2024 Alabama legislative session

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The 2024 Alabama legislative session began on February 6, 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 and the House passed a bill on February 15. 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 September.

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.

Governor Ivey signed the major budget bills on [[ ]].-->

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

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)

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)

Special sessions

References

External links

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