MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Legislature on Wednesday met for the second day of the 2021 regular session.
Both chambers gaveled in for relatively brief periods of time, but the day’s committee schedule was pretty packed.
Here’s a rundown of the day’s proceedings:
Alabama Senate
The Senate’s day kicked with the first Judiciary Committee meeting chaired by Sen. Tom Whatley (R-Auburn).
“It is a privilege to serve the people of my district and the state of Alabama as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. I appreciate the Committee on Assignments and my Senate colleagues for entrusting me with taking on this important role for our state.” Whatley said in a statement. “Alabamians have a strong belief in maintaining the rule of law. As chairman, I will be a strong advocate for supporting law and order and the brave men and women who serve every day in law enforcement to keep our communities safe.”
The Judiciary Committee favorably reported SBs 126, 85, 97, 36, 30, 46, 68, 91, 117 and 39.
SB 126, sponsored by Sen. Jabo Waggoner (R-Vestavia), would allow the home delivery of sealed alcoholic beverages sold by licensed retailers and restaurants.
SB 97, by Whatley, would limit the unilateral power of the state health officer while increasing the ability of the legislature to act as a check to the executive branch related to states of emergency. The vote to advance this bill came strictly on party lines, 7-4, which was the closest margin of the committee’s meeting.
SB 30, by Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur), would provide limited liability protections to businesses, health care providers and other entities against civil lawsuits related to COVID-19.
SB 46, by Sen. Tim Melson (R-Florence), would legalize medical marijuana in the state.
Finance and Taxation Education also met in the morning, favorably reporting SBs 9, 40, 77, 89 and 98.
Sponsored by Sen. Dan Roberts (R-Mountain Brook), SB 98 is the companion bill to Rep. Danny Garrett’s (R-Trussville) HB 170. This priority legislation, among other tax reform measures, would ensure that federal stimulus funds derived from the CARES Act and subsequent coronavirus relief legislation are not subject to state income taxes.
In the afternoon, Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development (FRED) seemingly relived Groundhog Day, considering — once again — Orr’s “small cell bill,” SB 76. The measure was reported favorably as amended on an uncontested voice vote.
The next bill up in FRED was SB 55, and fireworks quickly flew during a public hearing on this bill by Melson. After a lobbying masterclass by former Lt. Governor Steve Windom, SB 55 received a favorable report in a 9-1 vote.
Sen. Steve Livingston’s (R-Scottsboro) SB 13 also received a favorable report from FRED.
The above favorably reported bills and several others received a second reading in the Senate after the chamber gaveled in at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday; these pieces of legislation are now in a position to be passed by the Senate as soon as Thursday.
While convened on Wednesday, the Senate adopted resolutions honoring the late Sen. Larry Dixon (R-Montgomery), congratulating the University of Alabama Crimson Tide for winning the college football national championship and praising the U.S. Air Force for its selection of Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal to serve as the permanent headquarters for Space Command.
Confirmations approved by the Senate included: Mike Brock, Jim Wilson III and Ron Gray to the University of Alabama System board of trustees; Jimmy Sanford, Mike DeMaioribus and Wayne Smith to the Auburn University board of trustees; and Arlene Mitchell, Scott Charlton, Thomas Corcoran, James Yance and James Shumock to the University of South Alabama board of trustees.
These were the first confirmations to occur under the leadership of newly minted Confirmations Committee chairman, Sen. Clyde Chambliss (R-Prattville).
View the Senate’s full floor activity for the day here.
Alabama House
The House gaveled in for a short time at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, passing new rules that allow for electronic voting to occur from members’ offices inside the State House.
The lower chamber also had a busy committee day, highlighted by Ways and Means Education in the afternoon.
This committee, following a work session the previous day on these two critical bills, favorably reported HBs 170 and 192 via uncontested voice votes.
HB 192 would renew and improve job creation incentives found in the Alabama Jobs Act and Growing Alabama Act.
As mentioned above, HB 170 and its companion SB 98 would ensure that federal stimulus funds derived from the CARES Act and subsequent coronavirus relief legislation are not subject to state income taxes.
View all House second readings from the day here and view all of the day’s floor activity for the body here.
Looking ahead
The Senate will convene at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, followed by the House at 10:00 a.m.
Livestreams of legislative proceedings can be viewed on the legislature’s website here.
Yellowhammer News will film a joint legislative preview with Senate Pro Tem Greg Reed (R-Jasper) and Speaker of the House Mac McCutcheon (R-Monrovia) on Thursday afternoon. Be on the lookout for this video interview to be released early next week.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
