Local delegation reviews recent legislative session

Yahoo

4 days ago

Jun. 4—The Morgan County legislative delegation reviewed Tuesday morning the bills and the roughly $80 million in appropriations for local projects approved in the state Legislature's spring session that ended May 14.
The Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce sponsored this annual Legislative update breakfast at the DoubleTree by Hilton Decatur Riverfront.
As chairman of the Finance and Taxation Education committee, state Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, said that after the difficult financial years of 2011 and 2012, the pendulum has swung back so that the state has "ample revenues."
Orr said that allowed the state Legislature to make tax cuts and rebates in 2023 and then reduce the grocery tax by another penny this session to 2%.
"If there is money we can send back to the people, I think this delegation and the Legislature are united on that front," Orr said.
He said they still had record $3.7 bill General Fund and $10 billion Education budgets for fiscal 2026.
Orr talked about the roughly $80 million local appropriation, which he said started his office but passed because the four House representatives in the Morgan County delegation.
"If it weren't for these representatives defending and fighting for these projects, they would have been left on the cutting room floor," Orr said.
Orr cited $9.5 million for the STEAM Imagination Center at the Cook Museum of Natural Science, $7.5 million for turning the Harris-Caddell Law Firm Building into a library for the Alabama Center for the Arts, $1.7 million for the Horton Legal Learning Center and more.
Among the other projects to receive funding are $1 million for a Wheeler Wildlife Refuge trail along Alabama 67; $3.2 million for a culinary arts center as part of the Alabama Center for the Arts; $1 million to expand the Carnegie Visual Arts Center; $100,000 for repairs to the Old State Bank; and $1.4 million for the Somerville Courthouse.
"I'm excited about the good things happening in this county because for far too long I don't think we saw a whole lot of help from Montgomery," Orr said.
Orr added that he's working on getting a third bridge over the Tennessee River "and other things."
House Majority Leader Scott Stadthagen, R-Hartselle, credited Orr and his leadership as budget chairman for bringing the money to Morgan County.
"All the things he's talking about wouldn't on this list if he wasn't in the position where he's at," Stadthagen said.
The delegation then talked about bills that passed and didn't pass.
The legislature didn't extend the exempted hourly overtime earnings originally approved in 2023. Rep. Parker Moore, R-Hartselle, said they found other ways to replace this exemption "that was a lot more expensive and inclusive."
They passed House Bill 388, which doubles the state's income tax exemption from $6,000 to $12,000 for individuals 65 years old or older who withdraw funds from a defined contribution retirement plan such as a 401(k) or Individual Retirement Account. The change takes effect on Jan. 1, 2026, at an estimated cost of $45 million.
House Bill 389 also passed with a focus on tax relief for lower-income Alabamians. It raises the standard deduction from $2,500 to $3,000 for individuals and expands dependency exemptions beginning with the 2026 tax year.
"We opened up avenues for retirees and low-income workers. What we tapped has more potential to help a broader range of people," Moore said.
Moore said they cut the sales tax on groceries in half, with the ultimate goal of cutting to zero.
"That's about $237 at minimum that people are saving on grocery tax, so that's a major impact," Moore said.
Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, sponsored a rural hospital investment program that she said doesn't impact this area but should help health care in other areas of the state.
Collins said this program would save hospitals like Lawrence County Medical Center, which closed in February before it could be eligible for the funds.
"We're trying to give them a lifeline of something that worked in Georgia very successfully," she said.
Stadthagen talked about the legislation that passed to help independent pharmacies, which he said are struggling to stay open. He said nearly 20 pharmacies shut down in the past year.
The bill requires minimum reimbursement rates to community pharmacists.
Rep. Ernie Yarbrough, R-Trinity, said a cousin who owns four pharmacies explained the situation. He said this evens the playing field for independent pharmacies.
"Basically, from a 20,000-foot view, you have business model where you're required to sign contracts with certain prices you can't talk about and you're required to operate at a loss," Yarbrough said. "So, this requires independent pharmacies not to operate at a loss because it's not sustainable."
"It's not the total answer because we need the federal government to do its part, but I believe we, at the end of the day, did our part," Stadthagen said.
Collins, chairwoman of the Education Policy Committee, said they passed a bill that bans cellphones from K-12 students in schools. There are exceptions for some students with special needs, cellphone use under the supervision of school staff and in life-threatening emergencies.
"I think it's the best thing we can do for school safety," she said.
Collins said several school resource officers told her that eliminating cellphone from school helps mental health by reducing issues like suicide, self-harm rates and bullying.
Stadthagen said he was against this bill initially because of his 12-year-old daughter but police officers convinced him to change his vote.
"They were concerned that cellphone could clog the phone lines with mixed messages during emergency," he said.
Collins said Montgomery County banned cellphones two years ago and found that it worked.
"After the first month where everybody had to adjust, their achievement and their student scores started increasing at a great rate, and their discipline problems started decreasing," Collins said.
Orr said they put in place a new "student-based funding formula" for schools with a fund put in place several years ago that's now up to $1 billion.
Previously, school funding was based on the number of students at a school. Now there's a "special pot" that funds the additional cost for educating a special needs child, an English language learner, a child in poverty and a gifted child, Orr said.
"You'll see a lot more money going to Decatur City and Morgan County schools," Orr said. "You won't see as much on a percentage basis in Hartselle schools, but it will be more."
Orr said there is an accountability factor in the approved bill that requires schools to show academic improvement or possibly lose this additional money in seven to 10 years.
Another new law Orr sponsored requires that beginning in the 2026-27 school year, all students receive instruction in the success sequence: graduate from high school, get a job and get married before getting pregnant.
The law required instruction on this sequence at least twice before students graduate from high school.
Orr said 96% of people who follow this sequence in the first 10 years after high school are successful. He said schools will start with middle school students when they're young enough that they will listen to these lessons.
"That's a 4% failure rate," Orr said. "And I worry about our state and our young people."
Orr said he also sponsored an approved bill that allows a junior or senior in high school to start their credit production in college if admitted.
"If they're ready to leave high school, let them go on," Orr said. "Obviously, they will get into the workforce sooner and not just hang out in high school waiting on the clock, waiting on their senior year."
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