An Update from the Alabama State House for the Week of March 30, 2026 - April 3, 2026
I wanted to share a quick update from Montgomery and keep you in the loop on what’s been happening in the Alabama House.
There was a lot of meaningful work this past week, focused on what I know matters to you and your family: holding government and utilities accountable, protecting property owners, supporting law enforcement, strengthening election integrity, and exploring practical tax relief.
As always, my goal is to serve you with transparency and to make sure you know not just what we’re doing, but why it matters. Below is a brief breakdown of key bills and issues we worked on this week.
Thank you for the trust you’ve placed in me to represent District 45.
INCREASING SAFETY FOR CAMPERS IN ALABAMA
• The Alabama Senate awarded final approval on Tuesday to legislation by State Rep.
David Faulkner (R - Mountain Brook) that establishes safety plans for summer camps
located across Alabama.
• The Sarah Marsh Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act is named after eight-year-old
Alabamian Sarah Marsh, who died during flash flood at a camp in Texas last
summer.
• Faulkner’s legislation would require camps to meet safety standards, including
obtaining an emergency preparedness license from the Alabama Emergency
Management Agency and establishing emergency and evacuation plans.
• It also would prohibit cabins from being located in flood plains. Camps would be
required to have weather radios and a notification system that does not rely on
cellular or internet service, which could fail in a natural disaster.
• Marsh’s mother, Jill, told the press that her daughter and the 26 other children killed by
flooding at the Christian camp would likely still be alive today if the provisions in
Faulkner’s bill had been enacted in Texas at the time.
• The legislation now goes to Gov. Kay Ivey for signature.
ALABAMA POST ELECTION AUDIT ACT
• The Alabama Senate awarded final approval on Tuesday to the Alabama Post Election
Audit Act, which was sponsored in the chamber this year by State Rep. Joe Lovvorn (R
- Auburn)• House Bill 95 requires a post-election audit using a “clean machine” in one precinct in
each county to ensure ballots in county or statewide races were tabulated accurately and
reflect the true intent of the voters who cast ballots in that election.
• Audits would be conducted no earlier than 31 days after an election, or after the
deadline for filing an election contest has passed, and must be completed within
30 days.
• The auditing process would be open to poll watchers and members of the media,
and the results - indicating whether the audits were clear or indicated deficiencies
- would be publicly reported.
• Alabama is the last state in the nation that does not have a bill mandating and governing
post-election audits.
• Former State Rep. Debbie Wood, who sponsored the bill in previous sessions, originally
drafted the legislation after it was discovered during a routine test that sample ballots
can be read and counted just like legitimate ballots if fed into tabulator machines
currently in use across the state.
• When first introducing the measure several sessions ago, Wood noted that she
won her House seat by just six votes, which highlights the need for accurate and
tamper-free tabulations.
• The bill now goes to Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk for review and signature.
RECOGNIZING THE “GULF OF AMERICA”
• The Alabama Senate awarded final approval on Tuesday to legislation sponsored by
State Rep. David Standridge (R - Hayden) that officially recognizes the newly-named
“Gulf of America.”
• Almost immediately after taking office for his second term, President Donald
Trump issued and signed an executive order officially renaming the Gulf of
Mexico as the Gulf of America.
• As a Gulf coast state, Standridge said it is important for Alabama to embrace and
follow the executive order much like Google Maps recently did when it updated
its software to include the Gulf of America.
• Standridge’s bill requires all state and local entities in Alabama to recognize the name
on newly created maps, documents, educational materials websites, official
communications and other resources by the beginning of the new fiscal year on October
1.• The bill also requires state and local entities to update the name on existing
resources if it is deemed “practicable.”
• The measure now proceeds to Gov. Kay Ivey for signature.
MAKING THE STATE ARCHIVES BOARD MORE ACCOUNTABLE
• The Alabama House approved legislation on Tuesday that is sponsored by State Rep.
Jamie Kiel (R - Russellville) and moves the board of the Alabama Department of
Archives & History from a self-sustaining board that picks its own members to one that
is appointed.
