The 2026 Alabama Legislative Session drew to a close last Thursday, April 9. State lawmakers met for 30 days of House and Senate sessions considering new policies that will shape life in the state. Here are 30 bills that lawmakers passed this year:
Bill categories:
Environment:
Bill Name: HB181
Sponsors: Reps. Rhett Marques, R-Enterprise; Donna Givens, R-Loxley; Jennifer Fidler, R-Silverhill; Frances Holk-Jones, R-Foley; Matt Simpson, R-Daphne; Chip Brown, R-Hollinger’s Island; Margie Wilcox, R-Mobile; Jeff Sorrells, R-Geneva; Brett Easterbrook, R-Fruitdale; Napoleon Bracy, D-Mobile; Sam Jones, D-Mobile; Adline Clarke, D-Mobile; Mark Shirey, R-Mobile; and Shane Stringer, R-Citronelle
Date passed: Feb. 10
HB181 limits mud dumping in Alabama waterways.
Mud dumping is particularly an issue in the Mobile Bay, where the ship channel leading from the Gulf of Mexico to the Port of Mobile must be dredged regularly by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in order to maintain its required depth of 50 feet. The sediment dredged from the channel is typically disposed of through an open-water dispersal. However, this type of dispersal makes the water in the bay cloudier and disrupts the food sources of bottom-feeding animals that live in the bay, including the endangered gulf sturgeon.
HB181 aims to mitigate the effects of dredging and mud-dumping by requiring any entity that dredges more than 1 million cubic yards of material to use at least 70% of their dredged material for a beneficial cause, such as “fish and wildlife habitat development, human recreation, and industrial and commercial uses.”
This law goes into effect on Oct. 1.
Bill Name: SB71
Sponsor: Sen. Donnie Chesteen, R-Geneva
Date Passed: Feb. 20
SB71 restricts the state from setting environmental regulations on pollutants and other hazardous substances that are stricter than those set by the federal government. The law also stipulates, if no federal standard exists for a particular pollutant, then the state can only adopt new regulations if a “direct causal link” can be established between exposure to the pollutant and bodily harm.
The law, which greatly restricts the power of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, is meant to attract more big businesses to the state, according to Chesteen.
“If we’re going to be able to compete with states in the Southeast to attract and bring some of these businesses in, then we need to have these standards adopted so that it’s clearly defined what our companies are working with,” Chesteen told fellow legislators during discussion of the bill.
SB71 comes into effect as the federal government is decreasing environmental regulations under President Donald Trump’s administration, with the Environmental Protection Agency repealing its own 2009 findings that greenhouse gases endanger public health in February.
This bill went into effect immediately after passing.
Crime and criminal justice:
Bill Name: HB41
Sponsors: Reps. Matt Simpson, R-Daphne; Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville; Andy Whitt, R-Harvest; Danny Garrett, R-Trussville; Paul W. Lee, R-Dothan; Rhett Marques, R-Enterprise; Rex Reynolds, R-Huntsville; Chris Blackshear, R-Phenix City; Leigh Hulsey, R-Helena; Matthew Hammett, R-Andalusia; Joe Lovvorn, R-Auburn; Kerry Underwood, R-Tuscumbia; Danny Crawford, R-Athens; Marcus Paramore, R-Troy; Brett Easterbrook, R-Fruitdale; Bryan Brinyark, R-Northport; Ernie Yarbrough, R-Trinity; Ginny Shaver, R-Leesburg; Susan DuBose, R-Hoover; Reed Ingram, R-Pike Road; Bill Lamb, R-Tuscaloosa; Jim Carns, R-Vestavia Hills; Shane Stringer, R-Citronelle; Allen Treadaway, R-Morris; Russell Bedsole, R-Alabaster; Mack Butler, R-Rainbow City; Margie Wilcox, R-Mobile; Ed Oliver, R-Dadeville; Jeana Ross, R-Guntersville; Arnold Mooney, R-Indian Springs; Chris Sells, R-Greeneville; Chad Robertson, R-Heflin; Mark Shirey, R-Mobile; Ron Bolton, R-Northpoint; Donna Givens, R-Loxely; Brock Colvin, R-Albertville; Scott Standridge, R-Hartselle; Randy Wood, R-Anniston; Jamie Kiel, R-Russellville; Troy Stubbs, R-Wetumpka; Kenneth Paschal, R-Pelham; Chip Brown, R-Hollinger’s Island; Ben Robbins, R-Sylacauga; Scott Stadthagen, R-Hartselle; Tracy Estes, R-Winfield; Phillip Rigsby, R-Huntsville; Mike Shaw, R-Hoover; Steve Hurst, R-Munford; Jerry Starnes, R-Prattville; Frances Holk-Jones, R-Foley; Mike Kirkland, R-Scottsboro; and Mark Gidley, R-Hokes Bluff
Date passed: Feb. 12
This bill, known as the “Child Predator Death Penalty Act,” makes rape of a child younger than 12 a capital offense. Those found guilty of first-degree sodomy or first-degree sexual assault will now be able to receive the death penalty under the bill’s stipulations.
