2024 Alabama legislative session

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The 2024 Alabama legislative session began on February 6 and ended on May 10, 2024.

The Alabama House of Representatives consisted of 77 Republican members (76 of them white) and 28 Democrats (26 of them Black), and was presided over by Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-District 24, Rainsville), who appointed chairs for all House legislative committees. The Alabama State Senate had a 27-8 Republican majority (all 27 Republicans being white and 7 of 8 Democrats being Black), and was chaired by Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth, with Greg Reed (R-District 5, Jasper) serving as senate president pro tem.

Governor Kay Ivey announced in January that her priority for the session was to pass a school choice bill. That topic, and passing new restrictions on absentee voting were considered priorities for the Republican Caucus, and were expected to pass before the March 5 primary elections so that members could better campaign on those issues.

House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter remarked that his priorities for the session revolved around addressing obstacles to workforce participation, including access to health care, child care, and transportation. Many recommendations in this area were developed by the The Lieutenant Governor’s Commission on 21st Century Workforce, chaired by Will Ainsworth.

Among the other major issues taken up during the 2024 session were proposals to create a state gaming commission to help regulate illicit gambling and also to put the issue of a statewide lottery program back before voters. The Alabama House Republicans discussed a proposed "comprehensive" gambling bill during a closed meeting on January 10. House Bills 151 and 152 were passed with amendments on February 15 and sent to the Senate. The legislation would have set a referendum for voters to approve the creation of state gaming commission which could award licenses to seven casinos at the sites of existing gambling facilities, regulate sports betting, create a statewide lottery. It would also authorize the Governor to negotiate a gaming compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians which would expressly give federal courts jurisdiction over its enforcement.

The Senate Tourism Committee made major cuts to the proposal in their version, and also moved the public referendum from November to a special election in August. Several other amendments adopted in the Senate before passage on March 7, including the elimination of casino and sports betting, were rejected by the House on April 4, causing the bill to be sent to a conference committee for negotiation beginning on April 16. The House passed the reconciled bills on April 30 by 70-29 votes. The bill then returned to the Senate, where it received a "motion to concur" on a 20-15 vote prior to an actual vote on the bill, which would require a 60% majority, or 21 votes. The vote was tabled in an attempt to find a 21st vote as the session came to a close.


Notable Acts

Budgets

The House unanimously passed a $3.4 billion general fund budget for Fiscal Year 2025 (SB-66) on May 2. The Alabama Medicaid Agency got an increase of $92 million in state appropriations to cover the expiration of enhanced federal funding related to the COVID pandemic. The Alabama Department of Corrections got a $75 million boost and the Alabama Department of Mental Health saw its budget grow by $23 million to fund operation of its network of crisis care centers.

In addition, a supplemental spending bill for the 2024 Fiscal Year (SB-67) appropriated another $150 million toward prison construction.

Criminal code

  • Act of Alabama 2024-103, introduced in the House of Representatives by Chris Pringle (R-District 101) added fentanyl and its analogues to the definition of substances which, if sold, given or delivered to a person who dies, would expose the seller, giver or deliverer to a charge of manslaughter. It was signed by Governor Ivey on April 23. (link)

Economic development

  • Act of Alabama 2024-127, advanced as Senate Bill 129, sponsored by Greg Albritton (R-District 22, established an "Alabama Blockchain Study Commission" with a charge "to study blockchain technology and cryptocurrency and foster appropriate expansion of related industries in Alabama," including use of such technology for government and business purposes, and its potential effects on various aspects of public policy. (link)
  • Act of Alabama 2024-340. introduced to the Senate with 6 Republican co-sponsors, makes a business ineligible for public incentives if it voluntarily recognizes union representation without holding a secret-ballot election, or voluntarily provides contact information for employees to a labor union. Businesses which have already received public incentives are required to return them if they violate the act, as determined by the Alabama Department of Revenue. In announcing that she had signed the bill, Governor Ivey proclaimed that "We want to ensure that Alabama values, not Detroit values, continue to define the future of this great state." (link)

Education and workforce development

A major package of legislation, dubbed "Working for Alabama", was centered around workforce development and workforce participation, and was considered a critical follow-up to "The Game Plan" package of economic development incentives passed in 2023.