• Boards are supposed to provide oversight to state agencies, so allowing the agency to
pick and determine its own board members completely undermines the oversight
responsibility.
• Under the provisions of Kiel’s legislation, the governor would appoint eight board
members with the Speaker and the President Pro Tem of the Senate each appointing
four.
• The House and Senate minority leaders would each submit three nominees to the
leaders of their chambers, who would pick one name to be included among their
four appointments.
• The Senate County and Municipal Government Committee has already awarded the bill
a favorable report.
EXEMPTING OVERTIME PAY AND GROCERIES FROM TAXES
• The Alabama House gave its approval on Tuesday 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.
• State Rep. Mike Shaw (R - Hoover) successfully added an amendment that would also
create a Grocery Tax Holiday period, which exempts groceries from state sales taxes
from May 1 to June 30 in order to make life more affordable for Alabama households.
• The state sales tax on groceries is currently 2% after the legislation cut it in half
in recent years, but the amendment would not affect local sales taxes on groceries.• The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.
SETTING RULES FOR FACULTY SENATES
• The Alabama House approved on Tuesday legislation by State Rep. Troy Stubbs (R -
Wetumpka) that sets rules for faculty senates at public colleges and universities across
the state and clarifies that such bodies operate in an advisory-only manner.
• HB580 would require a university that establishes a faculty senate to develop policies
regarding the membership and responsibilities for the body.
• A faculty senate would only serve an advisory role, negating any "final decision-
making authority on any matter of representing institutional positions."
• It would also require polices that would include periodic post-tenure reviews and
authorize the removal of tenured professors after due process.
• The bill defines a faculty senate as "any representative faculty organization at a
public institution of higher education."
• All previously formed faculty senates would be abolished by October 1, unless
the body was established in line with the provisions of the legislation o changed
its rules to comply.
• The bill also prohibits accrediting agencies from taking adverse action against a
public university for enacting the policies.
• Many faculty senates and accrediting agencies are more focused on partisan politics
rather than wise public policy, and their legislation seeks to counter that influence.
• Because they are land grant colleges, the University of Alabama, Auburn University,
and colleges within their systems are exempt from the bill, but administrators are
encouraged to adopt the guidelines.
• The bill proceeds to the Senate for consideration.
ALLOWING OFF CAMPUS RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION FOR STUDENTS
• The Alabama House awarded final approval on Tuesday to legislation carried by State
Rep. Susan DuBose (R - Homewood) that allows students to participate in off-campus
religious instruction during school hours.• The legislation allows school boards to decided whether to adopt a policy
allowing students to participate in off-campus instruction if their parents provide
permission.
• Under the provisions of the measure, the religious instruction programs would have to
be privately funded and held off school grounds, and students would be responsible for
making up any missed classwork.
• A local board of education could refuse to allow a student to participate if the board has
determined the program would cause physical harm to the student or if the sponsoring
entity is in violation of state law.
• The bill now goes to Gov. Kay Ivey for signature.
FISCAL YEAR 2027 GENERAL FUND BUDGET
• The Alabama House approved on Wednesday a $3.74 billion General Fund budget for
Fiscal Year 2027, which was $12.6 million higher than the version originally approved
by the State Senate.
• The main difference in the spending plans was the inclusion of a one-time
longevity bonus for state retirees, which awards them $12 a year multiplied by
their years of service, so a retiree with 25 years of service would receive $300
($12 per year X 25 years = $300).
• Because the budgets slightly differ, the General Fund will travel back to the
Senate for concurrence before going to Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk for signature.
• The budget, which was carried by House Ways and Means General Fund Chairman Rex
Reynolds (R - Huntsville), already included a 2% cost-of-living pay raise for active
state employees, which totals roughly $16 million, and full funding for the State
Employees Health Insurance Program, which provides coverage for both active and
retired workers.
• Growing by only 1% over the previous year’s budget, it essentially represents level
funding in most areas although there were some deviations.
