Congresswoman Terri Sewell announced on social media the passing of her mother. She was 81 at the time of her death and was the first African-American councilwoman for Selma, Alabama. We extend our profound condolences to Rep. Terri Sewell and the family.
The 2021 regular session of the Alabama Legislature is over. The body met for its 30th and final legislative day this past Monday.
Every year, there are legislative winners and losers, and this year was no different. On the success side, the big news includes the passage of a medical marijuana bill that has now been signed into law and the passage of the biggest education budget in state history.
And at the beginning of the session, a series of gambling bills seemed to hold real promise. Then the issue stalled, then gained steam, only to stall out again and eventually die right at the end of session.
For this and all the bills pronounced dead, there’s always next year (or a special session)! Check out our summary on this and other political news below.
2021 Session Recap
WINNERS
LOSERS
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Before the session was over, the Senate passed a resolution outlining the state’s support of Israel. It expresses “solidarity with Israel in its defense against terrorism in the Gaza Strip.” Read the full resolution below.
A Montgomery County Circuit Judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by State Auditor Jim Zeigler and others challenging Gov. Ivey’s plan to lease and operate privately owned prisons. The court granted a request by the Alabama Department of Corrections to dismiss the case. The court rejected claims that the prison leases violate a state law that prohibits the leasing of the facilities without consent of the legislature. Plaintiffs in the case are Zeigler, state Rep. John Rogers of Birmingham, Kenny Glasgow, a pastor and prisoner rights advocate from Houston County, and Leslie Ogburn, whose property adjoins the site of a proposed prison near Tallassee in Elmore County. Defendants were Governor Ivey, Prison Commissioner Jeff Dunn, and two real estate entities formed and owned by CoreCivic. CoreCivic has until June 1 to obtain financing for construction of the two proposed prisons in central and south Alabama.
Many are predicting at least one and maybe two special sessions coming later this year, maybe in August. Topics including prison construction, redistricting and the distribution of the federal funds coming Alabama’s way as part of the recently passed American Rescue Plan Act will require attention before the 2022 regular session. Read more here.
Governor Kay Ivey has signed into law a bill that will allow Alabamians to use medical marijuana products for more than a dozen conditions and symptoms such as chronic pain, depression, seizures, muscle spasticity and terminal illnesses. The bill sets up a system to regulate medical marijuana from the cultivation of the plants, to processing and testing the products, to selling them in dispensaries. Doctors will be able to recommend medical cannabis for patients who will receive medical cannabis cards to buy tablets, gel cubes and other forms of medical cannabis products. Raw plant material, products that could be smoked or vaped and food products such as cookies or candies will not be allowed. Alabama becomes the 37th state to legalize medical marijuana.
On June 19, Alabama is pulling the plug on federal boosts to unemployment, including the extra $300 a week for those collecting benefits. In parts of the state, “Now Hiring” signs aren’t hard to find, which is one of the reasons Ivey announced she is putting a stop to the additional unemployment. The pandemic unemployment programs mean people in Alabama have been getting up to $575 a week in unemployment for up to 54 weeks due to the pandemic as opposed to the standard benefits capping out at $275 a week for 14 weeks. The Alabama Department of Labor has paid out more than $5 billion in claims in the last year, which is more money than the last 12 years combined with the help of federal dollars. The Alabama Department of Labor will continue paying out the additional $300 a week for new claims filed before June 19. The state’s unemployment rate is 3.8 percent, the lowest in the Southeast.
Thanks to to learning losses sustained due to the pandemic, Alabama lawmakers voted to delay for two years a provision in the Alabama Literacy Act, a law passed in 2019 to emphasize reading instruction in the earliest grades. The law says that beginning with the 2021-2022 school year, third graders would have to show they can read at grade level in order to be promoted to fourth grade. The House gave final passage of a Senate-passed bill to delay that time provision until the 2023-2024 school years. The bill passed by a vote of 68-27, and now goes to the governor who could sign it into law.
Alabama lawmakers finished their annual session without taking a vote on a bill to criminalize hormone treatments and surgeries as transitional therapies for minors with gender dysphoria. It was one of the most closely watched bills throughout the 15-week legislative session. A bill to allow voters to decide whether to allow a lottery and casinos failed to surface on the last night of the session. This matter is far from over and is likely to resurface in a future session. There are likely to be special sessions later this year, and the 2022 regular session starts in January.
