The Alabama Public Library Service held a public hearing last week regarding a proposed rule targeting what the board has termed “gender ideology.” While many meeting attendees spoke in favor of the rule, some critics are raising concerns over how board chairman John Wahl sourced support for the proposed rule.

The proposed rule in question seeks to remove library material that “promotes, encourages, or positively depicts transgender procedures, gender ideology, or the concept of more than two biological genders” from children and young adults sections in the state’s public libraries.

The meeting featured people speaking both for and against the proposed rule, with 34 meeting attendees speaking in favor of the rule and 25 speaking against it, according to reporting from AL.com. Additionally, the board received 8,478 written responses ahead of the meeting, with about 80% of the responses being in favor of the rule.

However, District 1 Board Member Ronald Snider during the meeting raised concerns over how Wahl sourced comments favoring the proposed rule. Ahead of the meeting, the Alabama Republican Party — which Wahl is also the chair of — sent out a newsletter to party members asking them to support, “Chairman Wahl’s ongoing efforts to protect Alabama’s children and ensure our public libraries remain age-appropriate areas,” as well as instructions on how to submit a comment to the library board and a pre-written form comment.

At the meeting, Snider claimed that the majority of the comments the board received were received after the newsletter was sent.

“It was on October 13, John, that you had the Republican Party that you chair send out emails soliciting support,” Snider said, adding, “And that’s when we received almost over 6,000 responses. We received 6,000 responses in two days that were primarily form letters.”

After Snider’s comments, there was an audible gasp from meeting attendees with some calling Wahl to resign, according to reporting from the Alabama Reflector.

For his part, Wahl said he was not personally involved in sending the party’s newsletter.

“I did not, personally, send out any emails,” Wahl told reporters after the meeting. “I have created a firewall within the Alabama GOP where I don’t keep track of that. I did not ask them to, and I did not direct them to. I have seen this email, but I did not send it or direct it to be sent.”

This issue has renewed questions about potential conflicts of interest for Wahl as chairman of both the board and the state’s Republican party. In 2023, before Wahl was elected chair, library advocacy group Read Freely Alabama raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest, which the board disagreed with. 

Following last week’s meeting, Read Freely Alabama told AL.com they were, “unsurprised to see Wahl once again demonstrate the clear conflict of interest as he abuses his position as ALGOP chair to influence the APLS.”

APLS is expected to vote on the rule at its November meeting.

Alabama top stories in brief

Alabama’s newest prison 75% prison completed

• Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Hamm updated state lawmakers on construction of Alabama’s newest prison, a facility in Elmore County expected to house up to 4,000 inmates. 
• Hamm reported construction on the prison, named the Ivey Correctional Complex, is 75% completed, with construction expected to be completed next year. The complex will feature 54 buildings, which will include facilities operated by the Alabama Community College System used for vocation training.
• The total cost of the project is expected to come in at $1.25 billion. In 2021, the state legislature approved a $1.3 billion plan to build two new prisons, including this one and another in Escambia county. 

Former Alabama football star announces run for lieutenant governor

• Former University of Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron announced his campaign for lieutenant governor last week. 
• McCarron, a first-time political candidate, is entering a crowded field for the Republican nomination for the office. Secretary of State Wes Allen, Patrick Bishop, a deputy with the Cullman County Sheriff’s Department; Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries Rick Pate; former gubernatorial candidate Dean Odle and businesswoman Nicole Wadsworth all have already announced their campaigns.
• McCarron announced his campaign with a video posted to YouTube, where he claimed, “It’s time for political newcomers and outsider candidates like me to lead the battle.”

State executes death row prisoner Anthony Boyd

• Alabama executed death row prisoner Anthony Boyd on Thursday. This is the fifth execution the state has carried out this year.
• Boyd, who was 54 years old, was executed using nitrogen gas at William C. Holman Correctional Facility. Boyd was sentenced to death for his role in the 1993 murder of Gregory Huguley, who was burned to death after failing to pay $200 for cocaine.
• Boyd maintained his innocence until his death, using his last words to claim he had no involvement in the crime. Boyd, who was the chairman of an inmate-led organization opposing capital punishment, also used his final words to say, “There can be no justice until we change this system.”
• Several efforts were made to stay Boyd’s execution, including an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court that was denied on the afternoon of his execution. 

Alabama public schools see largest enrollment drop in 40 years

• The Alabama State Department of Education released data last week showing that enrollment in the state’s public K-12 schools dropped by 5,800 students for the 2025-26 school year, the biggest enrollment drop in 40 years.
• State officials were anticipating a drop in enrollment numbers for the school year due to the newly instituted CHOOSE Act, which provides funds for Alabama students to attend private schools.
• However, state Superintendent Eric Mackey said that roughly 2,100 students who were enrolled in public schools last year but are not this year are not shown to have transferred to a private school, home school or school in another state — meaning these students are ostensibly not going to school at all.
• The decline in public school enrollment is also raising concern from state education officials regarding teaching jobs in the state, as most funding for teaching positions is derived from school enrollment numbers.

ABC Board releases new proposed hemp regulations

• The Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board has released a draft of new regulations for hemp in the state following legislation passed earlier this year pushing stricter rules around synthetic hemp, like Delta-8 and Delta-9.
• The proposed regulations only allow products with low levels of THC to be sold by private businesses in the state. The new regulations also outline that edible products must be individually wrapped, causing some business owners to express concerns over the costs of packaging these products.
• The regulations also outline what packaging for hemp products can look like, prohibiting packaging from containing “imagery that depicts or signifies characters or symbols that are known to appeal primarily to minors;” “imagery of food brands or other related products that are marketed to minors;” “imagery of school or office supply;” and “imagery that imitates, replicates or depicts personal item.”
• These proposed regulations are currently under review. If they are approved, they will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026.

Our articles you might have missed

• We just published another release in our continuing series on Alabama flora and fauna, this time focusing on Alabama’s amphibians. Check out the article here and stay tuned for future Longleaf Hiker articles!

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