May 6, 2024 Group Watch: Healthcare-Focused High School Coming Soon

The Alabama Legislature gave final approval to a plan to create a residential, public high school in Demopolis that’s focused on educating future healthcare professionals. The tuition-free school will be open to students from around the state. The school could open as early as the fall of 2026. In January, Bloomberg Philanthropies pledged $26.4 million to the school, pending state investment. In February, Governor Ivey proposed spending $30 million from a supplemental education spending bill on the project, but the House committee reduced the amount to $20 million. Governor Ivey has already signed into law the enabling legislation.

May 6, 2024 Group Watch: Gambling Bills Don’t Clear Senate Hurdle

A plan to authorize an Alabama lottery and 10 casinos fell one vote short of approval in the Alabama Senate last week. The gambling legislation included two bills, HB151 and HB152. Both were compromise versions of bills that had passed the House and Senate with differences earlier in the session. A conference committee of three senators and three representatives agreed unanimously on a compromise that was approved by the House but failed by one vote in the Senate. Only three meeting days are left in the 2024 Regular Session, but according to Senate leaders, there remains a chance the matter can be voted on again before the legislative session ends. 

May 6, 2024 Group Watch: Senate Approves Bill to Teach Students Dangers of Fentanyl

The Alabama Senate unanimously approved legislation to require Alabama public K-12 schools to instruct students about the dangers of fentanyl. It now goes to Governor Ivey for her signature. The bill adds fentanyl language to the current K-12 school drug education policy in response to a situation in Auburn a few years ago. The bill is named for Price Hornsby,  a 17-year-old recent graduate of Auburn High School who was awaiting an opportunity to serve in the armed services. He was having trouble sleeping and took a pill from someone with whom he attended school. He unknowingly ingested fentanyl, which resulted in his death. Proponents of the bill hope that implementation will be expedited and that information can be added to the curriculum for the 2024/2025 school year.

May 6, 2024 Group Watch: Bills Restricting Discussion of LGBTQ Topics in Public Schools Advance

Two bills that would limit LGBTQ topics and sex education in Alabama classrooms are advancing for a final vote in the legislature. A Senate committee voted along party lines to approve a bill that would update the state’s sex education curriculum and another that would prevent K-8 grade teachers from discussing LGBTQ topics in the classroom. Since 2021, at least 22 states have considered legislation limiting in-school discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity, according to Education Week.

May 6, 2024 Group Watch: Bills Requiring Safe Firearm Storage Move Forward

A divided House Judiciary Committee approved a bill that could subject parents who do not safely secure firearms to criminal penalties. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the state’s firearm mortality was 26.4 per 100,000 people in 2021, trailing only Mississippi, Louisiana and New Mexico. Under the bill, gun owners would be required to secure their firearms with trigger locks or in a gun safe so that children can’ t access them. A parent or guardian whose child carried an unsecured firearm to school could be charged with a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $6,000 fine. The legislation creates an exception for the parent if the child uses the firearm in self-defense and when children are hunting or participating in target shoot competitions.

April 29, 2024 Group Watch: News & Views from the State House

The 2024 regular session of the Alabama Legislature is starting to wind down, but there’s still a lot happening. The House passed a bill expanding a 2022 bill that restricts teachers in public schools from teaching about sexuality and gender identity. The House also passed a bill aimed at curtailing union activity in the state’s businesses.

And Governor Ivey is having a good week; she remains one of the best-liked governors in the country, ranking 5th most popular.

Find more details and info on other important #alpolitics news below.

April 29, 2024 Group Watch: Tweet of the Week

@thebloomgroup
April 22
Ivey signs anti-child trafficking bill

April 29, 2024 Group Watch: Day-by-Day, Play-by-Play

Tuesday, 24th day: 

• The Senate Tourism Committee approved a House-passed bill to further provide for distribution of tax proceeds from alcoholic beverage sales in certain community development districts. 
• The Senate County and Municipal Government Committee approved House-passed bills to define certain sex-based terms and to allow public entities to establish certain single sex spaces; and to further provide for the duties of the Alabama Board for Registration of Architects. 
• The House passed general bills to prohibit education and instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation in public K-12 schools, with amendment; to further provide for payroll deductions for state employees; and to provide additional revenue for the development of inland ports and facilities. 
• The Senate approved bills to provide state income tax exemption for the National Guard and reserve; to require that employers eligibility for economic incentives conditioned upon employer refraining from certain practices relating to labor organizations; to revise dates for submissions to qualify to appear on the ballot; and to require the Department of Youth Services to reimburse county detention facilities for expenses under certain circumstances.

Wednesday, a committee day:

• The House Ways and Means General Fund Committee approved a bill to provide a supplemental appropriation for the current fiscal year from the Opioid Treatment and Abatement Fund for several public entities including just over $20 million to the Department of Mental Health. 
• The House Education Policy Committee approved bills to authorize a teacher to exclude students from the classroom in certain circumstances; to authorize full-time students to complete the state required assessments through closed browser remote testing; and to prohibit public K-12 schools from taking certain actions regarding dependent children of active-duty military parents.
• The Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee approved a House-passed bill to exempt from state income tax amounts paid as overtime compensation in accordance with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act; and to rename the Alabama Film Office as the Alabama Entertainment Office and further clarify its scope and function. 
• The Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee approved a supplemental appropriation bill for the current fiscal year from the Opioid Treatment and Abatement Fund for several public entities including just over $20 million to the Department of Mental Health.

Thursday, 25th day: 

• The House passed a number of bills including bills to repeal the Distressed Institutions of Higher Education Revolving Loan Program; to provide that use of any premise to distribute material that is harmful to minors is a public nuisance as substituted; to provide for absolute immunity for District Attorneys; to require certain training for municipal officials; to expand the category for involuntary commitment to the Department of Mental Health; and to provide for the enforcement of state regulations and municipal court liens.
• The Senate passed bills to prohibit picketing or protesting in certain circumstances; to add a nurse anesthetist to the Board of Nursing; to provide for the powers of research and development corridors; to create a uniform process for suspension and expulsion of public-school students; and to require the Department of Youth Services to reimburse county detention facilities for cost incurred under certain circumstances.

April 29, 2024 Group Watch: House Passes Bill Protecting Workers’ Secret-Ballot Rights

Last week, on a 70-30 vote, the Alabama House passed legislation to prohibit businesses from receiving economic development incentives if union elections are not held through a secret ballot. The bill was amended on the floor to make it effective immediately upon being signed into law, rather than it going into effect in October as the bill originally stated. State officials including Governor Kay Ivey are concerned that ongoing efforts by the United Auto Workers to unionize automotive manufacturing facilities in the state could negatively impact the state’s ability to recruit employers.

April 29, 2024 Group Watch: House Passes Bill to Bring Libraries Under State Obscenity Law

Libraries and librarians could soon be held accountable under Alabama’s obscenity law if the bill just passed by the House (72-28 with 11 abstentions) is passed by the Senate and sent to Governor Ivey. The law prohibits providing “harmful” materials to minors, and the bill removes the law’s current exemption for public libraries. In the original version, librarians would have faced felony charges if “harmful” materials were not removed, but a floor substitute changed that to a minor misdemeanor for the first offense and leaves it to the local District Attorney to investigate and prosecute.