2022 Alabama legislative session

The 2022 Alabama legislative session began on January 11, 2022.

The make-up of the legislature was unchanged from the 2021 Alabama legislative session, having been set by the 2018 general election. The Alabama House of Representatives consisted of 76 Republican members (75 of them white) and 27 Democrats (26 of them Black), with two vacant seats, and was presided over by Speaker Mac McCutcheon (R-District 25, Madison County). 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.

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 ruled that the Congressional District Map adopted during the 2021 Alabama legislative session to account for demographic changes reported in the 2020 U.S. Census violated the Voting Rights Act by depriving Black citizens of equal representation, and gave the legislature two weeks to adopt a fairer map or accept one drawn by a court-appointed expert. Attorney General Steve Marshall said he would appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

References

• Crain, Trisha Powell, Rebecca Griesbach, and Savannah Tryens-Fernandes (January 11, 2022) "Teacher pay, COVID funding: Alabama legislature starts 2022 session amid record revenue." The Birmingham News
• Cason, Mike (January 18, 2022) "Alabama plans to use federal rescue dollars for broadband access, water projects, hospitals." The Birmingham News
• Koplowitz, Howard (January 24, 2021) "Alabama’s congressional redistricting maps blocked: Federal judges seek more Black majority districts." The Birmingham News

External links

• Legislative Acts by Year at sos.alabama.gov
• Alabama Legislature | 2022 | Regular Session at legiscan.com