Alabama lawmakers pushed HB41 in response to a child sex ring that was discovered in Bibb County last year.
This law goes directly against the 2008 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Kennedy v. Louisiana, which banned applying the death penalty in non-homicide cases. However, in recent years, several states have passed or considered similar laws, in an attempt to get the Supreme Court to reconsider their previous ruling.
This law goes into effect on Oct. 1.
Bill Name: SB242
Sponsor: Sen. Lance Bell, R-Riverside
Date passed: March 11
This bill requires commercial drivers to be proficient in English, creating a $1,000 fine for operators and a $2,000 fine for drivers if a driver who is not proficient in English receives a citation in the state. Fines are doubled for subsequent offenses.
The bill also makes presenting a false commercial driver’s license a Class D felony punishable by one to five years in prison.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Lance Bell, R-Pell City, has said the idea for the bill came after an 18-wheeler accident in Thomasville last year in which two people were killed after a truck crashed into multiple cars at a stop light. The driver of the truck was a Ukrainian man who was in the U.S. on a work visa.
This law goes into effect on Oct. 1.
Bill Name: HB189
Sponsor: Rep. Alan Baker, R-Brewton
Date Passed: March 31
This bill requires local school superintendents or principals are notified when a child enrolled in a K-12 school has been charged with or adjudicated as a delinquent by a juvenile court for certain capital offenses such as murder or first-degree rape.
HB189 stipulates that the juvenile court the child was charged in must provide written notice about these charges within seven days. For public schools, the school superintendent would be notified. For private schools, the school’s principal would be notified. The bill also outlines that the superintendent or principal is allowed to share this information with “any teacher, administrator, or other school employee directly supervising or reporting on the behavior or progress of the child.”
This law goes into effect on Oct. 1.
Bill Name: HB429
Sponsors: Reps. Neil Rafferty, D-Birmingham; Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa; Ontario Tillman, D-Bessemer; and Travis Hendrix; D-Fairfield
Date Passed: March 31
HB429 makes it illegal to operate drones within 400 feet of ticketed entertainment venues, including venues hosting concerts and sporting events, without authorization from the venue. Under this bill, a first offense would result in a fine of up to $500. Any subsequent violations would be considered a Class A misdemeanor.
This law goes into effect on Oct. 1.
Bill Name: HB86
Sponsor: Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa
Date Passed: April 8
HB86 expands the criteria the Board of Pardons and Paroles can use when considering whether to grant parole to an individual. The bill stipulates that the Board of Pardon and Paroles can now take into consideration an individual’s employment while incarcerated and any education the individual gained while incarcerated.
Parole grant rates in the state have been trending down in recent years. In 2016, the board granted parole in 48% of parole hearings. In 2025, it granted parole in only 23% of hearings. In 2023, only 8% of hearings resulted in parole being granted. Low parole rates have coincided with overcrowding in state’s prisons — an issue that is only expected to worsen in the coming years.
Bill Name: SB24
Sponsors: Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham
Date Passed: April 9
SB24 requires the Board of Pardon and Paroles to provide more information to formerly incarcerated individuals regarding their voting rights.
Under current Alabama law, certain formerly incarcerated individuals can have their voting rights restored after they serve their prison sentence. SB24 requires the Board of Pardon and Paroles to post on their website instructions on how to request voting rights restoration and an application form to do so.
