MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Legislature on Tuesday will convene for the 22nd day of its 2021 regular session.
There will also be a few committee meetings held on the day. View the Senate committee schedule here and the House committee schedule here.
The House will convene at 1:00 p.m. and take up a 19-bill special order calendar.
That calendar will include House Majority Leader Nathaniel Ledbetter’s (R-Rainsville) legislation to create the Alabama State Parks Enhancement Authority and implement its bonding authority. SB 107, Sen. Chris Elliott’s (R-Daphne) bill relating to police jurisdictions, is also on the calendar, as is SB 117 by Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison (D-Birmingham) and Rep. Chris England (D-Tuscaloosa) on expungement.
The House agenda additionally includes SB 249 by Senate Majority Leader Clay Scofield and Rep. Andy Whitt (R-Harvest), relating to call centers. Two bills to especially watch in the final part of the calendar are Rep. Jamie Kiel’s (R-Russellville) HB 70 and SB 264 by Sen. Donnie Chesteen (R-Geneva) and Danny Crawford (R-Athens). HB 70 would prohibit a person from promising to make a payment to an individual or entity, on a per voter basis, in return for proof that a voter or a specific number of voters participated in a specific election; SB 264 would legalize the permitted hunting of feral hogs and coyotes at night.
And, of course, observers will be thrilled to see SB 171 on the House calendar. Sponsored by Sen. Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman) and Rep. Randall Shedd (R-Cullman), this bill would make the sweet potato Alabama’s official state vegetable.
The Senate will gavel in at 1:30 p.m. The upper chamber’s day is set to revolve around Sen. Jim McClendon’s (R-Springville) SB 319. As currently drafted, this bill would propose a constitutional amendment legalizing the lottery in the Yellowhammer State. However, it could still be amended or substituted to include casino gaming and/or sports betting.
This will be a two-day legislative week for both chambers.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
