April 11, 2022 Group Watch: Legislature Day-by-Day, Play-by-Play

• The House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee approved a Senate-passed bill to create the Alabama Second Amendment Preservation Act to provide prohibitions on the use of certain public resources and personnel to enforce certain federal actions relating to firearms, accessories and ammunition.
• The House Ways and Means General Fund Committee approved a Senate-passed bill to create the State Employee Retirees’ Trust Fund Funding Act to establish a separate fund to provide for future periodic retiree bonuses.
• The House Ways and Means Education Committee approved a Senate-passed bill to increase the per semester loan repayment award for qualified math and science teachers.
• The House gave final passage to Senate-passed bills to: further provide for virtual court hearings in criminal cases; postpone until 2024-25 school year the third-grade retention requirement in the Literacy Act; provide for virtual meetings of governmental bodies; and to further provide for telehealth and telemedicine.
• The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee approved House-passed bills to: provide for virtual meetings of the board of trustees for the Alabama Trust Fund; require criminal justice agencies to annually submit a report with certain information relative to sexual assault cases and sexually-oriented criminal offenses; and to prohibit the state and any of its political subdivisions from teaching certain concepts relating to race, sex or religion in certain training.
• The Senate gave final approval to House-passed bills to authorize the Secretary of State to provide digital copies of all bills, resolutions and memorials; to provide that up to $6,000 of taxable retirement income is exempt from state income tax for individuals 65 years of age or older; to further provide for the duties and membership of the Literacy Task Force; and to further provide for service of garnishment notice.

• The House passed several Senate-passed bills including bills to allow county licensing officials to contract with a third party with county commission approval for materials provided for print-on-demand validation decals; and to require individuals to search for work a certain number of times per week to be eligible for unemployment compensation.
• The Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee approved several bills including House-passed bills to: increase the per semester loan repayment award for qualified math and science teachers; require the State Board of Education to phase in the employment of auxiliary teachers to assist classroom teachers with instructional and non-instructional activities in all public schools in the state providing instruction in grades K-3; and to increase the optional standard deduction and expand the adjusted gross income range allowable for the maximum dependent exemption.
• The Senate passed a number of House-passed bills of local application only and House-passed general bills including bills to: establish the State Employee Retirees Trust Fund Funding Act to provide for future bonuses; provide for local approval of solid waste management sites; provide that a judge may use discretion in the length of sentence a defendant must serve if his or her probation is revoked; and to create a 180-day grace period for inmates to repay court-imposed debt after release.

• The House gave final passage to a number of Senate-passed bills of local application only and general bills including bills to: prohibit medical procedures for minors intended to alter the appearance of gender; increase the optional standard deduction amount and increase the adjusted gross income range allowable for maximum optional standard deduction and dependent exemption; and to prohibit the state enforcement of certain federal firearm laws.
• The Senate passed several House-passed bills of local application only and general bills to: increase the loan repayment award for qualified math and science teachers per semester; authorize the Board of Optometric Scholarship Awards to conduct remote meetings and to expand the program to include loans and revise program parameters; and to require a mental health service coordinator for each school system subject to a legislative appropriation.

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