The bill stipulates that the Board of Pardons and Paroles must work alongside the secretary of state to have this information available on their website by no later than March 1, 2027.
Health:
Bill Name: HB66
Sponsors: Rep. Ontario Tillman, R-Bessemer
Date Passed: Feb. 24
HB66 requires the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency to create a way for individuals to voluntarily indicate that they have a medical diagnosis that may make it difficult for them to communicate on their driver’s license or non-driver ID card.
Under the bill, individuals with conditions such as autism, a traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, schizophrenia, a cognitive disability or another diagnosis that could interfere with their ability to communicate would be able to provide a proof of diagnosis to receive the special indication on their ID. The bill is intended to indicate to first responders or law enforcement that a person may have difficulty communicating with them.
This law goes into effect on Oct. 1.
Bill Name: SB19
Sponsors: Sen. Steve Livingston, R-Scottsboro
Date Passed: Feb. 26
SB19 eliminates out-of-pocket costs for prostate cancer screenings for men who are deemed at high-risk of the disease.
The bill, which is named in part after al.com columnist Roy S. Johnson — who has chronicled his prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment in his columns —- requires insurance companies to cover prostate cancer screenings at no cost for men older than 50, as well as for men older than 40 who are at high-risk of the disease. Men who are Black; who have a father, brother or son who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer; and men who have genetic markers that indicate increased risk of prostate cancer are considered at high-risk under the bill.
This law goes into effect on Oct. 1, 2027.
Bill Name: HB300
Sponsors: Reps. Frances Holk-Jones, R-Foley; ennifer Fidler, R-Silverhill; Donna Givens, R-Loxley; Jeana Ross, R-Guntersville; Susan DuBose, R-Hoover; Ginny Shaver, R-Leesburg; Laura Hall, D-Huntsville; Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham; Rolanda Hollis, D-Birmingham; Pebblin W. Warren, D-Tuskegee; Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile; Adline Clarke, D-Mobile; Leight Hulsey, R-Helena; Margie Wilcox, R-Mobile; Terri Collins, R-Decatur; TaShina Morris, D-Montgomery; M. Moore, D-Birmingham; Marilyn Lands, D-Huntsville; and Patrice McClammy, D-Montgomery
Date passed: March 5
This bill eliminates deductibles, copays and other out-of-pocket fees for breast cancer screenings such as mammograms and breast ultrasounds. The bill covers breast cancer screenings for all women ages 40 and over.
An estimated 4,900 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in the state in 2026, according to a report from the American Cancer Society.
This law goes into effect on Oct. 1, 2027.
Bill Name: HB332
Sponsor: Rep. Allen Treadway, R-Morris
Date passed: March 17
HB332 requires all licensed day care centers in the state to implement an anaphylactic response policy. The bill also requires that all employees of day care centers complete an anaphylaxis training program.
The bill tasks the Alabama Department of Human Resources to create the policy that all day care centers will follow, giving the department a deadline of August 1, 2027 to establish their policy and a deadline of January 1, 2028 for day centers in the state to adhere to the new guidelines.
HB332 stipulates that ADHR’s policy must include procedures that must be followed by employees when a child is thought to be suffering from anaphylaxis and guidelines on how individual day care centers should develop individual emergency plans for children with severe allergies, as well as strategies for reducing exposure to anaphylaxis causing agents in day care facilities.
This law goes into effect on Oct. 1.
Bill Name: SB269
Sponsor: Sen. Bobby D. Singleton, D-Greensboro
Date Passed: April 6
This bill prohibits ambulance providers from “balance billing” — a practice where healthcare providers bill an individual for the difference between the total cost of the services provided and the amount their insurance pays. SB269 also requires health insurers to establish coverage for when EMTs are able to provide care to a patient without transporting them to a hospital, known as treating in place.
The bill also sets reimbursement rates that insurers would have to pay ambulance service providers.
SB269 goes into effect on Oct. 1.
