30-04-2025
‘Gulf of America' bill gets Alabama Senate committee approval in hastily-called meeting
Sen. Jay Hovey, R-Auburn, stands on the floor of the Alabama Senate on April 1, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. Hovey, who changed his vote, said Wednesday that he was concerned about the fiscal note, but that he was told it would not significantly impact the state's budget. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)
A bill to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the 'Gulf of America' passed in a last-minute scheduled committee meeting that lasted just over three minutes.
HB 247, sponsored by Rep. David Standridge, R-Hayden, previously failed to pass the Senate County and Municipal Committee Tuesday after Sen. Jay Hovey, R-Auburn, voted against the measure, resulting in a 4-4 tie. He said in the meeting he had an issue with the fiscal note when he voted against the bill, and he didn't know it would end up in a tie.
With only Republican senators present at the meeting, the bill passed on a 6-0 vote.
'We're in the middle of the waning days of our session and still have a lot of unfinished business. We got a significant education package of bills still out there looming. We just passed a lovely set of tax reform, tax relief bills in a committee earlier, so we still had a lot on our plate,' Hovey said, adding that he didn't think it was a high priority bill.
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The bill's fiscal note states it would increase 'administrative obligations' of state and local governments, but it does not state the amount. Hovey said Wednesday that he has 'been assured' that it would 'affect the state's coffers minimally.'
'And so, I do have the opportunity to change my vote, and I would like to call for that vote,' he said.
The legislation, which passed the House on April 18, would have also mandated that reasonable efforts be made to update pre-existing resources, unless it imposes an operational or financial burden on the entities. An exception allowed the term 'Gulf of Mexico' to be used in academic instruction for historical purposes in public K-12 schools and institutions of higher education.
The National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico announced plans to change its name to the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf in response to the bill and President Donald Trump's executive order.
The bill moves to the Senate.
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