{"id":2761,"date":"2022-02-14T18:16:12","date_gmt":"2022-02-14T18:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/albanknews.com\/?p=2761"},"modified":"2022-02-14T18:16:12","modified_gmt":"2022-02-14T18:16:12","slug":"2761","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/albanknews.com\/?p=2761","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

Broadband Expansion<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Alabama Senate on Thursday passed legislation sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Clay Scofield aimed at expanding broadband access across the state.<\/p>\n

Senate Bill 124 would modify the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) Broadband Accessibility Grant program and its application process. The bill would authorize government entities to participate in the program. Under the legislation, for such an entity to qualify for a grant, it would have had to share its statewide broadband service availability information to the Alabama broadband mapping program over the past year. The bill would also increase the minimum service threshold for high-speed broadband services from 25 to 100 megabits per second of download speed and from three to 100 megabits per second of upload speed.<\/p>\n

SB125 is a constitutional amendment which would allow a state, county or municipality to grant federal funds or any other broadband infrastructure-related funds to a public or private entity for the sole purpose of expanding high-speed internet services. This is needed to authorize counties to provide grants to private sector applicants.<\/p>\n

English Language Learners<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Senate unanimously passed a bill Thursday that would remove test scores of new non-English speaking students from a performance standard used to evaluate public schools.\u00a0 In 2012, the law began requiring that each school be assigned a letter grade of \u201cA\u201d through \u201cF\u201d based on multiple factors so that schools could easily be compared.\u00a0 Under SB 170, the attendance and graduation rates of students who are English language learners would still be factored in when assigning a letter grade to a school or school system; however, the bill would remove from consideration the individual test scores of such students for the first three years of enrollment in an effort to reduce the disparity between schools with little or no English language learners and those with a disproportionately high number of such students.\u00a0 The bill now moves to the House for consideration.<\/p>\n

Transgender Healthcare<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Senate Healthcare Committee held a public hearing Wednesday and unanimously approved a bill that would prohibit the performance of a medical procedure or the prescription or issuance of medication, upon or to a minor child, that is intended to alter the appearance of the minor child’s gender or delay puberty, with certain exceptions.\u00a0 SB 184, the Alabama Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act, would also prohibit nurses, counselors, teachers, principals, or other administrative officials at public or private schools from withholding from a minor\u2019s parent or legal guardian information related to a minor’s perception that his or her gender or sex is inconsistent with his or her sex.\u00a0 A similar bill was introduced last year, which passed the Senate but did not receive a House vote.\u00a0 SB 184 can now be considered by the full Senate.\u00a0 Another similar bill, HB 266, is currently pending in the House Judiciary Committee.<\/p>\n

Workforce Development<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

The House Education Policy Committee approved a bill on Wednesday that would make it easier for Alabamians to find information regarding available workforce credentials and the jobs those credentials could help them obtain.\u00a0 HB 241 would provide free public data about all educational and occupational credentials and competencies available to Alabama residents and establish a database through which students, job seekers, and employers may search, compare, and analyze information before making decisions about educational and workforce programs.\u00a0 The bill would also require that students earn one or more college or career readiness indicators prior to graduating high school.\u00a0 HB 241 can now be considered by the full House.<\/p>\n

Rioting<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

The House Judiciary Committee approved a bill Wednesday that would mandate jail time for participating in a riot.\u00a0 HB 2, the Anti-Aggravated Riot Act, would define a \u201criot\u201d as \u201cthe assemblage of five or more persons resulting in conduct which creates an immediate danger of damage to property or injury to persons.\u201d\u00a0 Attending such an assemblage after a dispersal order by police would be punishable by a mandatory 30 days in jail, and anyone arrested for rioting would have to be held for 24 hours without bail.\u00a0 HB 2 was approved by a 10-4 committee vote and is likely to be contested if taken up by the full House.<\/p>\n

Elder Abuse<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

The House overwhelmingly passed a bill Wednesday that would create a statewide registry of people who have abused or taken advantage of the elderly.\u00a0 HB 105 would require the Department of Human Resources to establish an Alabama Elder and Adult in Need of Protective Services Abuse Registry to publish the names of people convicted of crimes against the elderly and individuals found by the Department of Human Resources to have committed an act of abuse, elder\u00a0 abuse, emotional abuse, exploitation, financial exploitation,\u00a0 intimidation, neglect, sexual abuse, or undue influence against an elderly person or an adult in need of protective services.\u00a0 The bill would also require certain care providers to query the registry for employees and prospective employees.\u00a0 A Senate version of the bill, SB 169, was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday and passed by the Senate Thursday.<\/p>\n

