2023 Alabama legislative session

The 2023 Alabama legislative session began with an "organizational session" starting on Tuesday, January 10, 2023. The regular session began on Tuesday March 7.

Thirty-one new representatives and 6 new state senators who won office in the 2022 general election were sworn in for the first time. 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 senator pro tem.

Among the other major issues taken up during the 2022 session were allocation of $580 million in federal relief funds distributed under the American Rescue Plan Act, part of which had already been committed to prison construction ($400 million) and hospitals ($80 million) in a 2021 special session. The legislature was expected to raise salaries for teachers and state employees. House Republicans are pushing a "Standing Tall for Alabama" agenda, the highlights of which include outlawing "critical race theory" in public schools, raising assault charges against first responders to automatic felonies, and eliminating the requirement to have a permit to carry a concealed firearm (a measure largely opposed by Sheriffs).

Notable Acts

Redistricting

In January 2022 a panel of three federal judges heard arguments that the plan which was passed violated the Voting Rights Act, and ruled that the legislature would need to adopt a plan which achieved fairer representation within two weeks, or accept a plan drawn by a court-appointed expert. Attorney General Steve Marshall announced that he would appeal the ruling. On February 7 the U.S. Supreme Court granted a stay of the lower court's order pending its review of the appeal, thus allowing the 2022 election to be conducted using the districts ruled to be unlawful by the lower court.

References

• Cason, Mike (December 14, 2022) "Incoming Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter names 8 committee chairs." AL.com
• Cason, Mike (January 8, 2023) "Alabama Legislature begins another 4-year term with 37 new lawmakers." AL.com

External links

• Legislative Acts by Year at sos.alabama.gov
• Alabama Legislature | 2023 | Regular Session at legiscan.com