An Update from the Alabama State House for the Week of January 19, 2026 - January 23, 2026

PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM INAPPROPRIATE APPS

• The Alabama House approved a bill by State Rep. Chris Sells (R - Greenville) on

Thursday that requires app stores to verify a user’s age and link accounts held by

minors to their parents.

• Sells, who previously passed a bill requiring cell phone porn filters to be activated

at the time of purchase, said the legislation will prevent children from

downloading apps without their parents’ knowledge.

• An earlier version of the legislation passed the House during the 2025 regular

session but was caught in a Senate logjam.

• Under the provisions of the bill, children would be placed in an age category when

setting up an app store account, and parents or guardians would create linked accounts

allowing them to approve apps before download.

• The measure would also allow the attorney general to bring action when

violations by app stores occur, and parents would be enabled to bring civil actions

for failure to comply.

• It now moves to the Senate for consideration.

ADDRESSING THE SCHOOL BUS DRIVER SHORTAGE IN ALABAMA

• In order to address a dramatic shortage of school bus drivers, the Alabama House

approved a bill by State Rep. Kenneth Paschal (R - Pelham) on Thursday that allows

certain retired educators and state employees that meet clear statutory safeguards to

return to work as full-time bus drivers without suspension of their retirement benefits.• School districts across Alabama continue to face shortages of qualified bus

drivers, resulting in delayed routes, disrupted schedules, and transportation

challenges for students and families.

• Under current law, most retirees in the Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) or

Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) are prohibited from returning to permanent full-

time employment with an RSA-participating employer without suspension of retirement

benefits, but Paschal’s legislation creates a narrow, carefully defined exception allowing

eligible retirees to serve as full-time school bus drivers.

• Key provisions of the legislation include:

• Requiring a 12-month separation period from state-covered employment before

returning to work.

• Ensuring a public retiree’s income as a bus driver does not exceed the limit

outlined in existing state law.

• Including a grandfather provision for individuals who retired on or before January

1, 2026, allowing them to return without meeting the separation requirement if all

other conditions are met.

• Establishing a sunset date of December 31, 2030, requiring the Legislature and

education stakeholders to reassess the policy based on workforce needs,

effectiveness, and outcomes.

• The legislation is designed to improve transportation reliability, enhance student safety,

and allow school systems to draw on a pool of experienced, dependable professionals—

without expanding long-term retirement liabilities.

• The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.

INCREASING HOMESTEAD EXEMPTIONS FOR SENIORS AND DISABLED

• The Alabama House approved legislation by Speaker Pro Tem Chris Pringle (R -

Mobile) on Tuesday that increases the homestead exemption for seniors over 62 and

homeowners with disabilities to $56,400.

• The exemption, which reduces the assessed value of a home for property tax

purposes, applies to a single-family primary residence on land that does not

exceed 160 acres.

• The legislation now goes to the Senate for consideration.PROHIBITING NDAS IN SEX ABUSE CASES

• The Alabama House approved a bill by State Rep. David Faulkner (R - Mountain

Brook) on Thursday that ensures no contract, settlement, or employer agreement can

legally silence someone who has experienced sexual abuse.

• Nondisclosure agreements, commonly known as NDAs, and confidentiality

clauses have been used to prevent survivors from sharing their stories and often

keeps them from warning others or finding closure.

• Faulkner’s measure makes nondisclosure provisions unenforceable when they are

related to sexual abuse.

• Trey's Law is named after Trey Carlock, who committed suicide after being barred by

an NDA from discussing the abuse he suffered at the hands of an church camp

counselor sentenced to three life terms in prison.

PARTNERING WITH FEDERAL IMMIGRATION EFFORTS

• State Rep. Ernie Yarbrough (R - Trinity) stood tall during a House Judiciary Committee

public hearing on Wednesday as he presented legislation that will allow law

enforcement agencies across the state to enter into agreements with federal authorities

and assist with the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws.

• The legislation passed the same committee in 2025.

