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.

April 29, 2024 Group Watch: House Passes Bill Expanding Ban on Discussion of LGBTQ Topics in Public Schools

Similar to the changes possibly coming to the state’s obscenity law, a 2022 law that bans teachers from teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity will be expanded if the bill passed by the House last week becomes law. The current ban applies from kindergarten through 5th grade; the new bill would extend the ban through 8^th grade. The bill was initially written to extend the prohibition through the 12^th grade, but an amendment moved it back down to 8^th grade. After a lengthy discussion, the House approved the bill with amendment, 74-25. 

April 29, 2024 Group Watch: OMCO Solar Plans Huntsville Manufacturing Facility With 70 Jobs

Commerce Secretary Ellen McNair announced that Phoenix, Arizona-based OMCO Solar, one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of steel structures for solar panels, plans to invest more than $10 million in its second production facility in Alabama, creating 70 full-time jobs in Limestone County. Founded in 1955, OMCO is the largest custom roll former in the United States, producing highly engineered, custom roll-formed shapes for many applications across a wide range of industries. It is also the nation’s premier manufacturer of solar trackers, devices that direct panels towards the sun and fixed-tilt structures for solar arrays. 

April 29, 2024 Group Watch: Raytheon Investing $115 Million in Huntsville Expansion

Raytheon officially launched a $115-million expansion of its Redstone Raytheon Missile Integration Facility, which will increase the factory’s space for integrating and delivering on critical defense programs by more than 50%. The 26,000-square-foot expansion project will also bring an estimated 185 new jobs to the Huntsville site, growing the employee footprint of Raytheon and its parent company RTX in Alabama to more than 2,200 people. Raytheon’s Redstone facility is the final integration point for many missile programs for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, U.S. Navy and other defense customers.

April 22, 2024 Group Watch: News & Views from the State House

There was some strong consensus on several bills last week, including the Education Trust Fund budget, which passed the House on an almost-unanimous vote. A bill easing regulations on religious exemptions for vaccines passed the Senate on a 24-5 vote. And a bill package aiming to increase workforce participation in the state passed without a single no vote.

And once again, Alabama’s lauded Pre-K program got top marks, receiving 10 out of 10 on quality benchmarks; Alabama is one of only five states in the country to meet these quality standards.

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