In the third week of session, a lot of basic business got done: approval by the Senate of the continuation of multiple and various sunset bills. A bill raising the marriage age made it through committee. And the medical marijuana bill made more progress (see separate article below). Here’s a
A bill to require cities to get approval from the legislature before passing new occupational taxes or license taxes moved a step closer to passing, despite opposition from the mayors of the state’s 10 largest cities. The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee approved a bill by Rep. Chris Sells, which has
@alabamacounts Feb 20 State leaders say this could be the most important census in Alabama history. Make #ALCount on March 12.
The House passed a bill last week to prohibit smoking or vaping in vehicles carrying children ages 14 and younger. Rep. Rolanda Hollis of Birmingham was the bill’s sponsor, and it passed by a vote of 78-19. The bill would impose a fine up to $100 for violations. Violations would
A bill that would allow college athletes to make money off the use of their name and likeness was introduced in the House last week. The “Fair Pay to Play” bill, sponsored by Rep. Kirk Hatcher (D-Montgomery) is a hot topic and should see some good debate in coming weeks.
Last week, Blue Origin opened a sprawling factory in Alabama’s “Rocket City” that will allow the spaceflight company to accelerate production of its heavy-lift BE-4 rocket engine and create hundreds of jobs. The BE-4, which is under development, will power Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket as well as the United
Last week, a medical marijuana bill cleared its first hurdle in the legislature when the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the bill by a vote of 8-1 (with one member abstaining). The bill by Republican Senator Tim Melson would allow people to be prescribed medical marijuana for 15 conditions including cancer, anxiety
A bill that clarifies which materials (other than dirt) can be used as “alternative cover” at landfill sites and also spells out how the Alabama Department of Environmental Management will decide what is and isn’t allowed unanimously passed the House last Thursday, despite early opposition from some Democrats.
Want to listen to an update of all the activity in the legislature last week? Check out this episode of the Legislation Matters podcast, here.
In the second week of session, lots of local application only bills moved through committees and both chambers. A bill to create a statewide emergency notification system was approved by the Senate, and a bill to prohibit new municipal occupational taxes was passed in the House. Here are details: Tuesday,
