read complete legislative coverage.
Bills Would Allow Student-Athletes Compensation for Likeness
MONTGOMERY — Bills in the Alabama Legislature would allow student-athletes at Alabama institutions of higher education to be compensated whenever their name, image or likeness is used in promotional material. Read more. More About the Legislature Bill Would Create Sexual Assault Survivor ‘Bill of Rights’ Leadership Pleased With First Two Weeks of Session
Bill Would Create Sexual Assault Survivor ‘Bill of Rights’
MONTGOMERY — Legislation moving through the Legislature would create a sexual assault survivor “bill of rights” and set a requirement for how long law enforcement must preserve evidence from sexual assault cases. Rep. Chip Brown, R-Hollinger’s Island, is sponsoring House Bill 137, which is scheduled to be considered in the House Tuesday. “My whole purpose of this legislation is to try and protect sexual assault victims and help bring perpetrators and criminals to justice,” Brown told Alabama Daily News. Read more.
Census Data Delay Puts Redistricting on Hold, Could Impact Candidates
A delay in U.S. Census Bureau data until this fall could mean an odd situation for the state’s elected officials and those who wish to unseat them in 2022. State campaign finance law allows candidates to start fundraising in late May of this year. But the required redrawing of legislative and congressional districts based on the new Census data now won’t be complete likely until late in the year. Read more.
Federal COVID-19 Rent and Utilities Assistance Set for Birmingham Residents
The City of Birmingham has received nearly $6.3 million in federal funding to assist residents who are unable to pay rent and utilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding comes as part of a $25 billion program from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, which began allocating money to states, territories, local governments and Indian tribes last month. Funding for the Emergency Rental Assistance program was approved by the City Council during Tuesday’s regularly scheduled meeting. It was initially announced last month by Mayor Randall Woodfin, who said his administration had made the funding a “priority.” Read more.