Bill Name: SB57
Sponsors: Sens. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur; Donnie Chesteen, R-Geneva; Josh Carnley, R-Ino; Jabbo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills; Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road; Larry Stutts, R-Tuscumbia; Jay Hovey, R-Auburn; Keith Kelley, R-Anniston; April Weaver, R-Brierfield; Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville; Gerald H. Allen, R-Tuscaloosa; and Tom Butler, R-Madison
Date Passed: April 9
SB57 prohibits purchasing soda, energy drinks, candy and prepared desserts while using SNAP benefits. The bill calls upon the Alabama Department of Human Resources to submit a waiver to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, who would have to accept the waiver to allow the ban to go into place.
There has been a trend of states banning the purchase of these products with SNAP benefits, with the USDA approving similar waivers from 18 states in 2025.
Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, one of the bill’s sponsors, said that the goal of the bill is to prevent obesity in the state.
“We’re one of the most obese states in the country, particularly among children, and hopefully it might have a small impact,” Orr said of the bill after it passed the Senate.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention ranked Alabama as the state with fourth highest rates of adult obesity in 2024.
The bill stipulates that, if the USDA grants the state a waiver, then the regulations will go into effect on April 1, 2027. If the waiver is denied, the bill regulates that ADHR must keep submitting their request until it is approved.
Bill Name: SB9
Sponsor: Sen. Gerald H. Allen, R-Tuscaloosa
Date Passed: April 9
This bill adds onto 2023’s Alabama Clean Indoor Air Act, which prohibits smoking in enclosed public spaces, to specifically ban vaping in enclosed public spaces. Under the law, vaping indoors could be met with a $25 fine.
The bill also renames the act after a fellow senator, Sen. Vivian Figures, D-Mobile, who sponsored the original Alabama Clean Indoor Air Act multiple times before it passed.
This law will go into effect on Oct. 1.
Education:
Bill Name: HB78
Sponsors: Reps. Jeana Ross, R-Guntersville; Susan DuBose, R-Hoover; Bill Lamb, R-Tuscaloosa; Arnold Mooney, R-Indian Springs; Rick Rehm, R-Dothan; Mike Kirkland, R-Scottsboro; Ginny Shaver, R-Leesburg; Jennifer Fidler, R-Silverhill; Donna Givens, R-Loxley; Rex Reynolds, R-Huntsville; David Faulkner, R-Mountain Brook; Jamie Kiel, R-Russellville; Chris Sells, R-Greeneville; Scott Stadthagen, R-Hartselle; Alan Baker, R-Brewton; Terri Collins, R-Decatur; Leigh Hulsey, R-Helena; Frances Holk-Jones, R-Foley; and Brock Colvin; R-Albertville
Date passed: March 4
Passed at the end of February and signed into effect by Gov. Kay Ivey this month, HB78 tasks the Alabama Departments of Education, Human Resources and Early Childhood Education with establishing screen time limits for children in prekindergarten and kindergarten classrooms in the state, as well as creating a training program for pre-K and kindergarten teachers about screen usage in the classroom.
Originally, HB78 stipulated specific screen time limits for children aged two through four. However, in the version of the bill that passed, those rules were dropped in favor of allowing those three departments to set the specific rules. The bill also says that screen time in daycare facilities must feature “high-quality programming,” which the bill outlines as age-appropriate, slow-paced programming that is free of violence and advertising.
This law goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2027.
Bill Name: SB248
Sponsor: Sen. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville
Date Passed: April 8
SB248 establishes rules for release time religious instruction, in which students can be released from school during the school day in order to attend religious lessons. Under the bill, local school boards would allow parents to decide if their child should be released from school for off-campus religious instruction.
Under the bill, school boards would not oversee the instruction and activities that occur during the release time. Instead, an outside religious group, such as a local church, would conduct instruction during religious release time.
Off-campus religious instruction during the school day was deemed constitutional in a 1952 U.S. Supreme Court case, Zorach v. Clauson.
This law goes into effect on July 1.
Bill Name: HB8
Sponsors: Reps. Mark Gidley, R-Hokes Bluff; Rolanda Hollis, D-Birmingham; Ben Harrison, R-Elkmont; Phillip Rigsby, R-Huntsville; Susan DuBose, R-Hoover; Kenneth Paschal, R-Pelham; Leigh Hulsey, R-Helena; Ginny Shaver, R-Leesburg; Brock Colvin, R-Albertville; Arnold Mooney, R-Indian Springs; Patrick Sellers, D-Pleasant Grove; David Standridge, R-Hayden; Jim Carns, R-Vestavia Hills; and TaShina Morris, D-Montgomery
Date Passed: April 8
HB8 allows school boards to vote to allow volunteer chaplains in schools in their districts. The bill stipulates that these chaplains “may be made available to provide support, services, and programs at the request of any teacher in the local school district.”