School Choice<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Sponsors of SB 140, a school choice bill approved by the Senate Education Policy Committee last week, are working to make changes ahead of consideration by each full chamber.\u00a0 As passed in committee, SB 140 would direct Education Trust Fund dollars to education savings accounts that parents could use to send their children to another school, including private schools and homeschools.\u00a0 Discussions surrounding a potential substitute bill could result in several substantive changes.\u00a0 One such change could limit application to students entering kindergarten next year, which would effectively phase in a new group of students each year.\u00a0 Another possible change could result in homeschool students being removed from the bill in an effort to add an accreditation requirement for all participating schools.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

———————————————————————————————————-<\/p>\n

Below is a list of bills currently being tracked by our governmental affairs team.<\/p>\n

\n

HB 0335 | Chris Blackshear<\/strong><\/p>\n

Banking and financial institutions, small loans, authorizing limited closing fees, Sec. 5-18-15 am’d.<\/a><\/p>\n

Feb 10, 2022 – Read for the first time and referred to the House of Representatives committee on Financial Services<\/p>\n

House Committee: \u00a0Financial Services<\/p>\n

Senate Committee:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

SB 0211 | Chris Elliott<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vessels, certificate of title, uniform act, requirements, issuance by State Law Enforcement Agency, security agreement, perfection<\/a><\/p>\n

Feb 10, 2022 – Read for the first time and referred to the Senate committee on Governmental Affairs<\/p>\n

House Committee:<\/p>\n

Senate Committee: \u00a0Governmental Affairs<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

HB 0289 | Steve Clouse<\/strong><\/p>\n

Supplemental Appropriations, from the American Rescue Plan Act – State Small Business Credit Initiative Fund for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022.<\/a><\/p>\n

Feb 08, 2022 – Read for the first time and referred to the House of Representatives committee on Ways and Means General Fund<\/p>\n

House Committee: \u00a0Ways and Means General Fund<\/p>\n

Senate Committee:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

SB 0191 | Greg Albritton<\/strong><\/p>\n

Supplemental Appropriations, from the American Rescue Plan Act – State Small Business Credit Initiative Fund for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022.<\/a><\/p>\n

Feb 08, 2022 – Read for the first time and referred to the Senate committee on Finance and Taxation General Fund<\/p>\n

House Committee:<\/p>\n

Senate Committee: \u00a0Finance and Taxation General Fund<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

HB 0272 | Shane Stringer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Firearms, offenses against public order, concealed pistols, concealed carry permit, constitutional carry, pistol permits, Secs. 9-11-304, 13A-11-50, 13A-11-55, 13A-11-73 repealed; Secs. 13A-11-7, 13A-11-52, 13A-11-61.2, 13A-11-62, 13A-11-71, 13A-11-74, 13A-11-85, 13A-11-90 am’d.<\/a><\/p>\n

Feb 03, 2022 – Read for the first time and referred to the House of Representatives committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security<\/p>\n

House Committee: \u00a0Public Safety and Homeland Security<\/p>\n

Senate Committee:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

HB 0259 | Prince Chestnut<\/strong><\/p>\n

Education, personal finance literacy, personal rights, and good citizenship in grades 6-12, Sec. 16-40-12 added.<\/a><\/p>\n

Feb 03, 2022 – Read for the first time and referred to the House of Representatives committee on Education Policy<\/p>\n

House Committee: \u00a0Education Policy<\/p>\n

Senate Committee:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

HB 0238 | David Faulkner<\/strong><\/p>\n

Courts, Garnishment proceedings, service of garnishment notice further provided, Sec. 6-6-394.1 added.<\/a><\/p>\n

Feb 02, 2022 – Read for the first time and referred to the House of Representatives committee on Judiciary<\/p>\n

House Committee: \u00a0Judiciary<\/p>\n

Senate Committee:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

HB 0181 | Roderick Scott<\/strong><\/p>\n

Relating to the Department of Revenue; to all writs of garnishment to be issued by mail; to amend 40-2-11, as amended by Act 2021-148, 2021 Regular Session<\/a><\/p>\n

Feb 01, 2022 – Read for the first time and referred to the House of Representatives committee on State Government<\/p>\n

House Committee: \u00a0State Government<\/p>\n

Senate Committee:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

SB 0162 | Linda Coleman-Madison<\/strong><\/p>\n

Relating to the Department of Revenue; to all writs of garnishment to be issued by mail; to amend 40-2-11, as amended by Act 2021-148, 2021 Regular Session<\/a><\/p>\n

Feb 09, 2022 – Read for the first time and referred to the House of Representatives committee on State Government<\/p>\n

House Committee: \u00a0State Government<\/p>\n

Senate Committee:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

HB 0145 | Reed Ingram<\/strong><\/p>\n

Motor vehicle, financing and lease agreements, lease waiver agreements to pay deficiency balances at end of lease, motor vehicle value protection agreements to reduce deficiency balances, Secs. 8-37A-1 to 8-37A-6, inclusive, added; Sec. 8-37-2 am’d.<\/a><\/p>\n

