Alabama 2022 Legislative Report: Week 4

The Alabama Legislature convened for Day 10 of the Regular Session on Tuesday, February 15, and also met in session on Wednesday and Thursday for Days 11 and 12. Committee meetings were held throughout the week. 

The Legislature will return for Day 13 of the Regular Session on February 22 with the House convening at 1:00 p.m. and the Senate at 2:30 p.m. 

DURING THE WEEK 

The Senate confirmed several Board and Commission appointments including Alvin K. Hope to the Alabama Trust Fund Board, Charles Nash to the Board of Human Resources, and Betsy Echols, Cerita Tucker Smith and Randy McKinney to the Alabama Real Estate Commission. 

The House passed several Senate bills relating to Sunset Laws extending certain Boards and Commissions including the Surface Mining Commission, the Board of Home Medical Equipment, the Sickle Cell Oversight and Regulatory Commission and the State Board of Registration for Foresters. 

SIGNIFICANT INTRODUCTIONS THIS WEEK 

HOUSE 

HB342 by Rep. Mooney: To prohibit the use of electronic vote counting systems that are capable of connection to the Internet or cell phone networks, or that possess modem technology. 

HB343 by Rep. Mooney: To require any approved electronic vote counting system used in an election to require the use of paper ballots. 

HB347 by Rep. P. Moore: To create an additional class of community development districts which would authorize the sale of alcoholic beverages within a district located in a dry county. 

HB349 by Rep. Meadows: To make available substantive services to help pregnant women and parents of young children navigate existing private and public resources to support their pregnancy and parenting, establish a process to ensure every woman seeking to obtain an abortion learns about those services prior to an abortion, and support follow-up services for women after the birth of the child including referrals to resources in their community and public assistance programs. 

HB359 by Rep. C. Brown: To require that every criminal justice agency report certain case data that has been collected from sexual assault cases to the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center. 

HB371 by Rep. Ellis: To clarify that the tax collecting official of a county may conduct public tax lien auctions through an online method. 

HB374 by Rep. C. Brown: To provide for procedures for an elector to vote when he or she has changed his or her domicile and not updated his or her voter registration record prior to an election. 

SENATE 

SB219 by Sen. Barfoot: To designate the first Friday in May as “Alabama Peace Officers’ Memorial Day” and allow each county and municipality to elect to observe as a holiday. 

SB224 by Sen. Orr: To require an unemployed individual to search for work a certain number of times per week to be eligible to receive unemployment benefits. 

SB227 by Sen. Figures: A proposed Mobile County Constitutional Amendment to provide for a judicial nominating commission in Mobile County, and to provide for the composition, duties and powers of the commission. 

SB236 by Sen. Albritton: To authorize the State Superintendent of Education to issue temporary senior educator certificates to certain individuals age 65 and over to perform teaching, coaching, and other reasonable and necessary functions in the public schools. 

SIGNIFICANT COMMITTEE ACTION THIS WEEK 

HOUSE 

HB272 by Rep. Stringer: To authorize individuals to carry a firearm concealed at certain locations or in a vehicle without a permit (Amended in House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee). 

HB279 by Rep. Sells: To require the Alabama Public Service Commission to establish a website for the purpose of collecting information from cellular telephone service users relating to diminished service, and to forward the collected data to cellular telephone service providers (Public Hearing but no vote in House Transportation, Utilities and Infrastructure Committee). 

HB305 by Rep. Lee: To clarify that a business that provides rental and leasing services in a municipality, but has no other physical presence in the municipality, may be required to purchase a delivery license, with certain exceptions, for delivering rented equipment or property (Public Hearing and Substituted in House Commerce and Small Business Committee). 

HB322 by Rep. Stadthagen: To require public K-12 schools to designate all rooms that are accessible to multiple students of one sex to be used by male and female students on the basis of biological sex (House Education Policy Committee). 

HB335 by Rep. Blackshear:To authorize banks and financial institutions to charge a closing fee in a limited amount on loans of less than $1,500, subject to partial refund upon prepayment of the loan (House Financial Services Committee). 

SB9 by Sen. Elliott: To provide for the expenditure of funds received by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for coastal conservation, restoration and protections pursuant to the “Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (GOMESA)”(House State Government Committee). 

SB19 by Sen. Orr: To increase the optional standard deduction and expand the adjusted gross income range allowable for the maximum optional standard deduction and the dependent exemption to increase the threshold at which the state imposes individual income taxes (House Ways and Means Education Committee). 

SB46 by Sen. Chambliss: To prohibit the use of electronic vote counting systems that are capable of connection to the Internet or cell phone networks, or that possess modem technology (Amended in House Constitution, Campaigns and Elections Committee). 

SB104 by Sen. Givhan: To prohibit a corporation from issuing scrip in bearer form, thereby requiring a corporation to register all issued scrip of fractional stock (House Financial Services Committee). 

SENATE 

SB10 by Sen. Orr: To prohibit a major interactive computer service provider from taking certain restrictive or suppressive action against a user of its service based on either a viewpoint expressed or shared by the user or true statements of fact expressed or shared by the user (Public Hearing and vote in Senate Judiciary Committee). 