Under this bill, volunteer chaplains would be required to complete a chaplain training program as well as undergo a background check.
This law goes into effect on July 1.
Bill Name: SB99
Sponsors: Sens. Keith Kelley, R-Anniston, and David Sessions, R-Grand Bay
Date Passed: April 9
This bill mandates that the Ten Commandments must be displayed in certain settings in public schools. SB99 stipulates that a copy of the biblical rules would have to be displayed in all fifth through 12th grade history classrooms, as well as in a common area — such as an entryway or cafeteria — in all public schools in the state.
The bill’s supporters claimed that the Ten Commandments should be viewed as a historical document essential to the nation’s history.
“This is restoring the knowledge to our students of the foundational historical precedent that really created this nation,” said Rep. Mark Gidley, R-Hokes Bluff, during House floor debate of the bill.
Other states have recently mandated the Ten Commandments be displayed in public schools, including Louisiana in 2024. That law has been subject to court challenges, with a federal court blocking the law in June 2025. However, in February the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that lower court’s decision, allowing the law to take effect.
Alabama’s law will go into effect on October 1.
Bill Name: SB5
Sponsor: Sen. Gerald H. Allen, R-Tuscaloosa
Date Passed: April 9
SB5 proposes a constitutional amendment that would require public schools to play The Star-Spangled Banner at least once a week.
The bill’s supporters said broadcasting the National Anthem would help build patriotism. However, the bill’s critics questioned whether the bill needed to be a constitutional amendment.
“Let me say I am so proud to be an American, and I love singing the Star Spangled Banner. I just don’t think it should be a constitutional amendment,” Sen. Vivian Figures, D-Mobile, said during floor debate of the bill. “I know we have the longest one in the country, so I don’t think it should go in the Constitution.”
The proposed amendment will be on voter’s ballots this November. If approved by voters, it will go into effect immediately.
Bill Name: SB342
Sponsor: Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Pratville
Date Passed: April 9
This bill says Alabama students who transfer from a public school to a private school using money from the state’s voucher program, the CHOOSE Act, will not lose their athletic eligibility upon transferring.
Athletic eligibility for transfer students has been a contentious issue since the state implemented the voucher program for the first time for the 2025-2026 school year. The Alabama High School Athletic Association considered CHOOSE Act funds a form of financial aid, which meant transfer students using those funds lost their athletic eligibility for one year under AHSAA guidelines. Gov. Kay Ivey sued the AHSAA over these regulations. Ultimately, the AHSAA eliminated this requirement in January by reclassifying public and private schools so that they no longer compete for the same championship titles.
This law went into effect immediately.
Bill Name: HB580
Sponsor: Rep. Troy Stubbs, R-Wetumpka
Date Passed: April 9
HB580 places regulations on faculty senates and changes tenure protocols at public colleges and universities in the state.
The bill allows the governing bodies — such as the board of trustees — of public universities to appoint half of the members of the school’s faculty senate. The other half of the senate’s members would be elected by faculty members. The bill also relegates faculty senates to an advisory role, meaning the universities would not be able to delegate any decision-making power to the senates.
HB580 also mandates that all public universities adopt post-tenure review processes, meaning the board of trustees would regularly reevaluate faculty members who have been granted tenure and would have the ability to revoke their tenure or dismiss them from their jobs. The bill outlines that universities would be able to fire tenured faculty for “professional incompetence,” failure to perform duties and engaging in “unprofessional conduct that adversely affects the institution.”
Under HB580, universities’ board of trustees would also have final say in all course curriculum by requiring that all “courses or curriculum required to obtain a degree” at the school be approved by their board of trustees.
This bill does not affect the University of Alabama or Auburn University, as changing their policies would require a constitutional amendment.
This law will go into effect on Oct. 1.