Jan 13, 2022 – Read for the first time and referred to the House of Representatives committee on Financial Services<\/p>\n

House Committee: \u00a0Financial Services<\/p>\n

Senate Committee:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

HB 0127 | Andrew Sorrell<\/strong><\/p>\n

Virtual currency, exemption from ad valorem taxation provided, Sec. 40-9-1 am’d.<\/a><\/p>\n

Jan 13, 2022 – Read for the first time and referred to the House of Representatives committee on Ways and Means General Fund<\/p>\n

House Committee: \u00a0Ways and Means General Fund<\/p>\n

Senate Committee:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

SB 0084 | Donnie Chesteen<\/strong><\/p>\n

Education, Prepaid Affordable College Tuition Program board, may meet electronically, Sec. 16-33C-4.1 am’d.<\/a><\/p>\n

Feb 02, 2022 – Read for the first time and referred to the House of Representatives committee on State Government<\/p>\n

House Committee: \u00a0State Government<\/p>\n

Senate Committee:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

SB 0081 | Donnie Chesteen<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alabama Trust Fund, virtual meetings, provided for, operation of board provided for, Sec. 36-17-21 added.<\/a><\/p>\n

Feb 03, 2022 – Read for the first time and referred to the House of Representatives committee on Boards, Agencies and Commissions<\/p>\n

House Committee: \u00a0Boards, Agencies and Commissions<\/p>\n

Senate Committee:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

HB 0085 | Danny Garrett<\/strong><\/p>\n

Public deposits, Security for Alabama Funds Enhancement (SAFE) Program board, to allow for virutal meetings, Sec. 41-14A-6 am’d.<\/a><\/p>\n

Feb 09, 2022 – Pending third reading on day 9 Favorable from State Government<\/p>\n

House Committee: \u00a0State Government<\/p>\n

Senate Committee:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

HB 0084 | Danny Garrett<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alabama Trust Fund, virtual meetings, provided for, operation of board provided for, Sec. 36-17-21 added.<\/a><\/p>\n

Feb 09, 2022 – Pending third reading on day 9 Favorable from State Government<\/p>\n

House Committee: \u00a0State Government<\/p>\n

Senate Committee:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

HB 0083 | Danny Garrett<\/strong><\/p>\n

Education, Prepaid Affordable College Tuition Program board, may meet electronically, Sec. 16-33C-4.1 am’d.<\/a><\/p>\n

Feb 09, 2022 – Pending third reading on day 9 Favorable from State Government<\/p>\n

House Committee: \u00a0State Government<\/p>\n

Senate Committee:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

HB 0082 | Danny Garrett<\/strong><\/p>\n

Small Business Relief and Revitalization Act of 2022, cancellation of indebtedness income exempt from income tax, financial institution excise tax and corporate income tax due date extension, certain business tangible personal property ad valorem tax exemption, deposit of certified funds with Revenue in lieu of one-time surety bond for licensure, average monthly sales tax liability for estimated payments increased, Secs. 40-16-3.1, 40-18-39.1 added; Secs. 40-9-1, 40-23-6, 40-23-6.1, 40-23-7 am’d.<\/a><\/p>\n

Feb 03, 2022 – Read for the first time and referred to the Senate committee on Finance and Taxation Education<\/p>\n

House Committee:<\/p>\n

Senate Committee: \u00a0Finance and Taxation Education<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

HB 0066 | Shane Stringer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Firearms, offenses against public order, concealed pistols, concealed carry permit, constitutional carry, pistol permits, Secs. 9-11-304, 13A-11-52, 13A-11-73, 13A-11-74 repealed; Secs. 13A-11-7, 13A-11-50, 13A-11-55, 13A-11-61.2, 13A-11-62, 13A-11-71, 13A-11-85, 13A-11-90 am’d.<\/a><\/p>\n

Jan 11, 2022 – Read for the first time and referred to the House of Representatives committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security<\/p>\n

House Committee: \u00a0Public Safety and Homeland Security<\/p>\n

Senate Committee:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

HB 0044 | Andrew Sorrell<\/strong><\/p>\n

Firearms, concealed pistols, concealed carry permit, criminal code, offenses against public order, constitutional carry, pistol permits, Secs. 9-11-304, 13A-11-52, 13A-11-73, 13A-11-74 repealed; Secs. 13A-11-7, 13A-11-50, 13A-11-55, 13A-11-61.2, 13A-11-62, 13A-11-71, 13A-11-85, 13A-11-90 am’d.<\/a><\/p>\n

Jan 11, 2022 – Read for the first time and referred to the House of Representatives committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security<\/p>\n

