2023 Alabama legislative session

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The 2023 Alabama legislative session began with an "organizational session" starting on Tuesday, January 10, 2023. The regular session began on Tuesday March 7, but was quickly recessed in order to accommodate a Special Session called by the Governor. Regular business resumed on Tuesday, March 21.

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).

The session on April 4 was addressed by Angel Tîlvăr, Minister of National Defense minister of România. Tîlvăr urged Alabama businesses to invest in his country and commended the United States' commitment to national defense.

Notable Acts

Business incentives

A package of bills collectively termed "The Game Plan" by Governor Ivey's office would expand the state's investment in economic development projects by extending and increasing funding for tax incentive programs and other recruitment tools offered to private companies who operate in Alabama. Ivey signs all four bills into law on April 20, 2023.

Individual house bills included in "The Game Plan" include:

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.

Budgets

The House unanimously passed a $3,023,998,315 general fund budget for Fiscal Year 2024. The budget included a 2% cost-of-living raise for state employees (budgeted at $14.5 million), and bumps of around 6% to 13% for many state agencies (budgeted at $50 million).

New individual appropriations included $3,795,000 for increasing payments to jurors; $675,000 for a feral swine program; $5,000,000 for electric vehicle infrastructure planning grants; $300,000 for structure repairs in Faunsdale, Marengo County; $20,459,059 as a state match for federal funds for drinking water infrastructure projects; $31,468,090 increase for ALL Kids Insurance for Children; a $686,669 increase in funding for maintenance and repairs to the state capitol and Governor's mansion; $2,500,000 for the Freedom Farm group home for foster children in Coker; $500,000 for 988 call center upgrades; a $3,000,000 increase for rural crisis care programs; a $7,500,000 increase to funds available for community providers; $2,000,000 for the Armory Commission of Alabama; a $6,769,419 increase for the Department of Senior Services; a $500,000 increase for the Department of Youth Services; a $317,025 increase for distribution of public documents; an $894,000 increase for emergency active duty military wages; and a $5,600,000 allocation to the State Employees Insurance Board.

  • Act of Alabama 2023-389 (SB-269), sponsored in the Senate Arthur Orr (District 3), created a K-12 Capital Grant Program to be funded by appropriation from the state legislature and administered by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Alabama, with schools able to apply for up to $5 million per grant. The bill was signed by Governor Ivey on June 1. (link)
  • Act of Alabama 2023-390 (SB-101), sponsored in the Senate by 10 members, established an "Educational Opportunities Reserve Fund" and eliminated the existing Education Trust Fund Budget Stabilization Fund, while limiting base appropriations to the Education Trust Fund. The bill was signed by Governor Ivey on June 1. (link)

Special sessions

With the legislature having recessed that morning for two weeks, Governor Ivey called a Special Session to begin at 1:00 PM on March 8 to authorize the distribution of a second tranche of federal funds allocated to the state under the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, and intended to offset unplanned public costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The amount of the second allocation was $1.06 billion. Funds from the first allocation were already assigned to prison construction, expansion of broadband internet, and various water and sewer projects.

  • Act of Alabama No. 2023-1, appropriated $1,060,181,797.72 in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2023. Specific appropriations included $400 million for water and sewer projects, $339 million for healthcare (including $100 million for hospitals), $260 million for broadband internet access, and $55 million for a community grant program. The Governor's proposals went largely unchanged in the special session, and the measure was signed into law on March 16. (link)

Other proposed legislation

Senator Andrew Jones (R-District 10) introduced a "Family Income Protection Act" which would prohibit municipalities from collecting occupational taxes. Senator Linda Madison-Coleman (D-D20) introduced an amendment which would exclude Class I municipalities, a category which consists solely of the City of Birmingham, from the bill.

Senator Larry Stutts (R-District 6) introduced a "Parental Rights in Children's Education (PRICE) Act" which would allow for the establishment of "education savings accounts" with up to $6,900 in public funds per child to offset the cost of private school or home-schooling for parents who withdraw their children from public schools. (report). A similar bill, called the "Students with Unique Needs (SUN) Act, was filed in the House of Representatives by Danny Garrett (R-District 44). It would offer $5,600 education savings accounts to up to 300 students, focusing on unhoused or foster children, or children of active duty military personnel or those killed in action.

Representative Arnold Mooney (R-District 43) introduced HB-401, which would expand current obscenity laws to allow "any premises" to be declared public nuisance if it permits the distribution, communication or performance of anything "harmful to minors", including "sexual content" which would specifically include, "male or female impersonators, commonly known as drag queens or drag kings," ... "in K-12 public schools, public libraries, and in other public places where minors are present."

Representative Susan DuBose (R-District 45) introduced a "What is a Woman Act" (HB 405), to legally define the terms "man", "woman", "boy", "girl", "father", "mother", "male", "female", and "sex" to specifically disallow recognition of transsexual or transgender persons.

References

External links

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