With the few remaining days of the 2022 Alabama Legislative session, voters will be watching what gets passed or fails.
There are a number of bills in states like Florida and Arizona that have passed which conservatives want to see made law in Alabama.
Bills that give more parents say in their student’s education, punishment for municipalities that defund the police, and restrictions on transgender surgeries for minors are all teed up and ready to go to the Governor for her signature.
Our state is viewed as one of the most conservative in the country, yet if none of these bills pass despite similar laws getting enacted in other states, it will raise a lot of questions.
However, the Alabama statehouse floor is littered with bills that Alabama citizens wanted passed that died before legislators adjourned their session. Yet, bills that raised taxes and opened the door for the legalization of marijuana use became law the past four years. In addition, numerous bills were passed that weaken the criminal justice system in our state despite the spike in violent crime across our state.
Thus, it is understandable why Alabama State Representatives and Senators commitment to conservative principles is being questioned.
Alabama has a supermajority of Republican lawmakers, and their conservative credentials will be up for debate in the next week.
We will see what direction they take in the next couple of days.
Paul DeMarco is a member of the Alabama House of Representatives.