• A group of protestors organized by the ultra-liberal Alabama Coalition for Immigrant

Justice appeared at the public hearing and spoke against the legislation.

• Among the speakers was one who claimed his adult adopted daughter, who is originally

from Guatemala, is afraid to leave home because her “skin color” provides law

enforcement with “probable cause” to detain her.

• He wrongly suggested that campus police at UAB, where she attends college,

could detain her as a suspected illegal immigrant simply based upon her

appearance.

• State Rep. Matt Simpson (R - Mobile), who devoted 12 years as a criminal prosecutor,

quickly pushed back on the false claim and challenged the speaker to point out the part

of the legislation that lists skin color as a reason for detainment.

• “My issue is — and I appreciate you coming up here and thank you for what

you've done with your daughter — when you talk about scaring people and you

talk about the fear, when you get up here and you say it is probable cause because

of somebody's color of skin, that initiates fear that there is absolutely zero legalbasis for,” Simpson said. “And that creates a fear of interactions with law en-

forcement when there is no probable cause, because you're saying, 'Oh, because

of the color of her skin, that's probable cause.' That's just not a correct statement

of the law.”

• The speaker admitted that there was nothing in the law to corroborate his unjust

claim.

• Because legislation rarely receives a vote on the same day as a public hearing,

Yarbrough’s bill is expected to be considered at next week’s committee meeting.

UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK

• The House Ways and Means Education Committee awarded a favorable report on

Tuesday to legislation by Chairman Danny Garrett (R - Trussville) that repeals the

requirement for the University of Alabama School of Social Work to exist as a

standalone college.

• Garrett noted that his bill was not meant to be “anti-social work” but simply

provides the university with more flexibility and the opportunity to either

continue the program as it exists or to make changes if it desires.

• Though wholly unrelated to Garrett’s bill, the UA School of Social Work has come

under fire recently for refusing to comply with the state law banning diversity, equity,

and inclusion programs, commonly known as DEI, in publicly funded schools, colleges,

and universities.

• Recent presentations hosted and promoted by the school were titled, “Bridging

the Gap: Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for BIPOC Men in Social

Work” and “Transforming Competencies in Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity, and

Inclusion.”

• Similarly provocative presentations that seem to violate Alabama’s anti- DEI

statute were held and hosted by the school, as well.

• Garrett’s bill now goes to the House for consideration.

PUNISHING FALSE IDS AND REFUSAL TO PROVIDE IDENTITY

• The House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee awarded a favorable

report on Wednesday to legislation by State Rep. Ron Bolton (R - Northport) that

creates a new Class C misdemeanor crime for refusing to present ID to law

enforcement officers or “knowingly [refusing] to give the law-enforcement officer his

or her name, address, date of birth, and an explanation of his or her actions.”.• A Class C misdemeanor in Alabama is punishable by a $500 fine and up to three

months in jail.

• Alabama law currently has no specific law regarding refusing ID presentation, and such

crimes are now booked under the charge of “obstructing government operations.”

• The bill also adds date of birth to the list of truthful information that must be supplied

to officers under the state’s existing false-name law.

• The legislation now goes to the full House for consideration.

LIMITING SCREEN TIME FOR CHILDREN

• The House Education Policy Committee awarded a favorable report on Wednesday to

legislation by State Rep. Jeanna Ross (R - Guntersville) that would limit the screen

time of children under the care of publicly-funded early learning centers.

• Ross is the former director of the Department of Early Childhood Education in

Alabama and has noted that studies show prolonged screen time with electronic

devices can slow both learning and social progress in young children.

• The measure requires the Department of Early Childhood Education to create

guidelines and training on appropriate screen-time use and to set age-based limits on

electronic screen time.

• Children under 2 would be barred from screen time, and specific limits would be

set for children aged 2 to 5 with the state departments of Human Resources and

Education each having a role in promulgating the guidelines.

• The bill, which has the early and vocal support of Gov. Kay Ivey, now goes to the

House for consideration.