72 bills have been prefiled ahead of 2023 regular session

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File-This Jan. 8, 2019, file photo shows the Alabama House of Representatives convending during the 2019 Alabama Legislature organizational session at the Alabama State House in Montgomery, Ala (Jake Crandall/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP, File)

The 2023 Alabama Regular Legislative Session begins on Tuesday. State Legislators are busy preparing for the legislative session by making the last touches on the bills they plan to sponsor in the upcoming weeks. Already 72 bills have been pre-filed ahead of the session. Alabama Today has begun examining these pieces of legislation. Twice we have reviewed ten of the most interesting of these pieces of legislation. This article looks at another ten.

Senate Bill 26 is sponsored by State Sen. Merika Coleman. Under existing law, a private person may conduct a citizen’s arrest for certain public offenses. This bill would repeal an existing law authorizing a citizen’s arrest. This bill relating to the criminal procedure would repeal Section 15-10-7, Code of Alabama 1975, relating to arrests by private persons.

SB26 would strike this section from current law:

“(a) A private person may arrest another for any public offense:

(1) Committed in his presence;

(2) Where a felony has been committed, though not in his presence, by the person arrested;  or

(3) Where a felony has been committed and he has reasonable cause to believe that the person arrested committed it….”

Senate Bill 22 was introduced by State Sen. Andrew Jones. Under existing law, each county and municipality must establish a local emergency management organization to maintain public safety within its territorial limits in the event of a natural or manmade disaster or public health emergency pursuant to the state emergency management plan. The local emergency management organization is administered by a director who operates under the control of the governing body of the county or municipality. The director receives an annual salary supplement from the Alabama Emergency Management Agency in an amount necessary to provide the director an annual salary of $40,000, provided the supplement is capped at $12,000.

SB22 would revise the authority of local emergency management organizations relating to entering into contracts for supplies and services for disaster relief to authorize the letting of contracts outside of the parameters of the competitive bid law if certain conditions are met. This bill would increase the annual supplemental allocation to local organizations from the state Local Emergency Management Assistance Fund from $12,000 to $17,000, to be subsequently adjusted every five years by the Consumer Price Index. This bill would provide that coursework required for certification as a local emergency management director must be recommended by the Alabama Association of Emergency Managers and approved by the Director of the Alabama Emergency Management Agency.

Senate Bill 24 is sponsored by State Sen. Greg Albritton. Under existing law, indemnification agreements in contracts for the professional services of a design professional or for the construction of a road or bridge are prohibited from requiring a party to the contract to indemnify, hold harmless, or defend another party to the contract for any damages arising from the negligent conduct of the party to be indemnified. SB24 would regulate indemnification agreements between parties to a construction contract to prohibit a party to a construction contract from being required to indemnify, hold harmless, or defend another party to the construction contract for liability caused by the sole negligence, or by the wantonness, recklessness, or intentional misconduct, of the party to be indemnified. This bill would also prohibit indemnification agreements in a construction contract from requiring a party to the contract to indemnify, hold harmless, or defend another party to the contract for that party’s own negligence unless certain requirements are met, including an agreement on the extent of the monetary limit of the indemnification. The bill would limit the indemnitor’s indemnification obligation to the agreed-upon monetary limitation and would require the indemnitor to obtain insurance for that amount.

Senate Bill 17 is sponsored by State Sen. Tom Butler. Under existing law, the United States Army, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, United States Air Force, and United States Coast Guard are collectively called the United States Armed Forces. This bill would provide that all references to the United States Armed Forces shall include the United States Space Force.

Senate Bill 19 is sponsored by State Sen. William “Billy” Beasley. Under existing law, the Alabama Job Creation and Military Stability Commission is comprised of one retired senior member of the United States Armed Forces for each of the four major military facilities in Alabama: Redstone Arsenal, Anniston Army Depot, Maxwell Air Force Base including the Gunter Annex, and Fort Rucker.

This bill would expand the membership of the commission to include a retired senior member of the Armed Forces for Fort Benning – which is actually in Georgia but is so close to the state line that military personnel at Fort Benning routinely live in Greater Phenix City, Alabama and beyond.

Senate Bill 21 is sponsored by Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison. Under existing law, an individual who has lost their right to vote based upon a past criminal conviction may apply to the Board of Pardons and Paroles for a Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote under certain circumstances, including payment of all fines, court costs, fees, and victim restitution as ordered by the sentencing court and completion of probation or parole and release from compliance by the court or Board of Pardons and Paroles. This bill would eliminate the application requirement and the Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote and require the Board of Pardons and Paroles to determine whether an individual may have their right to vote restored if the individual has lost their right to vote because of conviction in a state or federal court and has been pardoned or released from incarceration or period of probation or parole. This bill would allow an indigent individual to have their right to vote restored if they have paid all fines and restitution and is in compliance with an approved payment plan for the payment of court costs and fees or an approved community service plan to offset the payment of court costs and fees.

Senate Bill 13 is sponsored by Sen. Tim Melson. Under existing law, physical therapy may only be performed based on a referral from a licensed physician, dentist, chiropractor, physician assistant, or certified registered nurse practitioner, except in limited, enumerated circumstances that allow a licensed physical therapist to perform an initial evaluation or consultation of a screening nature without a referral. This bill would further provide for the practice of physical therapy by a licensed physical therapist under certain conditions without a referral.

Similar legislation has been opposed by the medical doctors and their influential lobbying association – the Alabama Medical Association.

Senate Bill 15 is sponsored by Sen. Shay Shelnutt. Under existing law, motor vehicle value protection agreements are authorized in motor vehicle consumer credit financing transactions to pay deficiency balances due under certain conditions. Under existing law, the provider of a motor vehicle value protection agreement is required to insure its agreement under an insurance policy or meet certain other financial requirements. This bill would clarify that the insurance policy would be to pay or reimburse obligations under a motor vehicle value protection agreement if the provider fails to perform the obligations.

House Bill 37 is sponsored by State Representative Jim Hill. Under existing law, the crime of making a terrorist threat is a Class C felony. This bill would also create the crime of making a terrorist threat in the second degree and provide for penalties. This bill would repeal the existing crime of making a terrorist threat and create the new crime of making a terrorist threat in the first degree.

House Bill 27 is sponsored by State Representative Chris England. This bill would remove Jefferson Davis’s birthday as a state holiday and add State Employee Appreciation Day as a state holiday.

The 2023 Alabama Regular Legislative Session begins on Tuesday. The regular session is limited to a maximum of 30 legislative days. A bill has to pass both Houses of the Legislature. The governor can then choose to either pass the bill into law or veto it. The legislature can override a veto with a simple House and Senate majority vote.

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