• Among the slight increases were $5 million more for the Unified Judicial System,
$2.5 million more for the Department of Commerce — including $2 million
earmarked for Birmingham’s Innovation Depot — and additional funding for the
Department of Corrections, district attorneys and the Alabama Law Enforcement
Agency.
• Debt service payments, including an additional $10.4 million for prison
construction, were increased, as well.• Some agencies, such as the Alabama Department of Environmental Management,
the Department of Public Health, the Department of Forestry, and the Alabama
Department of Economic and Community Affairs, received slight reductions due
largely to administrative changes, and other costs, such as a portion of the
Children’s Health Insurance Program, were shifted to the Education Trust Fund.
• The plan also conditionally set aside about $15 million each for the State General Fund
Budget Reserve Fund and the Medicaid Reserve Fund, money that would be transferred
only if it is available at the end of fiscal 2026.
• The FY2027 budget was approved by a unanimous 104 - 0 margin.
EXEMPTING SALES TAXES FROM CREDIT CARD FEES
• The House Ways and Means Education Committee approved a measure carried by State
Rep. Troy Stubbs (R - Wetumpka) on Wednesday that removes the sales tax from credit
card transaction fees.
• While testifying on the legislation, the Alabama state director of the National
Federation of Independent Business noted that no statute has ever been passed applying
sales taxes to the transaction fees, yet the tax is still being levied.
• Senate Bill 221 would remove sales tax on any extra money added to a total from a
credit card processing charge.
• The bill now goes to the full House for consideration.
REFORMING THE PSC AND REGULATING UTILITIES
• The Alabama Legislature awarded final passage on Wednesday to the Power To The
People Act, which seeks to reduce utility rates by mandating that regulated utilities
must undergo annual rate review hearings, providing the PSC with subpoena power,
and requiring sworn testimony that is given under oath with the threat of perjury
charges for deception.
• Special rate review hearings may also be convened at will under HB475 if the newly-
created secretary of energy or a majority of the commission request them.
• A provision in the bill outlaws rate increases for the next three years — until a majority
of the board is elected — but it continues to allow rate reductions to be voted upon and
implemented at any time.• The measure adds four new seats to the commission and requires all seven posts to be
elected by congressional district, which is similar to the election model currently used
for the Alabama State Board of Education.
• In order to create staggered terms, four commissioners would initially be
appointed by the governor in July of 2026, two of whom would serve two-year
terms and two of whom would serve four-year terms. Commissioners would run
for office according to congressional districts beginning in November of 2028 and
serve six year terms upon election.
• A new cabinet-level secretary of energy, which was recently suggested by Republican
gubernatorial candidate Coach Tommy Tuberville, would be created under the bill, and
that position would be responsible for overseeing the administrative functions of the
commission.
• In determining rates, regulated utilities are forbidden from passing certain expenses on
to consumers, including the costs of employing lobbyists on behalf of the utility, the
costs of advertising the utility except for public safety messages, or the costs of grants it
provides.
• Regulated utilities are also prohibited from contributing to candidates running for
Public Service Commission seats.
• Members of the Public Service Commission, their spouses and immediate family
members, the Secretary of Energy, and all employees of the commission are forbidden
from providing any paid service to public utilities, as well.
• The bill now goes to Gov. Kay Ivey for signature.
RAISING ATTEMPTING TO ELUDE TO FELONY LEVEL
• Attempting to elude police would soon be raised from misdemeanor to felony level
under legislation carried by State Rep. Reed Ingram (R - Montgomery) and approved
by the Alabama House on Thursday.
• Under the provisions of SB233, attempting to elude in a vehicle would rise from a
Class A misdemeanor to Class D felony level, but eluding on foot would remain a
Class A misdemeanor.
• The bill also uncharges penalties for eluding with children in the vehicle, striking
law enforcement officers in their vehicles, or eluding while the offender is on
pretrial release
• Gov. Kay Ivey highlighted the need for the measure during her 2026 State of the State
Address, and the bill now goes to her desk for signature.