Bill Name: HB511
Sponsors: Rep. Reed Ingram, R-Pike Road
Date Passed: April 9
This bill proposes a constitutional amendment that would require public schools to to start their day with a prayer and with the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. Under the bill, school districts who fail to mandate daily prayer or and pledge recitation would have 25% of their state funding withheld.
HB511 stipulates that all prayers must be student-led and that no students must be forced to participate in praying. Students must also be able to opt out of saying the Pledge of Allegiance as well, if doing so violates their personal beliefs.
In 1962, the Supreme Court said in Engel v. Vitale it was unconstitutional for school officials to lead a mandatory prayer during the school day. However, in 2022, the court ruled in favor of a high school football coach who led a prayer on the field, saying that the government can not suppress personal expression of religion.
This constitutional amendment will go to voters to approve during the November general election.
State entities and processes:
Bill Name: HB475
Sponsors: Reps. Mack Butler, R-Rainbow City; Ben Harrison, R-Elkmont; Cindy Myrex, R-Cullman; Mark Gidley, R-Hokes Bluff; Arnold Mooney, R-Indian Springs; Ritchie Whorton, R-Owens Cross Roads; Shane Stringer, R-Citronelle; Susan DuBose, R-Hoover; and Ernie Yarbrough, R-Trinity
Date passed: April 3
This bill effectively places control of the Alabama Public Service Commission, the commission responsible for setting utility rates in the state, into the governor’s hands. It also expands PSC membership from three to seven members, one for each of the state’s congressional districts.
HB475 underwent significant changes in the Senate. The original bill focused on increasing transparency around setting utility rates by requiring the PSC to host regular hearings on utility rate increases — the commission hasn’t had a formal utility rate hearing since 1981, but instead uses a process known as rate stabilization and equalization to determine utility rates that guarantee a return for power companies.
However, in the Senate, the bill was amended to resemble another PSC regulation bill that was introduced during this legislative session: SB360, introduced by Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville. This version of the bill focuses, instead, on the structure of the board by creating a new governor-appointed secretary of energy who would oversee the expanded board.
This version of the bill also scraps requirements for regular rate hearings from the original bill. Instead, it stipulates that the commission would not be able to host a rate hearing until 2029 — when the utility rate freeze the commission issued in December 2025 expires — and only if the secretary of energy or five of the seven PSC members call for a hearing.
After the Senate passed this version of HB475, one of the bill’s sponsors Rep. Mack Butler, R-Rainbow City, called for the House to send the bill to a conference committee, where House members would have to approve the changes made to the bill in the Senate. However, House members voted against holding a conference committee with a 72-26 vote, sending the bill to Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk.
Under the bill’s stipulations, Ivey will have to appoint four new members of the PSC by July 15. Then, the elections of PSC members will be staggered, with two set to appear on the ballot in November.
Bill Name: HB2
Sponsor: Rep. David Standridge, R-Hayden
Date Passed: April 7
HB2 requires state entities to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as “the Gulf of America.”
“That’s our beaches, our ports, our communities, our people. The United States doesn’t just border this gulf. We dominate its northern, eastern and northwestern shores,” one of the bill’s supporters, Sen. Chris Elliott, R-Josephine, said during the Senate floor debate of the bill.
Senate Democrats filibustered in March to delay a vote on the bill prior to the legislature’s spring break recess.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order in January 2025 calling for the Gulf to be renamed to the Gulf of America.
This bill goes into effect on Oct. 1.
Bill Name: HB95
Sponsors: Rep. Joe Lovvorn, R-Auburn
Date Passed: April 8
HB95 requires counties to carry out post-election audits after every county and statewide general election. Under the bill, one voting precinct in each county would be selected at random for an audit carried out by the county’s canvassing board. With each audit, the board would compile a report detailing and problems or discrepancies between the audit’s findings and the originally reported election results.
In the legislature, the bill raised concerns over the cost of conducting these audits. The Legislative Fiscal Office has said each audit would cost $35,000 per day.
Meanwhile, election fraud is rare in the state. Conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation has found that there have only been 41 convictions for voter fraud in the state since 2000.
This bill went into effect immediately after being passed by the legislature.