SB78 by Sen. Smitherman: To postpone implementation of the Alabama Literacy Act which will require third grade students to demonstrate specific sufficient reading skills before being promoted to fourth grade until the the 2025-2026 school year (Public Hearing but no vote in Senate Education Policy Committee). 

SB160 by Sen. Singleton: To amend the crime of unlawful possession of marijuana in the second degree to provide that a person commits the crime if her or she possesses less than two ounces of marijuana and would change the criminal penalty to a fine only. 

SB190 by Sen. McClendon: To require that any legal action contesting the validity of any statewide redistricting plan be heard by a three-judge panel comprised of judges appointed by the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. 

SIGNIFICANT FLOOR PASSAGE THIS WEEK 

HOUSE 

HB77 by Rep. Rich: To authorize the county tax assessing official to appear and defend the state in appeals when the taxable value of property is at issue and would provide that the action is considered an appearance of the state unless the Department of Revenue intervenes. 

HB117 by Rep. Lee: To provide certain requirements for the purchase, possession, and sale of certain used, detached catalytic converters, and provide criminal penalties for a violation. 

HB123 by Rep. Ledbetter: To establish and provide for the qualifications and duties of a mental health service coordinator and would require each local board of education in the state to employ a mental health service coordinator to serve those schools under the jurisdiction of the board. 

HB144 by Rep. S. Jones: To eliminate the requirement for a run-off election where only two candidates run for election for a particular office in a municipal election. 

HB170 by Rep. Scott: To create the crime of female genital mutilation and provide criminal penalties for a violation. 

HB231 by Rep. Carns: To provide that the reduction in the individual federal income tax deduction associated with the federal child tax credits would be calculated as if the individual paid the federal income tax that would otherwise have been paid. 

HB234 by Rep. Rafferty: To provide for a food truck license in a Class 1 municipality (Birmingham) that would allow a food truck to sell alcoholic beverages for consumption in open containers within a defined boundary in the vicinity of the food truck. 

HB250 by Rep. Hassell: To authorize the Alabama Port Authority to build intermodal and multi-modal transfer facilities. 

SB152 by Sen. Roberts: To provide that the reduction in the individual federal income tax deduction associated with the federal child tax credits would be calculated as if the individual paid the federal income tax that would otherwise have been paid. 

HB255 by Rep. Shedd: A proposed Constitutional Amendment to authorize the state, a county, or a municipality to grant certain monies to public or private entities for broadband infrastructure. 

HB285 by Rep. Clouse: To extend the privilege assessment and surcharge currently imposed on each bed in a nursing facility until August 31, 2025. 

HB286 by Rep. Clouse: To extend the Hospital Provider Privilege Tax which provides funding for the Alabama Medicaid Agency until fiscal year 2025. 

HB287 by Rep. Clouse: To impose an assessment on emergency medical transport providers to provide additional Medicaid enhancement payments for the maintenance and expansion of emergency medical transport services. 

SB22 by Sen. Price: To provide that a retail table wine licensee may dispense wine for off-premises consumption in containers approved by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. 

SB64 by Sen. Chambliss: To authorize the establishment of entertainment districts within certain community development districts. 

SENATE 

HB82 by Rep. Garrett: To provide that for the tax years ending after the enactment of the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, any amount of cancellation of indebtedness income resulting from a loan forgiven under the American Rescue Plan Act shall be exempt from income taxes, not considered in determining expenses, and excluded from any and all calculations in determining a taxpayer’s federal income tax deduction. 

HB231 by Rep. Carns: To provide that the reduction in the individual federal income tax deduction associated with the federal child tax credits would be calculated as if the individual paid the federal income tax that would otherwise have been paid. 

SB18 by Sen. Orr: To provide that up to $6,000 of distributions from certain deferred compensation plans is exempt from income tax for individuals who are 65 or older. 

SB28 by Sen. Whatley: To provide for the inclusion of the Space National Guard within the Alabama National Guard if the federal government creates the Space National Guard in the National Defense Authorization Act by fiscal year 2025. 

SB71 by Sen. Chambliss: To allow a county licensing official to enter into a contract with a third party, upon approval of the county commission, to provide materials for print-on demand validation decals, emblems, and registration receipt forms for license plate renewals. 

SB178 by Sen. Givhan: To authorize the investment of municipal funds and county funds into commercial paper with the highest credit rating at the time of purchase, or banker’s acceptance, and would prohibit the investment of those funds into closed-end management type investment companies. 

SB186 by Sen. Hatcher: To authorize the Alabama Port Authority to build intermodal and multi-modal transfer facilities. 

SB196 by Sen. Livingston: A proposed Constitutional amendment to require the Governor to provide notice to the Attorney General and a designated member of the victim’s family prior to granting a reprieve or commutation to a person under sentence of death, and to provide for the voiding of a reprieve or commutation upon failure of the Governor to provide notice. 

SB211 by Sen. Elliott :To provide for the issuance by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) of certificates of title on vessels and to require owners of vessels to obtain a certificate of title.