Pending legislation, bill updates
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In My Humble Opinion
Jodi McDade
Let’s start this week with some of the pending legislation being considered in Montgomery. I’m going to talk about several, but they are not in any order of importance, controversy, or timing. Most of these are being considered in one of the two houses – the Senate or the House, some are still in committee, some have moved to the floor for debate/vote, and some have cleared one house to be sent to the other house for consideration. Remember – they must pass in both the House and the Senate to be sent to the governor for signing into law.
SB235, which would ban curbside voting, has been approved in committee and will next go to the Senate floor for debate. While curbside voting is CURRENTLY not explicitly barred, it is also not explicitly approved either. This bill will settle the issue after a move was made in last year’s elections to use this form of voting that would not protect the privacy of the voter OR the security of the ballot. If an individual is unable to physically enter the voting place, they would need to request an absentee ballot.
In the House of Representatives, HB103 has passed and will head to the Senate for assignment to a committee. This bill will stop the state from picking and choosing which businesses will stay open and which ones will close – including churches – should we find ourselves in another situation of declared states of emergency under specific guidelines. The only requirement to remain open would be for each business or church to follow whatever guidelines are set by the public health guidelines that have been issued.
The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee approved SB259, which would allow the legislature to call itself into a special session at the direction of both the Senate president pro tem and the speaker of the House. Currently, the governor is the only person who can call a special session. HB21 is a companion bill that is set for consideration in the House this week.
SB334 would limit the length of time a governor can declare a state of emergency without the input of the legislature. This bill was introduced in the last session, but died when the legislature had to adjourn early because of the pandemic. This bill also limits the powers of the state health officer who would now, along with the governor and legislature, become part of a forum called for in our state Constitution to decide funding and decisions specific to a state of emergency.
SB10, known as the Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act, would ban procedures and medication/hormones for most transgender therapies for minors. It is meant to protect children from making life-changing decisions that they may regret as they become adults. It has passed in the Senate and has a companion bill, HB1, in the House.
The Medical Marijuana Bill, SB46, has passed in the Senate and now goes to the House for consideration. This bill establishes a commission of 11 people to implement the regulations and oversee the licensing. Only capsules, lozenges, oils, suppositories, and topical patches would be available for prescription – no edibles, raw products, smoking, or vaping products. About 20 specific conditions are included that patients would have to be diagnosed with in order to qualify.
The gambling/lottery bill (SB214) is still moving around the Senate, but has not reached the level of a formal bill to be considered. There are also quite a few bills in both the Senate and House relating to election law changes/updates based on some of the issues with this past election cycle and the effects of the pandemic on voting procedures. There are also bills that relate to COVID-19 expenses, economic development and law enforcement.
These are only a few of the 745 bills that have been filed for consideration in the Senate and the House for this session. Most of these will never even be heard in a committee, let alone be brought to the floor for a vote. You can go to www.legislature.state.al.us for more information on all of the bills and reports.
I can’t NOT mention HB1, the “For the People Act of 2021,” that is still in the House of Representatives in Washington. This bill has been introduced each session since 2019 and has never made it out of the House. It CLAIMS to “expand Americans’ access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and implement other anti-corruption measures for the purpose of fortifying our democracy, and for OTHER PURPOSES.” Beware – the truth is in the pudding and is an entirely partisan bill from the Democratic Party. Hopefully, it will not see the light of day again in this session.
Plus, there is the “Equality Act,” HR5, which has also been around since 2019, but this time it DID pass in the House and will go to the Senate where it is not expected to pass. This is the bill that guts women’s rights such as women’s prisons, girls’ locker rooms, and women’s and girls’ sports teams by allowing biological males access.
Hold on to your hats for what is coming from Washington – most of the legislation is designed to help the minority of the minority or non-Americans and not the average American citizen. Have a good week and REMEMBER – pray while you still can!
Note: The information contained in this week’s column was accurate and up-to-date as of March 2, but may have changed since then.