Alabama top stories in brief

• Birmingham transit routes are changing in May. The Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority is changing bus route number 20, also known as the airport route, in response to low ridership and in hopes of decreasing transit times for riders. Currently the route runs from Birmingham’s central station through the Kingston neighborhood and ends at the Birmingham airport. The new route will instead run from Kingston to the east transit station. For those who use route 20 to get to the airport, a microtransit option will be available through On-Demand, a rideshare service that costs riders a $1.50 flat fee. To book a ride, people within the microtransit range can either call 205-236-0768 or book a ride through the Via app. 

• The Alabama-West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church has been denied their request to the Alabama Supreme Court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Dothan megachurch, Harvest Church. The conference had initially asked the Houston County court to dismiss the case, citing that the lawsuit should be dealt with within the church, but they refused and the conference appealed to the state Supreme Court. Now that the state Supreme Court has also refused, the case now goes back to Houston County to be heard. 

• The Alabama Senate passed a general fund budget bill of $3.3 billion for the 2025 fiscal year. The bill would see major increases in many programs, including the state Medicaid Agency, the Alabama Department of Corrections, the Department of Human Resources and the Alabama Department of Mental Health. Additionally, the budget includes a 2% increase for state employees. The budget now moves to the house. 

Alabama legislative update

As of April 14, members of the Alabama Legislature had filed a total of 777 bills. Of these bills, 15 have been enacted as state law. Seven of these have been covered in previous Roundups and can be read about here. The eight latest bills enacted are: 

• SB106 revised the process for how the department of commerce sets salaries for its secretary and deputy secretaries. Previously, the law had stated that the salary for the secretary could not be more than $40,000 above the highest authorized rate for an employee of the department, and deputy secretaries could not go above $10,000 more than the highest authorized employee salary. The new law removes these caps.

• SB47 amended the Alabama constitution to create the Alabama Automobile Insurance Plan to distribute costs among insurance companies for the state established plans for people unable to acquire vehicle liability insurance through regular means. It also lets the Commissioner of Insurance appoint a governing body to manage the plan.

• SB50 prohibits any Alabama governmental entity from restricting purchasing or usage of an appliance solely based on the type of energy it uses. Gas stoves have been a topic of national discussion, with both climate change and health activists pushing for a reduction in their use. Last year, New York banned the use of natural gas for heating and cooking in most new constructions, with exemptions given for hospitals, restaurants, and other new constructions. 

• SB18 will lift the statue of limitations for individuals filing claims of sexual abuse against the Boy Scouts of America.

• SB26 changes “nurse educator” to “advanced practice nurse” in the code of Alabama section 34-21-98. 

• SB15 changed state law so that instead of there being a set number of pharmacy technicians for each pharmacist while preparing a compound, the number of technicians allowed will be based upon Board of Pharmacy ratios for supervision. 

• SB100 creates the Board of Medical Scholarship Awards Fund, to gather funds to be used in granting scholarships and providing loans for medical students.

• SB46 changes state law for insurance so that surplus line transactions that are conducted according to state law may be exempt from the diligent effort requirement. 

Our articles you might have missed

• In The Longleaf Hiker this month, Xander Swain explores Little River Canyon with friends and reflects on the importance of preserving history in addition to protecting ecological sites. 

• Check out our latest feature, which focuses on “StarFell” a comic series by Mike Uhlir that takes place in a fictional town based off Wetumpka, Alabama. 

• In the latest edition of The Breathing Room, Hannah Irvin explains why she dislikes the phrase, “you can do anything you set your mind to” and proposes an alternative.