Alabama Legislature

Lawmaker: During Pandemic ‘Compassionate Care’ Needed in Health Facility Visitor Policies

On Oct. 21, Bonnie and Harold Sachs entered a north Alabama emergency room because, despite a negative COVID-19 test, Harold Sachs’ symptoms, including decreased blood oxygen levels, were worsening. He was tested again and, when the results were positive, he was admitted to the hospital. Bonnie Sachs kissed her husband of 50 years before he was taken to the COVID unit. She wouldn’t see him in person again until he died Nov. 9. “He didn’t know me, he was on a ventilator,” Bonnie Sachs told Alabama Daily News. Harold and Bonnie Sachs’ and many similar stories in the past year are the reason Sen. Garlan Gudger said he filed Senate Bill 307, which says that, during public health emergencies, health care facilities shall continue to allow visitors under certain conditions. “I think everyone needs compassionate care at the end of life,” Gudger, R-Cullman, told Alabama Daily News. “And I think they need their family to be there to help patients get over whatever illness or virus.” Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

State Budgets, Legislative Authority, Gambling Bills in State House This Week

MONTGOMERY — The Alabama House is expected to vote this week on the 2022 General Fund budget while the Senate's priorities include gambling legislation and bills that could blur the lines of authority between the legislative and executive branches of state government. After moving fast through the first four weeks of the 2021 session, lawmakers are expected to slow down to a more normal pace as the mid-point approaches. “We’re hopeful by spring break we’re going to move (the budgets) out of the house of origin,” Senate Majority Leader Clay Scofield, R-Guntersville, told reporters on Thursday. Read more.

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

Concealed Carry, Law Enforcement Checks, Jail Issues Taken Up Thursday by Legislature

MONTGOMERY — Here's the latest notable legislative activity from the State House. Concealed Carry Bill Advances Rep. Proncey Robertsons’ House Bill 477, the Alabama Uniform Concealed Carry Permit Act, was approved Thursday in the Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee. It would standardize across the state the concealed carry permit process, create a “prohibited person database” and allow for a lifetime permit. Read more.

by Caroline Beck and Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Bill to Close ABC Stores Gets Committee Approval

MONTGOMERY — A bill to close the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board’s about 170 retail stores by 2026 cleared the Senate Tourism Committee on Thursday. Multiple versions of an ABC store phase-out bill have been filed by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, in the past decade. “I truly believe if we were designing state government today, we would not say, let’s get into the retail sale of alcohol and let’s compete against the private sector,” Orr told the committee. There are more than 500 private retailers in the state. Read more.

by Mary Sell and Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

Ban on Curbside Voting Passes, Special Session Bill Dies

MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Legislature continued its 2021 Regular Session Wednesday, when most of the work was in committee. Here's the latest notable legislative activity from the State House. Paying Voters A bill that would prohibit people from being paid for voting after an election passed a House committee vote on Wednesday. Read more.

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

Monuments Bill Killed; Lawmaker Calls Members Racist

MONTGOMERY — An Alabama legislative committee on Wednesday voted down a proposal that would have given counties and municipalities more flexibility in removing historical monuments, including Confederate statues. Afterward, the Democratic sponsor of the bill accused Republicans who voted against it of being racist. Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, sponsored the bill that would have amended the 2017 Monument Preservation Act. It was voted down by the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. “Many of those individuals who voted against this bill are members of the Republican Party, they are ‘Trumplicans’, and they have their beliefs because they are in power and they actually exude white supremacy here in the state of Alabama, especially in the House of Representatives so it doesn’t surprise me that they voted against the bill,” Givan told reporters. Read more.

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

Bill to Delay Rules That Would Fail Third Graders Who Don’t Read Well Enough Advances

A bill that would delay by three years a provision to require holding back third graders who don’t read at a sufficient level received unanimous support in the Senate Education Policy Committee on Wednesday. The provision is in the Alabama Literacy Act, which was approved by lawmakers in 2019. It aims to increase reading skills in young students. The act currently requires that, starting at the end of the 2021-2022 school year, third grade students demonstrate specific reading skills before being promoted to fourth grade. Smitherman’s bill delays that retention requirement until the 2024-2025 school year. He said the delay is needed because the COVID-19 pandemic led to remote learning for many students, and they’re not getting the educational support they need. He also said teachers haven’t been able to get the training they need. Read more. More from the Legislature This Week: Bill to Close ABC Stores Gets Committee Approval Concealed Carry, Law Enforcement Checks, Jail Issues Taken Up Thursday by Legislature Ban on Curbside Voting Passes, Special Session Bill Dies Monuments Bill Killed; Lawmaker Calls Members Racist House Passes Business-Friendly State Emergency Bill Read complete legislative coverage.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Special Session, Oversight Bills Advance

MONTGOMERY — A bill to allow the Legislature to call itself into a special session was approved Tuesday in the Senate Government Affairs Committee. The House version of the bill is in committee Wednesday. Read more.

by Mary Sell and Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

House Passes Business-Friendly State Emergency Bill

The Alabama House passed a bill Tuesday that would ensure some businesses can’t be closed during states of emergency while their competitors remain open. House Bill 103 by Rep. Jamie Kiel, R-Russellville, would allow businesses and places of worship to remain open as long as they comply with any emergency order, rules or regulations issued by the governor and state or local agencies. “This bill does away with the connotation of essential and non-essential businesses existing in the state,” Kiel said on the House floor. Kiel previously told Alabama Daily News that last year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, he saw local clothing stores and boutiques and sporting goods stores forced to close while other larger stores remained open selling the same products. “If you’re gonna allow a business that sells T-shirts to stay open, then all businesses that sell T-shirts should be able to stay open,” Kiel previously said. “If one business is allowed to open under certain conditions, then all businesses can be open under those same conditions.” Read more. More from the Legislature: Special Session, Oversight Bills Advance

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

Bill Would Allow Law Enforcement to Take Those in Mental Health Crisis Into Protective Custody

A bill working its way through the Legislature would allow law enforcement officers from designated agencies around the state to take people into protective custody if there is “reasonable cause to believe that the individual has a mental illness and is an immediate danger to himself or herself or others.” The individual doesn’t have to be charged with a crime and the detainment is not an arrest. The hold can last up to 72 hours if not extended by a probate judge. “This is for those acute cases, to get those individuals stabilized in a hospital setting and hopefully get them care,” sponsor Rep. Wes Allen, R-Troy, told the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News