An Update from the Alabama State House for the Week of March 16, 2026 - March 20, 2026

The work in Montgomery continues, and I remain focused on delivering real results for the people of District 45. In the Alabama House of Representatives, we took action on several issues that I know matter deeply to our communities, lowering the burden on families, protecting property owners, strengthening public safety, and defending the values that make Alabama strong.

I have heard clearly from many of you about concerns over rising electricity costs. That’s why legislation like HB475 is important. It increases accountability for regulated utilities and helps ensure families are not paying more than they should.

We also moved forward on protecting homeowners, especially seniors, from growing threats like property scams and title theft. At the same time, we passed legislation aimed at strengthening cooperation between law enforcement and federal authorities to help keep our communities safe.

These are not abstract issues. They impact your bills, your homes, and your sense of security. As your State Representative, I will continue to stand firm for common-sense policies that protect taxpayers, support law enforcement, and reflect the values of District 45.

Here’s a closer look at what we worked on this past week.

DEMANDING ACCOUNTABILITY FROM REGULATED UTILITIES

• The Alabama Public Service Commission will be required to hold formal “rate case”

hearings that have not occurred in Alabama since 1982 if legislation sponsored by State

Rep. Mack Butler (R - Rainbow City) and passed by the House on Tuesday becomes

law.

• While the PSC currently holds annual rate reviews, Butler’s bill would force the first

“rate case” hearings held in 44 years, which require regulated utilities to to provide

detailed financial information justifying the rates it charges to consumers.

• Following the last rate case held in 1982, the PSC began using rate formulas,

which allow rates to be changed without requiring the same in-depth, financial

forensic analysis that rate case hearings demand.

• The legislation also prohibits regulated utilities from earning a return on equity higher

than the regional average of investor-owned utilities.

• Southern Company, the parent company of Alabama Power, reported $1.5 billion

in profits on federal forms in 2025, which represented a $113 million net profit

increase year over year.

• Butler’s measure would also force Alabama Power to swear under oath that it isn’t

passing along prohibited costs to ratepayers or charging an ROE higher than the national average when filing a new rate or change to an existing rate with the APSC.

• In addition, it prohibits regulated utilities from requiring consumers to help

should costs related to lobbying activities, grants it provides, and advertising.

• Following committee passage of his bill, Butler released a statement which read, in

part:

“I feel strongly that any bill addressing the PSC must include provisions that require

Alabama Power to open its books, bring its profits in line with comparable utilities

across the southeast, and provide families and consumers with financial relief from

sky high power bills. Reorganizing the PSC is meaningless unless it is required to

hold regular rate case hearings that haven’t taken place since the days when George

Wallace was elected governor.”

• The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.

PROTECTING ALABAMIANS FROM PROPERTY SCAMS

• The Alabama House approved on Tuesday a bill by Majority Leader Paul Lee (R -

Dothan) that is designed to protect Alabamians from property title fraud.

• The legislation results from scammers who often file and record forged deeds and

fraudulent documents with probate judges to essentially “steal” real estate and

property from owners without their knowledge.

• House Bill 426 updates Alabama’s property title and real estate transaction systems

from being firmly rooted in the 20th Century to more accurately reflecting 21st Century

criminal threats and safeguarding the public from them.

• Under its provisions, the bill creates new criminal penalties related to fraudulent property transfers, establishes an Alabama Title Fraud Recovery Fund for victims, and establishes an expedited court process to restore ownership of property obtained through

fraud.

• It reclassifies the existing crime of “fraudulent sale of real property” to a Class D

felony, which is punishable by one to five years in prison and a fine of up to

$7,500, and establishes the crime of “aggravated sale of real property” and classifies it as a Class C felony punishable by one to 10 years in prison and a fine of up

to $15,000.

• Probate judges are authorized to set up systems under the legislation that automatically

notify property owners when conveyances containing their names or addresses of property they own are filed with the judges’ offices.

• Other safeguards, including best practices for REALTORS®, notaries, and others, are

included in the bill.

• Neighboring Georgia recently passed a law putting more requirements on confirming a

person’s identity when he or she files a title deed and other real estate and personal

property records, and Tennessee has enacted legislation combatting the problem, as

well.

