Alabama 2015 Legislative Session convening March 3, 2015
- Senate bills to watch
- SB6 - Terrorism, forfeiture of property derived from, authorization of claims by injured parties and law enforcement, allocation of proceeds from forfeiture, civil action for damages, limitations
- SB14- Firearms, possession of does not constitute disorderly conduct, possession of in a vehicle or on certain property authorized under certain conditions
- SB16 - (and companion bill HB193) County Commissions and home rule. Comments: Beware, these bills will provide county commissions powers without the vote of the people, unlike the SB129, The Alabama Limited Self-Governance Act, 2005-200, 15 pages. SB16 and HB193, a 6 1/2 page bill, completely removes all voice of the people by ballot and can be simply altered and changed at a county government meeting! More to the point, still unlike SB129, which about 1/3 of the counties have implemented, there are no provisions for a local referendum to repeal limited home rule established under SB16. You MUST notice the primary difference between current law in Macon County and the proposed bills is the removal of our voices with our county governments. Therefore, if the legislature and governor wants our voices removed we have no choice but to voice our opposition to it when on the ballot.
- SB25 - Separation of powers, Article III and Amendment 582 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, combined into one section in modernized language but no substantive change, Article III and Amendment 582 repealed and Article III added
- SB26 - Impeachment, Article 7, Constitution of Alabama of 1901, repealed and readopted, const. amend.
- SB27 - Article X, Homestead exemptions, repealed and readopted as a new Article X to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, const. amend.
- SB30 - Local constitutional amendments, adoption procedure by Legislature revised, three negative votes in Senate and nine in House to require local amendment to be voted on statewide, Amendments 425 and 555, Constitution of Alabama of 1901, repealed, const. amend.
- SB31 - Food stamps and welfare, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), persons with felony drug conviction, federal law provisions making ineligible, provision for persons to be eligible under certain conditions.
- House bills to watch
- HB104 - Voter registration, prohibited within 30 days of election, elections, prohibit campaigning within 150 feet of polling place. Other than attempting to once again silence the people why is it necessary to move the restricted campaigning distance five times of current law to 150? Or even 100 feet as provided by amendment 166093-1?
- Budgets -
- General 2017
- Education 2017
- General 2016 Budget $250M shorfall beginning 1Oct2015
- The Gov. announced days following re-election in Nov. 2014 that there appears to be a $250 million or more shortfall in the state operating budget for fiscal year 2016. Yet the Senate and House leadership beautified their chambers during 2014 to the tune of $186K in the senate for new desks, podium, carpet, and sound system. The House spent $1.05M for a new voting system.
- Initiative and Referendum
- extra