News Post

Legislative Summary

This week, as the legislature looks toward the spring break next week, there were long calendars that kept both houses working throughout the day and into the night. Wednesday was packed with committee meetings, but lawmakers only went into session Tuesday and Thursday – the first two-day week in several weeks. There were filibusters and a long Thursday for the House of Representatives. Thus far, 328 bills have been introduced in the Senate, and 518 bills have been introduced in the House of Representatives.

The introduction of bills continues to slow as there are now 23 legislative days of the allotted 30 in the books. The majority of bills introduced this week were of local interest.

The Judiciary committees both had full agendas debating and voting on numerous bills. SB 203, which creates transparency in court costs and the unification of information as to municipal courts, passed out of House Judiciary and is now ready for final passage.

The General Fund budget passed out of the House of Representatives this week and has now returned to the Senate for concurrence with the changes made in the House. As many bills are moving through the legislative process, please remember to check the tracking links below for bills of interest to your practice area.

As always, the Alabama State Bar encourages all members to be aware of legislation that may impact court costs and fees. Access to justice is a priority. Please be aware of advertisements that may be occurring for local bills and those that may already be filed to use the courts as a fundraiser for non-court entities. We encourage you to be informed and notify us as well.

Legislative Tracking

The Alabama State Bar provides legislative status reports concerning pending legislation that may be of interest to our members, with direct links to the actual legislation. The reports divide legislation into the following categories for your convenience: criminal, domestic relations, judicial, court costs, elections ethics and government relations (EEGR), civil/ general and tax.

You can find our comprehensive updated bill-tracking spreadsheet here.

Legislative Calendar

The regular session of the 2022 Legislative Session is proceeding as follows:

• The Senate has adjourned until Tuesday, Mar. 29, 2022, at 3:00 p.m.
• The House has adjourned until Tuesday, Mar. 29, 2022, at 1:00 p.m.