The Alabama Legislature: 2021 session in review

Alabama lawmakers used virtually every minute of the final day of the 2021 legislative session, adjourning at 11:59 p.m. on May 17.

Such a long and tumultuous day was indicative of the tenor of this year’s session, which was marred by attacks on trans youth, the First Amendment, voting access and more. These actions were coupled with inaction on issues that truly affect the well-being of the state, such as addressing its prison crisis, expanding Medicaid and protecting the rights of K-12 students.

The second half of the session was overshadowed by negotiations on large, controversial packages regarding medical marijuana and gaming, leaving little room for progress on other bills. This scenario worked both in the SPLC Action Fund’s favor and disfavor, running the clock out on some priority legislation and delivering the death knell to other bills we opposed.

Overall, the SPLC Action Fund tracked 403 bills in 2021. While many of the bills we supported passed, we’re elated that four bills we identified as top priorities before the session received final passage and have been signed by the governor: sex education reform, civil asset forfeiture reform, Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) accountability and voter roll maintenance. Much of the session was spent attempting to kill or amend harmful bills, including those that would deprive trans youth of health care, criminalize protests or erode voting access. None of this work could have happened without large and powerful coalitions of statewide and local partners who fought tirelessly to stop bad bills before they reached the governor’s desk.

Here’s an overview of the session:

Criminal Justice Reform

Despite the crisis of overcrowding and violence in our prisons, the Alabama Legislature once again chose not to advance any of the substantive pieces of criminal justice reform legislation. Good bills like the repeal of Alabama’s Habitual Felony Offender Act (HB 107), the creation of procedures for resentencing for certain incarcerated people (HB 24), or making a mandatory supervised release provision from the 2015 criminal justice reform package retroactive for people incarcerated before its passage (HB 72) never received final approval.

There were, however, a few wins. After several years of trying, a bill that will require increased reporting and transparency from ADOC finally passed (HB 106), creating new avenues for incarcerated people, their families, advocates and legislators to gain access to data about ongoings inside of ADOC. Though the massive parole reform needed never came to fruition, a bill that will allow good time incentive – a reduction in time for parole eligibility – for the completion of certain educational and vocational programs (SB 323) also passed.

One major win this session in the realm of policing was the defeat of a bill that would have criminalized protest (HB 445).

LGBTQ Rights

One of the most high-profile areas of this year’s legislative session was the fight for LGBTQ rights, specifically work done against legislative attacks on transgender children. A bill that will prohibit trans youth from participating in the sport that aligns with their gender identity (HB 319) received final passage. This anti-trans athlete bill was part of a nationwide string of such attacks against trans athletes and was written – in the sponsor’s own words – after speaking to zero trans youth or their families.

Additionally, bills banning evidence-based, gender-affirming medical care to Alabama’s trans youth (HB 1 and SB 10) returned this year, amid a flurry of similar attempts elsewhere nationwide. Though SB 10 passed the Senate early in the legislative session, outcries from trans youth, families, teachers, school psychologists, doctors and business leaders stymied efforts to push the bills forward. It appeared on multiple House calendars in the final days of the session, but it was never brought up for debate on the House floor.

After seven sessions of introduction and progress, a bill removing homophobic language from Alabama’s sex education statute (HB 385) passed and has been signed by the governor. Finally, all youth, regardless of their sexual orientation, will receive an education that empowers them to make healthy, informed decisions about their relationships and their bodies.

Confederate symbols

There was hope early on for a successful bipartisan compromise to repeal or amend Alabama’s Memorial Preservation Act, which prohibits the removal, relocation or other alteration of monuments on public property that are at least 40 years old – a law that largely protects the many Confederate monuments that dot the Alabama landscape. However, two bills filed to address the law (HB 8 and HB 512) failed or were not introduced in committee. On the other hand, a bill that would have expanded the Memorial Preservation Act did not pass committee (HB 242).

Several other bills addressing Confederate iconography in Alabama failed to gain momentum, including one to remove the Confederate flag from Alabama’s coat of arms (HB 43), legislation to remove racist language from the charter for the First White House of the Confederacy (HB 41), and two bills to address Confederate state holidays (SB 148 and SB 300).

Voting Rights

Like many other states, Alabama saw multiple attacks on voting rights this year, including successful efforts to ban curbside voting (HB 285) and to make it illegal to vote twice in the same election (HB 167) – once in Alabama and again in another state – a prohibition that already exists.

Many positive efforts to expand access to the ballot box were unsuccessful, including a bill to eliminate the excuse requirements in Alabama’s absentee voting process (HB 396), several bills to allow for early voting and two bills designed to abolish requirements for a Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote for returning citizens and to restore people’s voting rights (SB 118 and HB 82).

Another of the SPLC Action Fund’s priorities passed this year, updating the methods used for voter roll maintenance and ensuring that voters are not unnecessarily purged from the voter file (HB 314).

Economic Justice

Another long-term SPLC Action Fund priority that crossed the finish line this year was a bill establishing greater due process protections in civil asset forfeiture cases for property owners accused of criminal wrongdoing (SB 210). This effort required many hours of negotiations, but a compromise version that emerged halfway through session was approved by the House on the final day.

A bill that would have created a commission to study court costs (HB 499 and SB 177) did not pass, leaving open the flood of local bills to increase the fines and fees paid by people in Alabama’s court system.

We also supported bills creating rental tax assistance for people with low incomes (HB 231) and successfully advocated for an amendment to ensure COVID-19 unemployment insurance income would remain untaxed (SB 274). The governor has signed both bills into law.

Children’s Rights

A bill that would have outlined due process protections for youths in public schools (SB 203) passed the Senate but failed in the House committee. Alabama will remain the only state in the Southeast that doesn’t provide such opportunities for our children facing suspension or expulsion.

Efforts to expand Alabama’s charter school legislation (HB 487 and HB 559) met massive resistance in the House and died.

A bill requiring annual mental health training for K-12 employees passed (HB 97) and was signed. However, a bill postponing the implementation of the Alabama Literacy Act and the mandated third grade reading proficiency (SB 94) to ensure students negatively impacted by the pandemic have an adequate adjustment period and are not held back unnecessarily, passed but was vetoed by the governor.

Katie Glenn is a policy associate at the SPLC Action Fund.

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