19-04-2025
News 19's Tamika Alexander sits down with Representative Rex Reynolds
(WHNT) — With only one month left in the 2025 Legislative Session in Montgomery, News 19's Tamika Alexander spoke with Rex Reynolds, who has big plans for Alabama.
Reynolds plays a key role in overseeing the state's budget, serving as the House Chair of the Ways and Means General Fund Committee.
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Over the last few months, Reynolds, along with other state lawmakers, have been debating bills including gambling, grocery tax and Medicaid expansion.
'My year stats long before the session, but you know, you're meeting with associations that they're typically in the General Fund Budget, but then you're meeting with the department heads, understanding their budget needs,' Reynolds said. 'I work very closely with the Executive Budget Office, or the Governor's Office.'
One bill he sponsored has generated plenty of debate.
Reynolds' 'Back the Blue' bill provides more protection for police officers by granting them a hearing if they are indicted for any wrongdoing. And in deadly police shooting cases, it gives the officer time to argue that they acted in self-defence much earlier in the process than under the current law.
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'There's been liability protections for law enforcement for over 50 years,' Reynolds said. 'But that bill needed to be upgraded based on a couple of Supreme Court Rulings. So we did all that in that piece of legislation. And I think that just, and I told the members this, it better clarifies when an officer does have coverage and when he does not,' Reynolds said.
'Because if they act within the scope of their duty, then they should have protection. If they act recklessly and outside the scope of their duties, then they shouldn't have protection,' Reynolds said.
Reynolds has found that balancing the budget comes with both challenges and cuts. Some lawmakers voiced concerns when they noticed the elimination of funding for line items that included the Magic City Classic, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and the Jazz Hall of Fame.
When asked what he had to say to people who feel like it was a race issue with those items being taken out of the budget, Reynolds said, 'It was unfortunate it was taken that way.'
'We're having to be a little tighter in the general fund. And so those items, we're just left out, you know, and it was considered to be a racial thing because there were many more, I think I think one line item right below that is, is a black women's mental health line item that was funded.'
Reynolds said the Senate budget chairman, Greg Albritton, has assured him that those items will be restored to the budget. Meanwhile, something that won't be restored is the overtime pay tax break that expires in June. This exemption applies to full-time, hourly-wage employees who work more than 40 hours in a week. But Reynolds said the state can't afford to continue it.
'That was a great bill when it went passed its first time, and in fact, I co-sponsored that bill with minority leader, Anthony Daniels. But this time with the package that we've just done, but over $1.2 billion in tax cuts, just this session, we can't do that,' Reynolds said.
Alabama became the first state to exempt overtime pay from state income tax. So far, more than 800 bills have been introduced in this session, which is set to wrap up on May 13. The House has already approved the $3.7 billion general fund budget. It now heads to the Senate.
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