• A recent study found that known cases of title fraud were more common in urban and

suburban areas compared to small towns, and unoccupied properties or mortgage-free

properties are the most commonly targeted by property title fraudsters.

• The legislation now goes to the Senate, which has already passed a companion bill.

EXPANDING OVERSIGHT BY THE CONTRACT REVIEW COMMITTEE

• The Alabama House awarded final passage on Tuesday to legislation carried by State

Rep. Jim Carns (R - Vestavia) that allows the Alabama Contract Review Legislative

Oversight Committee to recommend that the governor should not sign a contract.

• Under current rules, the Contract Review Committee may only approve a contract

or hold it for 45 days if even one member objects to the agreement.

• Carns noted that legislators on the committee sometimes hold contracts simply to send

a message to an agency or highlight or protest other issues.

• By adding 10 words to the existing statute, the committee may be given a third

option of formally recommending that the governor should not sign a contract.

• The separation of powers does not allow the Legislature to simply void contracts of

executive branch agencies, but the third option will bring a brighter spotlight, more

accountability, and deeper examination from the media, the public, and the governor

when questionable contracts appear before the committee.

• The legislation now goes to Gov. Kay Ivey for review and signature.

PARTNERING WITH FEDERAL IMMIGRATION EFFORTS

• State Rep. Ernie Yarbrough (R - Trinity) secured House passage on Tuesday for his

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.

• Specifically, the bill allows state and local law enforcement agencies to sign

agreements with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security,

and any other federal agency “for the purpose of enforcing federal immigration and

customs laws and the detention, removal, and investigation of illegal aliens and the

immigration status of any individual in this state.”

• Language within the bill states that “A law enforcement officer acting within the

scope of his or her authority under any memorandum of understanding,

agreement, or other authorization from the federal government may arrest, with

probable cause, any individual suspected of being an illegal alien.”

• When Democrats questioned in committee if the legislation would open the door to

racial profiling, State Rep. Matt Simpson (R - Daphne) noted that probable cause

requirements would still apply even after a memorandum of understanding was

adopted.

• Yarbrough named his measure the “Laken Riley” in honor of a University of Georgia

nursing student who was murdered by an illegal alien that had been previously detained

but was freed before taking her life.

• The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.

POSTING THE TEN COMMANDMENTS IN CLASSROOMS

• The House Judiciary Committee awarded a favorable report on Wednesday to

legislation by State Rep. Mark Gidley (R - Hokes Bluff) that would require a copy of

the Ten Commandments to be posted in some public school classrooms.

• The bill previously received a favorable report from the House Education Policy

Committee, as well.

• Under the provisions of Gidley’s legislation, the Ten Commandments and an

accompanying context statement would be posted and displayed in each history

classroom in grades 5 through 12 and also in a common area of each school.

• The school displays will include the statement: “Recognizing that personal choice

about matters of faith are left to students and their families, the purpose of this

poster is simply to acknowledge the historical role of the Ten Commandments,

and the broader Judeo-Christian tradition, in shaping American civil society.”

• Gidley said posting the Ten Commandments provides an important historical

understanding of the document and promotes our nation’s cultural heritage.

• The cost of the displayed materials would be provided through donations and private

funding rather than with taxpayer dollars.

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

EXEMPTING OVERTIME PAY FROM TAXES

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

Wednesday to legislation by State Rep. James Lomax (R - Huntsville) that provides a

state income tax exemption for up to $1,000 of qualified overtime pay per taxpayer.

• An uncapped overtime pay exemption previously passed by the Legislature

expired in 2025.

• A fiscal note accompanying the bill, which largely mirrors a recently enacted federal

exemption, predicts it will cost roughly $37.4 million to implement.

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

REQUIRING PARTY REGISTRATION FOR PRIMARY VOTING

• Voters will have to declare a party registration in order to vote in primary and runoff

elections in Alabama if legislation sponsored by State Rep. Ernie Yarbrough (R -

Trinity) and passed by the House on Thursday becomes law.

• Under current law, Alabama conducts open primaries, which means voters are not

required to declare a party affiliation when they register to vote and may request either

a Republican or Democrat party ballot at the polling place when voting in primary

elections.

• According to Yarbrough’s bill, a voter would have to formally declare and register a

party affiliation prior to an election if they wish to vote in a primary or runoff election.

