Goat Hill Weekly: Week 3

House of Representatives:

The House spent the last couple of weeks cranking out legislation aimed at sparking private sector job growth. This week, they will be bringing up legislation that will protect Alabama families by making our highways safer and cracking down on synthetic drugs.

Marquee bills in the House this week include a ban on texting while driving and funding bonuses for teachers who complete the certification process.

Here are some details:

The “TTYL” Act prohibiting texting while driving, House Bill 2 sponsored by Rep. Jim McClendon (R-Springville)

• House Bill 2, known as the “TTYL Act,” would prohibit driving a vehicle on an Alabama highway or street while using a wireless telecommunication device to write, send or read a text-based communication, including email.
• The catchy title “TTYL,” which is text-message lexicon for “talk to you later,” is intended to reach the texting-crazed 16-25 demographic to encourage them to drive more responsibly.
• Statistics show that sending and receiving text messages while operating a vehicle is as likely or more likely to contribute to a deadly crash than drunken driving.
• According to a University of Utah study, distraction from a phone delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent.
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that drivers who use cell phones are four times as likely to get into an injury-causing crash.
• While cities and counties across Alabama have passed their own local “texting” bans, it is on the highways where speeds are such that distracted driving can be especially deadly.
• NOTE: Insiders say that polling on the texting while driving issue showed that almost 90% of Alabamians favored prohibition of that dangerous practice.

Penalties:

• First violation -$25
• Second violation – $50
• Third or subsequent violation – $75
• Any violation would count on the “points system” that could lead to the revocation of a driver’s license

Updating the “Move Over” Highway Safety Law to Protect Service Vehicles, House Bill 76 sponsored by Rep. Mac McCutcheon (R-Huntsville)

• Currently Alabama’s “move over” law requires drivers to vacate the lane closest to public safety vehicles parked on a roadside.
• This bill would ensure that service vehicles such as utility trucks and wreckers are also protected by requiring drivers to slow down and move over to allow them room to work safely

Cracking down on synthetic drugs, House Bill 158 sponsored by Rep. Allen Farley (R-McCalla)

• In addition to traditional drugs, synthetic drugs known as “spice” or “salts” have become an increasing problem in Alabama.
• Under this bill, anyone who possesses, manufactures, delivers or traffics one of the synthetic cannabinoid-like substances, commonly known as “Spice” or “Salts,” would be guilty of a felony and subject to fines ranging from $50,000 to $250,000 and a minimum prison term of between three years and life depending upon the amount of drugs involved

Rewarding Teacher Certification House Bill 251, sponsored by Rep. Jay Love (R-Montgomery)

• Sets aside $2.3 million in a conditional appropriation to incentivize teachers to seek national board certification.
• It is uncertain whether the bill will pass on Tuesday because of how far down on the calendar it is.
• This bill pays the full $5,000 salary supplement for teachers who completed the process to become national board certified.

Note: HB88, Sponsored by Rep. Millican looks like it is stalled in the House. The bill would require a prescription for common cold medications in an attempt to cut down on their use in the manufacturing of meth. We discussed the bill in last week’s Goat Hill Weekly.

Senate

Expect the Senate to pick up the economic development bills passed by the House last week. Sorry for the limited information this morning, I’ll update this post with more details later this afternoon.