Week 7

April 18 - April 22

As I have stated before, I usually spend most of my time during the Legislative Session taking care of things back home here in Shelby County. However, last week I was able to spend most of Thursday down in the Alabama State House for Autism Matters Legislative Day. The day, planned by the Autism Society of Alabama, was a chance for families affected by Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) to speak with their legislators about how they can help make Alabama a better place for those with ASD. It is a great day that shows how effective people can be in lobbying their elected officials.

On Tuesday, Senator Cam Ward saw much of his hard work as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee pay off. The Senate passed 5 bills in a Tort Reform package that makes adjustments on who, when and where certain law suits can be placed. Two of these bills were also sponsored by Senator Ward. A brief synopsis of the Tort Reform shows bills that limit post-judgment interest to be paid by a defendant, prohibit product liability suits against resellers of a product, and limit where a wrongful death suit can be tried. More can be read here, on al.com

On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee also passed a list of bills on Sentencing Reform that is meant to further deter crime and clean up the overcrowding in Alabama prisons. This is another area Senator Ward has been working hard to change during this session. These bills will now move on to the Senate floor.

We’ll call this update Senate week, as Thursday, the Senate passed an illegal immigration bill. This bill is similar to the one passed in the House of Representatives earlier in the session. However, there are differences and both houses will come together in a conference committee to sort those differences out. As I said, these bills are still very similar and their sponsors, Senator Scott Beason and Representative Micky Hammon are expected to find a middle ground on these bills.

Other Senate action of note is that Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh passed a resolution to set up a Constitutional Reform Commission. If signed by the governor, this commission would propose article by article changes to much of the Alabama Constitution. These proposed changes would have to be approved by the Legislature and then voted on by the people of Alabama before taking effect.

Throughout much of last week there were many rumors flying around about how much time the Alabama Legislature would take off for reapportionment. The latest, as reported by Senator Cam Ward on Doc’s Political Parlor is that both houses will meet this week and next week before taking three weeks off in May for public hearings on reapportionment. They will then meet for two weeks following this time off to finalize reapportionment, thus preventing a special session to do so later. The Alabama State Legislature is expected to adjourn Sine Die on Thursday, June 9th.