Alabama 2021 Legislative Report: Week nine

ALABAMA – The Alabama Legislature convened for day 22 of the 30-day regular session on Tuesday, April 13. The Legislature met in session Tuesday and Thursday with 27 committee meetings held throughout the week. Some 1,027 bills have been introduced to date: 633 in the House and 394 in the Senate.

The Legislature will return to Montgomery on Tuesday, April 20, for day 24 of the session with the House convening at 1 p.m. and the Senate convening at 2 p.m.

Significant floor passage this week in the House

HB539 by Rep. Daniels To eliminate the daily cap on the amount of beer or liquor that may be sold to customers by a brewery or distillery.

HB565 by Rep. Ledbetter A proposed Constitutional Amendment to authorize the issuance of general obligation bonds for the improvement, renovation, equipping, acquisition, provision, construction, and maintenance of Alabama state parks.

HB573 by Rep. Ledbetter To implement the Constitutional Amendment proposed in HB565 and provide for the membership and duties of the Alabama State Park Enhancement Authority.

SB11 by Sen. Givhan To exempt airport authorities from paying sales and use taxes and to include airport authorities in the list of governmental entities that may be issued an annual certificate of exemption.

SB39 by Sen. Price To create the crime of aggravated home repair fraud to provide enhanced criminal penalties for home repair fraud committed for the repair of a residential structure that was damaged as a result of an event which was declared a state of emergency by the Governor.

SB55 by Sen. Melson To authorize the sale of certain consumer fireworks within a municipality.

SB107 by Sen. Elliott To limit the police jurisdiction of a municipality to territory in the police jurisdiction of the municipality on the effective date of this act and to provide for the reduction or elimination of a police jurisdiction.

SB117 by Sen. Coleman To expand the offenses and provide procedures for a person to have criminal records expunged under certain conditions.

SB264 by Sen. Chesteen To provide that existing law prohibiting the capturing or killing of animals during nighttime hours would not apply to feral swine or coyotes hunted on privately owned or leased lands.

Significant floor passage this week in the Senate

HB130 by Rep. C. Brown To provide for additional offenses that would require mandatory denial of bail.

HB132 by Rep. C. Brown To provide that the rate filings and related actuarial information for all insurance coverage in the state, with certain exceptions, are treated as public information and will be publicly available for review.

HB385 by Rep. Hall To revise the focus of the content, course materials, and instruction provided to public school students in any program or curriculum that includes sex education or the human reproductive process.

HB391 by Rep. Stadthagen To provide that public K-12 schools may not participate in, sponsor, or provide coaching staff for interscholastic athletic events at which athletes are allowed to participate in competition against athletes who are of a different biological gender.

HB404 by Rep. South To provide that a student athlete may earn compensation for the use of the student’s name, image or likeness under certain circumstances.

HB411 by Rep. McCampbell To create a Law Enforcement Officer Employment Database and require law enforcement agencies to report certain complaints, disciplinary actions, and background information.

SB28 by Sen. Jones To provide for an increase in the maximum combined total of motor vehicle dealer and motorcycle dealer license plates that a used motor vehicle dealer may purchase.

SB94 by Sen. Smitherman To postpone the implementation of the third grade retention requirement that would require third grade students to demonstrate specific sufficient reading skills before being promoted to fourth grade until the 2024-2025 school year.

SB260 by Sen. Singleton To increase the minimum threshold to require competitive bidding from $15,000 to $25,000, and to authorize a county or municipality to establish a local preference zone for the awarding of contracts under the competitive bid law.

SB309 by Sen. Marsh To implement the Constitutional Amendment proposed in SB319 providing further for the powers and duties of the Alabama Lottery Corporation, further provide for the Lottery Trust Fund and the use of lottery proceeds for postsecondary scholarships.

SB310 by Sen. Marsh To implement the Constitutional Amendment proposed in SB319 providing futher for the powers and duties of the Alabama Gaming Commission to supervise the conduct of the Alabama Education Lottery, bingo, charitable bingo and raffles, sports wagering, and casino-style games in the state.

SB311 by Sen. Marsh To implement the Constitutional Amendment proposed in SB319 to update existing criminal provisions, to further provide for criminal penalties related to unlawful activity associated with casino-style games ad sports wagering, and to prohibit certain campaign contributions other activity by operators of gaming facilities.

SB319 by Sen. McClendon A proposed Constitutional Amendment to establish a lottery, create the Alabama Education Lottery Corporation, the Alabama Gaming Commission, authorize casino-style games and sports waging at certain locations, and require the Governor to negotiate a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.

SB358 by Sen. Allen To prohibit the state and its agencies and political subdivisions from participating in the enforcement of any federal act, law, order, rule, or regulation relating to firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition.

SB373 by Sen. Orr To require the Alabama Department of Labor to adopt policies to recover improper overpayments of unemployment benefits.