House Committee: \u00a0Public Safety and Homeland Security<\/p>\n

Senate Committee:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

HB 0027 | Rolanda Hollis<\/strong><\/p>\n

Discrimination, to make it unlawful to deny an individual full and equal employment of public accommodations based on certain protected classes, to make it unlawful for a local school board to discriminate against an individual based on certain protected classes, and to make it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against an applicant or employee based on certain protected classes<\/a><\/p>\n

Jan 11, 2022 – Read for the first time and referred to the House of Representatives committee on Judiciary<\/p>\n

House Committee: \u00a0Judiciary<\/p>\n

Senate Committee:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

HB 0007 | James Hanes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Firearms, Second Amendment Preservation Act, right to keep and bear arms, provided<\/a><\/p>\n

Jan 11, 2022 – Read for the first time and referred to the House of Representatives committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security<\/p>\n

House Committee: \u00a0Public Safety and Homeland Security<\/p>\n

Senate Committee:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

HB 0006 | Shane Stringer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Firearms, permitless carry, process for seized pistols amended, Secs. 13A-11-50, 13A-11-52, 13A-11-74 repealed; Secs. 13A-11-71, 13A-11-73, 13A-11-84 am’d.<\/a><\/p>\n

Jan 11, 2022 – Read for the first time and referred to the House of Representatives committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security<\/p>\n

House Committee: \u00a0Public Safety and Homeland Security<\/p>\n

Senate Committee:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

SB 0067 | Clyde Chambliss<\/strong><\/p>\n

Federal Aid Highway Finance Authority, date for payment of principal and interest, further provided, Sec. 23-1-314 am’d.<\/a><\/p>\n

Feb 09, 2022 – Pending third reading on day 9 Favorable from Transportation and Energy<\/p>\n

House Committee:<\/p>\n

Senate Committee: \u00a0Transportation and Energy<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

SB 0057 | Arthur Orr<\/strong><\/p>\n

Taxation, tax credit, authorized for the cost of acquisition and construction of a qualified storm shelter<\/a><\/p>\n

Jan 11, 2022 – Read for the first time and referred to the Senate committee on Finance and Taxation Education<\/p>\n

House Committee:<\/p>\n

Senate Committee: \u00a0Finance and Taxation Education<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

SB 0048 | Thomas Whatley<\/strong><\/p>\n

Motor vehicle, financing and lease agreements, lease waiver agreements to pay deficiency balances at end of lease, motor vehicle value protection agreements to reduce deficiency balances, Secs. 8-37A-1 to 8-37A-6, inclusive, added; Sec. 8-37-2 am’d.<\/a><\/p>\n

Feb 02, 2022 – Read for the first time and referred to the House of Representatives committee on Financial Services<\/p>\n

House Committee: \u00a0Financial Services<\/p>\n

Senate Committee:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

SB 0012 | Tim Melson<\/strong><\/p>\n

Firearms, offenses against public order, concealed pistols, concealed carry permit, constitutional carry, pistol permits, Secs. 9-11-304, 13A-11-52, 13A-11-73, 13A-11-74 repealed; Secs. 13A-11-7, 13A-11-50, 13A-11-55, 13A-11-61.2, 13A-11-62, 13A-11-71, 13A-11-85, 13A-11-90 am’d.<\/a><\/p>\n

Jan 11, 2022 – Read for the first time and referred to the Senate committee on Judiciary<\/p>\n

House Committee:<\/p>\n

Senate Committee: \u00a0Judiciary<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

SB 0001 | Gerald Allen<\/strong><\/p>\n

Firearms, possession and carrying of, certain requirements for, repealed or deleted, Secs. 9-11-304, 13A-11-50, 13A-11-51, 13A-11-52, 13A-11-59, 13A-11-71, 13A-11-73, 13A-11-74, repealed; Sec. 13A-11-61.2 am’d.<\/a><\/p>\n

Feb 02, 2022 – Pending third reading on day 6 Favorable from Judiciary<\/p>\n

House Committee:<\/p>\n

Senate Committee: \u00a0Judiciary<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Broadband Expansion The Alabama Senate on Thursday passed legislation sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Clay Scofield aimed at expanding broadband access across the state. Senate Bill 124 would modify the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) Broadband Accessibility Grant program and its application process. The bill would authorize government entities to participate in the program. Under the legislation, for such an entity to qualify for a grant, it would have had to share its statewide broadband service availability information to the Alabama broadband mapping program over the past year. The bill would also increase the minimum service threshold […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":431,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[19,25,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking","category-industry-reports","category-politics","has_thumb"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/albanknews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/capitol_graphic-e1461688373563.png?fit=350%2C383&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s4Y3P2-2761","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/albanknews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/albanknews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/albanknews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albanknews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albanknews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2761"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/albanknews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2763,"href":"https:\/\/albanknews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2761\/revisions\/2763"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albanknews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/albanknews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albanknews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albanknews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}