• Voters would not be required to declare a party affiliation, but those who do not

would only be able to vote in general election contests as primary and runoffs are

technically party elections designed to select nominees for office.

• The bill would prohibit an elector from changing his or her political party affiliation

during a blackout period beginning 60 days before a primary election.

• The intent of the bill is to ensure that Republicans vote in GOP primaries, Democrats

vote in Democrat primaries, and neither party has the opportunity to crossover and taint

the nominating process of the other party.

• Yarbrough’s bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.

STRENGTHENING ALABAMA’S SEAFOOD LABELING LAW

• The Alabama House awarded approval on Thursday to legislation by State Rep. Chip

Brown (R - Hollinger’s Island) that further strengthens Alabama’s existing seafood

labeling law and forces restaurant to comply with its provisions or face severe

penalties.

• “Our current labeling law is designed to inform consumers and encourage

restaurants to use seafood products harvested in Alabama, but too many owners

are exploiting loopholes or simply refusing to follow its requirements,” Brown

said. “This legislation adds sharp teeth to the statute and includes strong penalties

for restaurants that continue thumbing their noses at state law.”

• Restaurants located in Alabama are currently required to disclose whether seafood is

domestic or imported on the menu listing for dishes they sell or on conspicuous signage

plainly visible to diners and patrons. Additionally, the same methods must be used to

disclose if fish or shrimp products being used are farm-raised or caught in the wild.

• Despite the fact that civil penalties, including monetary fines, can be assessed by the

Alabama Department of Public Health for non-compliance, some restaurants across the

state are either ignoring the law altogether or exploiting perceived loopholes.

• In order to ensure full compliance and provide consumers with important information

about the seafood products they are served, House Bill 444 does the following:

• Automatically deducts five points from the publicly posted State Health

Department sanitation scores of any restaurant that is not in compliance with

seafood labeling requirements.

• Authorizes the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries to genetically

test the origin of restaurant seafood products to ensure they are in compliance.

• Removes signage as an option for disclosing the country of origin of seafood

products and requires restaurants to use country of origin labeling on their menus.

• Requires the Alabama Department of Public Health to “regularly inspect food

service establishments” to ensure they are in compliance with the seafood

labeling law.

• Requires the Alabama Department of Public Health to publish the names and

addresses of restaurants that are in violation of the seafood labeling law.

• Alabama’s current seafood labeling law was passed in 2024 after a popular restaurant in

neighboring Mississippi pled guilty to selling its diners meals made from frozen, lowgrade fish imported from Africa, India, and Surinam that was marketed as premium,

fresh-caught Gulf fish that commanded notably higher prices.

• The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.

PUNISHING PUBLIC CORRUPTION

• The Alabama House awarded final passage on Thursday to a bill carried by Rep. Rex

Reynolds (R - Huntsville) that increases punishment for public officials convicted of

corruption by redirecting a portion of their retirement benefits toward restitution and

mandating repayment of salary earned.

• The bill targets financial accountability for public officials convicted of job‑related

felonies, requiring them to forfeit retirement contributions and repay any salary earned

while on paid leave during the period in which the offense occurred.

• The legislation applies to officials across state, county, and municipal government and

is designed to ensure taxpayers are not left footing the bill when public trust is violated.

The changes are set to take effect October 1, 2026.

• Under current law, public officials convicted of corruption‑related crimes may face

fines, prison time, and removal from office - but they often retain retirement contributions and compensation received during administrative leave. SB 58 seeks to close

those gaps by:

• Requiring forfeiture of the state‑funded portion of retirement contributions

• Allowing those funds to be redirected toward restitution owed to victims or the

state

• Mandating repayment of salary earned while on paid leave during the period in

which the criminal conduct occurred

• Ensuring that financial penalties align with the severity of the breach of public

trust

• Taxpayers should not subsidize the retirement benefits of officials who abused their positions, so by redirecting forfeited contributions toward restitution, SB 58 ensures that

victims - including state agencies and local governments - receive compensation more

quickly and more fully.

• In many cases, officials under investigation continue receiving full pay while suspended from their duties, so SB 58 ensures that if those officials are ultimately convicted of

job‑related felonies, that compensation is returned to the public.

• The bill now goes to Gov. Kay Ivey for review and signature.