On the 11th installment of the “Grand Old Podcast,” hosted by Alabama Republican Party Chairman Scott Stadthagen, State Rep. Mike Shaw (R-Hoover) said Alabama became the second state in the nation to pass a stablecoin law – and he wants more legislators who understand the technology behind it.
“We passed a crypto bill working with the Securities Commission, which we were only the second state to do that behind Florida, and so that has really sent a signal out to the nation that Alabama is forward thinking when it comes to technology innovation,” Shaw said.
Shaw, a chief technology officer for financial institutions, served on the Hoover City Council before the Alabama Republican Party selected him in 2022 to fill the House District 47 ballot line left open by the death of State Rep. David Wheeler. He won that November with 64% of the vote. He faces Democrat Jim Toomey of Vestavia Hills on November 3.
Shaw said the first bill he passed came out of the Carlee Russell kidnapping hoax in Hoover.
“We had an unfortunate situation where a young lady made a fraudulent 911 call, had people out there searching for her, said there was a toddler out in the road, and got national news, international news, and that was a misdemeanor, and we thought that should be a felony when it rises to that level,” Shaw said.
He then worked with the Governor’s Office to update the state’s Office of Information Technology laws and spent two sessions on a data privacy bill.
“You can ruin a business’s life with regulation,” Shaw said. “I made that law lean and mean, but also respecting our rights.”
Stadthagen, who served as House Majority Leader during Shaw’s first term, said the caucus leans on him for anything involving IT.
“We need to get more of our representatives educated up on some of these technology issues. We got a lot of things coming down the pipe,” Shaw said. “It’s not good that I’m the only person with a technology background.”
WATCH PAST EPISODES: #1 Katie Britt / #2 Jeff Sessions / #3 Richard Shelby / #4 The Rightside / #5 Scott Stadthagen / #6 Caroleene Dobson / #7 Rhett Marques / #8 Tommy Tuberville / #9 Barry Moore / #10 Katherine Robertson
Shaw said as he goes door-to-door, voters are talking about grocery prices, gas and schools.
“A lot of people say, ‘Well, you’re the first candidate that’s come to my door, not ever,’” Shaw said. “Nothing beats being face to face with them, hearing what’s important to them.”
Shaw is the second House member to sit for the podcast, after State Rep. Rhett Marques (R-Enterprise), and follows a three-week run of statewide nominees that ended with Katherine Robertson earlier this month.
Watch the full episode here. Also available on Spotify:
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
