Week 11

May 31 - June 2


Sometimes there is so much going on, and so much to report, that you just don’t know where to start. That would be the case this week from the State House. There were so many bills passed that I barely know where to start. So I’ll start with this, I played soccer for the first time in 3 years this week at Sports Blast in Chelsea. It was fun and a good way to get back into regular exercise for me, except for the fact that I no longer have a big toenail on my left foot. Ouch? Yeah, it hurts!

Sorry for that, let’s get on to business, shall we? I think it would be best to start locally. State Senator Cam Ward has had an extremely busy and productive session. In previous posts we have mentioned his tort reform package, sex offender notification and indigent defense reform and all of these passed through the House and moved on to the Governor this week. However, his anti-bullying bill that we mentioned early on in the session is dead for the year, but he says he will pre-file the bill again in 2012.

In some very important state-wide issues, the Senate passed a Congressional redistricting plan last night. This plan is different than the one they originally passed last week and rejected by House committee, but is the same as the plan that was recommended by the Joint Reapportionment Committee. Important to our area is that this particular map keeps Chilton County in District 6 instead of moving it to District 3. Toward the end of the day yesterday, the House also passed the budget, but it was by the slim margin of 51-49.

There are other bills of distinct note that received final passage yesterday. HB 56 deals with illegal immigration and is said to be an Arizona-style law. It passed the Senate by a vote of 25-7 and goes to the Governor for his signature. Under the law, a person not in Alabama legally could be convicted of willful failure to complete or carry an alien registration document. Law officers who stop a person in violation of another law must make “a reasonable attempt” at ensuring citizenship or immigration status. Senator Scott Beason says that the purpose of the bill is to create jobs for legal Alabama residents.

The House of Representatives gave final passage to SB 136 that provides for increased election transparency. Beginning in the 2014 election cycle, candidates will be required to submit campaign contributions much more frequently. A year from the election, reporting will be done monthly, a month prior will be reported weekly and daily reporting will be required within the week of the election. All reporting will be posted in an online searchable database available to the public.

The House also voted to remove racist and offensive language from the 1901 Alabama Constitution. SB 112 will be a statewide referendum voted on by the general public in November 2012. It is the same amendment that was voted down in 2004.

Like I said, it was a busy week in the Alabama State House. Many other bills, especially local bills for various parts of the state, passed as well. There are just entirely too many to mention in this small space. Next Thursday will be the final day of the 2011 Legislative Session and so next week should be the last update of the year.