Alabama Legislature

Statewide 5G Infrastructure Bill Passes First Vote But Cities Still Concerned

MONTGOMERY -- A bill that would set a statewide standard for deploying 5G cellular infrastructure, including how much money cities can charge providers for access to existing utility structures, has support from multiple lawmakers, but municipal leaders say the bill takes away too much local control. Senate Bill 172 would mandate a request process for cities to follow when approached by wireless providers such as AT&T and Verizon and sets a cap on the fees municipalities can charge companies for the use of city-owned rights-of-ways. It passed out of the Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development committee last week with no opposition. Read more.

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily New

Prison Reform Package Backed by Ivey Promises Better Rehabilitation and Oversight

MONTGOMERY — Gov. Kay Ivey has endorsed a package of criminal justice reform bills as a way to respond to systemic problems within Alabama's prisons system. There are five bills and one joint resolution, as well as a recommendation to increase funding for prison education programs by $4.2 million and improve access to mental health care. Read more. Earlier reporting on this topic: Legislature to Get Bills Addressing Needs of Alabama’s Troubled Prisons

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

Legislature Approves Bill to Slow Future Occupational Taxes

MONTGOMERY — The Alabama State Senate on Thursday voted along party lines to give final approval to legislation slowing cities' ability to pass local occupational taxes. House Bill 147, sponsored by Rep. Chris Sells, R-Greenville, limits municipalities from enacting occupational taxes by requiring any such policy to pass the Legislature as local legislation. Democrats argued strongly against the bill, saying it unfairly hurts the capital city of Montgomery, which passed an occupational tax last week. The Senate debated the bill for more than three hours before passing it on a 27-7 vote. It now goes to Gov. Kay Ivey, whose office previously signaled support for it. Read more.

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

Ban on Smoking in Cars With Children Progresses, but Concerns Over Rights Remain

MONTGOMERY — The Alabama House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill to ban smoking tobacco and using vaping products in vehicles when children younger than 14 are present. But as the bill moves to the Senate, some lawmakers are concerned about policing people’s actions within their property. The House last week approved House Bill 46, by Rep. Rolanda Hollis, D-Birmingham, in a 78-19 vote. It was amended to add the vaping prohibition and to say that smoking or vaping with children in the car is a secondary violation, not a primary reason a driver can be pulled over. The violation comes with a fine not to exceed $100. Hollis told Alabama Daily News she drafted the bill after riding in a vehicle with her husband while he smoked. Read more.

by Abby Driggers and Devin Pavlou, Alabama Daily News

Bill to Give Voters Option to End Police Jurisdictions Passes First Vote

MONTGOMERY — A bill that would require counties to allow voters to decide whether they want to eliminate police jurisdictions passed out of a Senate committee Tuesday, but disagreements between representatives of counties and cities still exist.

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

After Committee Passage, Senate Slows Animal Cruelty Bill

MONTGOMERY — At least one member of the Alabama Senate committee that approved a bill opponents claim rolls back state animal abuse laws said he wants to see the legislation die. “My goal right now is to not let this come up on the floor,” Sen. Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, told Alabama Daily News. Senate Bill 196 says those who file animal abuse complaints that aren't substantiated as severe cases can be charged with a Class C misdemeanor. It also puts responsibility for most abuse investigations on the Alabama Department of Agriculture and allows money raised by nonprofit animal groups to go toward the fees abusers must pay. A co-sponsor on the bill, Sen. David Sessions, R-Grand Bay, said it was designed to protect farmers, particularly cattle ranchers, from bogus claims of abuse. But opponents say the language isn't clear enough and could hurt humane shelters and people who breed dogs as pets, for instance. Read more.

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

Payday Loan Bill Dies, but Issue Not Dead

Last year, 189,231 Alabamians took out 1.6 million payday loans worth about $563.6 million from lenders in the state. They paid about $98.4 million in fees, according to a database kept by the Alabama Department of Banking. “It’s absolutely massive,” Dev Wakeley, a policy analyst for the progressive advocacy group Alabama Arise, said recently about the fees paid by borrowers. “All this money is getting syphoned out of communities and most of it goes out of state.” Payday lending reform, specifically the fees allowed to be charged to borrowers, has become a perennial issue in the Alabama State House. A bill by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, to give borrowers up to 30 days to repay the money instead of what can be 10 to 20 days, was killed earlier this month on an 8-6 vote in the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee. “The fact that this bill got shut down in committee does not negate the fact that there is a massive need for reform,” Wakeley said. Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Legislature to Get Bills Addressing Needs of Alabama’s Troubled Prisons

MONTGOMERY -- In her state of the state address to open the current legislative session, Gov. Kay Ivey praised the work of a study group she appointed to “address the needs to rehabilitate those within our prison system” and said she looked forward to working with lawmakers “on bills specifically designed to address some of these issues.” Now it looks as if the rubber is about to hit the road. State Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, one of six legislators on the prison study group and one of the Legislature’s experts on the overcrowded and violence-plagued prison system, said a package of prison bills that Ivey’s office is putting together could come forth next week, Ward said he said he may be the Senate sponsor of some of the bills. He also said he plans to hold hearings on the package before the Senate Judiciary Committee, of which he is chairman. As described generally by Ward, the measures in the package reflect some of the recommendations of the study group, which issued a report earlier this year. The governor’s office said it had no comment.  Read more. 

by Tom Gordon

‘Alternative Cover’ Landfill Bill Moves Forward; ADEM Says Coal Ash No Longer Permitted Material

MONTGOMERY — The Alabama House of Representatives on Thursday approved legislation that clarifies landfills’ ability to use materials other than dirt to cover new garbage each day. Previously approved “alternative cover” materials have included shredded vehicle components from scrapped cars, contaminated soil and coal ash. The Alabama Department of Environmental Management said Thursday that it no longer allows the use of coal ash as cover and, while a Walker County landfill still has a permit to use it, it soon will not. Sponsor Rep. Alan Baker, R-Brewton, said House Bill 140 is needed to codify what ADEM has allowed for about three decades. “It would be up to ADEM to decide in permits what covers are allowed,” Baker said on the House floor. Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Medical Marijuana Bill Clears First of Four Votes

MONTGOMERY — Legislation to allow and regulate the use of medical marijuana cleared its first vote Wednesday and now moves to the state Senate, where about half its members voted last year to approve a similar bill. “We want to make sure that people who have tried other avenues who are not successful have access to this to try if their physician wants them to,” Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, said Wednesday during a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting. That committee voted 8-1 to advance Senate Bill 165 with one abstention from Sen. Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville. Read more.

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News