4/26/2013 Group Watch: Hubbard Says Republican Agenda Will Pass
Four of the 10 bills in the “We Dare Defend Our Rights” agenda for the Republican caucus in the Alabama House of Representative have passed the legislature so far. With a handful of days remaining, House Speaker Mike Hubbard of Auburn said he expects all of the bills to pass except a proposed constitutional amendment on gun rights. That bill would require courts to use strict judicial scrutiny in evaluating state laws that infringe on the rights to keep and bear arms. In its place the caucus will work to pass a broader gun regulations bill that has already passed the Senate. So far, the legislature has given final passage to bills to add new regulations for abortion clinics; to allow local school boards to have more control over programs, hiring and spending by entering into flexibility contracts with the state; to establish a schedule to repay by 2026 the Alabama Trust Fund the $437 million that was borrowed to bolster the General Fund, and to require state agencies to prepare a business economic impact statement before adopting any rule if a business claims the proposed rule negatively affects them.