Child safety:
Bill Name: HB161
Sponsors: Reps. Chris Sells, R-Greeneville, and Arnold Mooney, R-Indian Springs
Date passed: Feb. 17
HB161 requires app stores to implement age verification processes to bar minors from downloading apps without a parent’s consent by requiring app stores to collect and verify the ages of its users in the state. Accounts for minors would then have to be linked to a parental account, and the parent would then have to give their approval before the minor can download or purchase an app or make an in-app purchase on their phone.
Other states, including Utah, Texas and Louisiana, have passed similar age verification laws. However, a federal judge placed a hold on the law saying that it likely violates the First Amendment. It is likely that the age verification debate will work its way up to the Supreme Court.
This law goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2027.
Bill Name: HB381
Sponsors: Reps. David Faulkner, R-Mountain Brook; Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville; Leigh Hulsey, R-Helena; Norman Crow, R-Tuscaloosa; Shane Stringer, R-Citronelle; Allen Treadaway, R-Morris; Mike Kirkland, R-Scottsboro; Susan DuBose, R-Hoover; Parker Moore, R-Hartselle; Phillip Pettus, R-Killen; Kerry Underwood, R-Tuscumbia; Russell Bedsole, R-Alabaster; Bryan Brinyark, R-Northport; Tracy Estes, R-Winfield; Margie Wilcox, R-Mobile; Scott Stadthagen, R-Hartselle; Brock Colvin, R-Albertville; Alan Baker, R-Brewton; Reed Ingram, R-Pike Road; Chris Sells, R-Greeneville; Mark Shirey, R-Mobile; Mark Gidley, R-Hokes Bluff; Bill Lamb, R-Tuscaloosa; Joe Lovvorn, R-Auburn; M. Moore, D-Birmingham; Kelvin Datcher, D-Birmingham; TaShina Morris, D-Montgomery; Patrick Sellers, D-Pleasant Grove; Ernie Yarbrough, R-Trinity; Kelvin Lawrence, D-Hayneville; Paul W. Lee, R-Dothan; Steve Clouse, R-Ozark; Napoleon Bracy, D-Mobile; Ontario Tillman, D-Bessemer; Thomas Jackson, D-Thomasville; Travis Hendrix, D-Fairfield; Barbara Boyd, D-Anniston; Jeana Ross, R-Guntersville; Phillip Ensler, D-Montgomery; Marilyn Lands, D-Huntsville; Curtis Travis, D-Tuscaloosa; Adline Clarke, D-Mobile; Jim Hill, R-Odenville; Jim Carns, R-Vestavia Hills; Rex Reynolds, R-Huntsville; Marcus Paramore, R-Troy; Andy Whitt, R-Harvest; Danny Crawford, R-Athens; Scott Standridge, R-Hartselle; Jerry Starnes, R-Prattville; Brett Easterbrook, R-Fruitdale; Ron Bolton, R-Northpoint; Bob Fincher, R-Woodland; Patrice McClammy, D-Montgomery; Jeremy Gray, D-Opelika; Neil Rafferty, D-Birmingham; Artis McCampbell, D-Livingston; Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa; Prince Chestnut, D-Selma; Pebblin W. Warren, D-Tuskegee; Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile; Berry Forte, D-Eufala; Frances Holk-Jones, R-Foley; Donna Givens, R-Loxley; Danny Garrett, R-Trussville; Chris Pringle, R-Mobile; Rhett Marques, R-Enterprise; Jeff Sorrells, R-Geneva; Chip Brown, R-Hollinger’s Island; Ivan Smith, R-Clanton; Heath Allbright, R-Holly Pond; and Rick Rehm, R-Dothan
Date Passed: April 8
This bill, known as the Sarah Marsh Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act, seeks to improve camp safety in the state by outlining safety requirements camps operating in the state must meet.
HB381 requires that all camps must obtain an emergency preparedness license from the Alabama Emergency Management Agency by Jan. 1, 2027. It also outlines other safeguards against severe weather that camps must take, including having a protocol in place to alert staff members of an emergency, maintaining weather shelters and developing evacuation plans.
The bill also stipulates that camps can not employ any staff members who have been convicted of sex or violent crimes.
The bill is named in honor of Sarah Marsh, an eight-year-old from Mountain Brook who was one of the 27 campers who died when flash floods swept through Camp Mystic in Texas last summer.
This law goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2027.
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