February 21, 2022 Group Watch: Legislature Day-by-Day, Play-by-Play

• The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee approved several bills including House-passed bills to clarify that emergency management personnel provide public safety services and to revise the membership of the board of the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame and further provide for location of the Hall and for the board to meet by electronic means. It also approved a proposed constitutional amendment, which if ratified, would require the governor to notify the attorney general and a designated member of a victim’s family prior to granting a commutation to a person sentenced to death.
• The House passed several bills of local application only and general bills to exempt federal COVID benefits from state income tax; to approve a grace period for paying fines after release from prison; and to allow local grants to expand high-speed internet.
• The Senate passed several general bills including bills to establish a program of advanced enrollment for children of military families in public K-12; to permit extension of the timeframe allowable for military spouses in their occupational practice; and to further provide for definitions of employment to exclude certain marketplace contractors.

• The House Ways and Means-Education Committee approved several bills including a Senate-passed bill to increase the optional standard deduction and expand adjusted gross income allowable.
• The House Ways and Means-General Fund Committee approved a few bills including bills to extend the supplemental privilege assessment for nursing homes and hospitals through August 2025.
• The House State Government Committee approved a bill to allow issuance of garnishment writs by regular or certified mail.
• The House approved a number of bills of local application only and a number of general bills including bills to require a mental health service coordinator for each school system subject to legislative appropriations; to authorize the establishment of entertainment districts within community development districts under certain conditions; to further provide for the equipment required while operating autocycles and other motor vehicles; and to provide that a judge may use discretion in the length of sentence a defendant must serve if his or her probation is revoked.
• The Senate Finance and Taxation-Education Committee approved several bills including bills to require each local school board of education subject to legislative appropriations to employ a mental health service coordinator; to provide an exemption of up to $40,000 in tangible business personal property from state ad valorem tax beginning October 1, 2023; and to provide that the deduction allowed to individual taxpayers for federal income tax paid or accrued within the tax year ending December 31, 2021.
• The Senate Judiciary Committee approved several bills including a bill to prohibit certain service providers from taking certain restrictive actions against users based on type and content of speech expressed on their platforms.
• The Senate Education Policy Committee approved a couple of bills including a bill to amend the Alabama Literacy Act to delay its implementation for two years.
• The Senate approved several general bills including bills to require the governor to provide prior notice when granting a reprieve or commutation to certain parties including relatives of victims; to require procedural due process protection for suspensions and expulsions for students in K-12; and to further provide for payment of principal and interest for loans from the Federal Aid Highway Finance Authority.

• The Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee approved a bill to provide a one-time bonus to education retirees.
• The House passed a number of bills of local application only and general bills to extend the privilege assessments for hospitals and nursing homes through August 2025.
• The Senate passed several general bills including a House-passed bill to further provide for the membership of the Women’s Hall of Fame Board and to authorize electronic meetings; to allow the Education Trust Fund Advancement and Technology Fund to be used for capital outlay; and to establish the Small Business Relief and Revitalization Act of 2022.

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