SB374 by Sen. Williams To substantially revise the law governing tax collection and the duties and powers thereof.

Significant committee action this week in the House

HB238 by Rep. Shaver To provide that if a person is convicted of boating or driving under the influence, the person’s boating and driver’s licenses will be suspended; to require a person to operate a vessel at idle speeds under certain conditions; to provide boater safety certification requirements (Amended in House Judiciary Committee).

HB242 by Rep. Holmes To revise definitions, prohibitions against disturbance, and fines for removal of memorials under the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act (Public Hearing but no vote in House State Government Committee)..

HB490 by Rep. Grimsley To eliminate the provision that an individual who has been previously convicted of the crime of possession of marijuana in the second degree will be charged with possession in the first degree, and permit an individual who has been convicted of the crime of possession of marijuana in in the first degree as a result of a prior conviction to have the felony offense reduced to a misdemeanor (Amended in House Judiciary Committee).

HB540 by Rep. Poole To create the Alabama Innovation Corporation as an authority organized as a public corporation having a legal existence separate and apart from the state and any county, municipality, or political subdivision, and would provide for its powers and duties (Substituted in House Boards, Agencies and Commissions Committee).

HB609 by Rep. Gray To create the Innovate Alabama Matching Grant Program to provide matching grants to entities that have received federal Small Business Innovation Research or Small Business Technology Transfer Research grants, or both (Substituted in House Boards, Agencies and Commission Committee).

HB611 by Rep. K. Brown To prohibit a person for physically holding a wireless telecommunication device, and watching, viewing recording or capturing a photograph or video while operating a motor vehicle (Ihouse Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee).

SB8 by Sen. Elliott To provide that a homeowner’s association or condominium association may not prohibit the displaying of the flag of the State of Alabama on residential property within the association (House Urban and Rural Development Committee).

SB62 by Sen. Elliott To authorize a Class 8 municipality that is not in a county with a Class 2 municipality and that abuts the Gulf of Mexico to establish three entertainment districts within its corporate limits (Amended in House Economic Development and Tourism Committee).

SB261 by Sen. Chambliss To provide certain prohibitions, authorizations, and requirements for contracts for the services of a design professional (House Commerce and Small Business).

SB292 by Sen. Albritton To establish the initial salaries for all state judges and justices, to provide for salary increases based on bench experience, and to eliminate county salary supplements and expense allowances for circuit and district judges (House Ways and Means General Fund Committee).

SB294 by Sen. Jones To allow licensed wineries that produce locally sourced wines and are below a certain size (Small Farm Wineries) to sell and transport their table wines directly to licensed retailers or to sell directly to consumers, under certain conditions (House Economic Development and Tourism Committee).

Significant committee action this week in the Senate

HB227 by Rep. Lovvorn To establish an income tax credit for eligible taxpayers who incur costs for the construction, acquisition, or installation of a qualified storm shelter (Amended in Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee).

HB248 by Rep. Rich To provide for the broadcast of public K-12 school sporting events (Senate Education Policy Committee).

HB281 by Rep. Gaston To extend the income tax credit for the rehabilitation of qualified historic structures to be used for a commercial or business purpose through 2027 (Amended in Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee).

HB388 by Rep. Carns A proposed Constitutional Amendment to provide that the implementation date for any bill enacted by the Legislature in a calendar year in which a generalelection is to be held and relating to the conduct of the general election shall be at least six months before the general election (Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee).

SB379 by Rep. Roberts To create a one-time allotment in the state income tax law to conform with the federal intent behind the income tax credit expansion within the American Rescue Plan (Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee).

SB385 by Sen. Williams To provide that a licensee authorized to conduct race meetings may receive broadcasts of events conducted outside Mobile County and allow all forms of pari-mutuel wagering on those events (Senate Tourism Committee).

Significant introductions this week in the House

HB617 by Rep. Mooney To prohibit the issuance of vaccine passports by government entities, to prevent government entities from requiring an individual to receive an immunization as a condition for government benefits or services, and to prohibit businesses from refusing service to an individual based on immunization status.

HB618 by Rep. Stringer To authorize individuals to carry a pistol or other firearm concealed or in a vehicle without a permit and delete the presumption of intent to commit a crime of violence solely for not possession a permit.

Significant introductions this week in the Senate

SB389 by Sen. Beasley To increase the daily limit on how much liquor may be sold by certain distrilleries to customers for off-premises consumption.

On the lighter side

The bill that would designate the sweet potato as the official state vegetable of Alabama has now passed both Houses. If the Governor signs the bill, the sweet potato will join Scaphella junonia johnstoneae (State Shell), Star Blue Quartz (State Gemstone), and William Gibson’s The Miracle Worker (State Outdoor Drama), among others, as an official symbol of the State of Alabama (SB171 by Senator Garlan Gudger).