Elections

  • Act of Alabama 2024-33 tightened restrictions on absentee voting, and made it a felony for a "third party" to provide pre-filled absentee ballot applications to voters or to submit absentee ballots to elections officials. The law includes exceptions for voters eligible for assistance under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 or the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986, or during a government-declared state of emergency. The bill was introduced as Senate Bill 1 by Garlan Gudger (R-District 4), with supporters citing "ballot harvesting" as a threat to election security. Opponents characterized the legislation as "voter suppression" intended to dissuade vulnerable individuals from exercising their rights. Governor Ivey signed the bill on March 20. (link)
  • Act of Alabama 2024-168 extended the deadline for party nominees to appear on general election ballots. It was precipitated by an announcement made by Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen that the 2024 Democratic National Convention was scheduled too late to have its nominees for President and Vice President appear on the ballot. Governor Ivey signed the bill on May 2. (link)
  • Act of Alabama 2024-338, sponsored in the Senate by Arthur Orr (R-District 3) prohibits the use of ranked-choice voting "to determine the election or nomination of any candidate to any local, state or federal office." Governor Ivey signed the bill on May 10. (link)

Healthcare

  • Act of Alabama 2024-20 stipulates that "No action, suit or criminal prosecution for the damage to or death of an embryo shall be brought or maintained against any individual or entity when providing or receiving services related to in vitro fertilization." The bill was quickly drafted in response to the Alabama State Supreme Court's February 16 ruling that embryos created during in vitro fertilization treatments have the same rights as human children. Governor Ivey signed the bill on March 6. (link)

Local bills

The Birmingham City Council passed a resolution on January 23 setting out its legislative agenda for the session. The council expressed a need for legislation to increase fines for littering, dumping and overgrow lots and expanded power to foreclose on nuisance properties. It advocated for increasing the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and creating a Birmingham Housing Trust Fund. The council also requested caps on employee liability. Council President Darrell O'Quinn moved to add a request for the legislature to explore possibilities for exempting Birmingham from the Jefferson County Personnel Board, but after hearing from the Birmingham Firefighters Association Local 117 and the Fraternal Order of Police Birmingham Lodge No. 1 the council dropped that item from the resolution.

The Birmingham Water Works Board contracted with lobbyists Fine Geddie & Associates and The Jones Group to represent its interests and promote its legislative agenda. Several members of the Jefferson County Legislative Delegation had called for the board to undergo a state audit.

Other legislation

  • Governor Ivey signed two separate acts congratulating Nick Saban on his lifetime accomplishments as he retired from the University of Alabama.
  • Act of Alabama 2024-72 prohibited any government entity in the state from adopting codes or regulations that would limit the sale or use of appliances based on their fuel type or source of energy. Governor Ivey signed the bill on April 11. (link)
  • Act of Alabama 2024-97 required commercial websites to obtain and keep records of the consent of individuals depicted in "material harmful to minors", to display a warning message from the Alabama Department of Health and Human Services, to pay a 10% tax on gross receipts for media produced in Alabama, and to make use of a "reasonable age-verification method" to bar minors from accessing pornographic content without collecting or preserving any individually identifying information. Enforcement was left to the Attorney General of Alabama to issue injunctions, and to harmed parties filing civil suits for damages. Governor Ivey signed the bill on April 18. (link)

Proposed bills

  • Senate Bill 4, prefiled by Gerald Allen (R-District 21), would specifically authorize the flying of the "9/11 Remembrance Freedom Flag" on public property, and also make it a misdemeanor to display an unapproved flag at public buildings or parks, with an exception for sports facilities. (link)
  • Senate Bill 305, sponsored by Vivian Figures (D-District 33), would provide 8 weeks of paid parental leave to teachers in public schools. The bill passed the Senate by a 26-2 vote on May 2, but Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed (R-District 5) declined to move it to the House. (report)
  • House Bill 227, sponsored by Matt Simpson (R-District 96), would repeal and replace the state's existing code of ethics for public officials, and change the duties and powers of the Alabama Ethics Commission. Commission president Tom Albritton claimed the bill would weaken the existing code. (report)

Special sessions

References

External links

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