Legislative Update 2019: Week 2

Today marks the second week of the 2019 Alabama Legislative Session. We’ll be sending out these updates as weekly emails to keep you informed about what’s happening in session and to share tips on how you can make a difference in the legislature. Sign up here!

• On the first day of session, Governor Kay Ivey called a special session to focus on raising the gas tax to fund infrastructure spending on roads and bridges. A special session is a session called to address a specific focus, in this case, the gas tax. When a special session is called during regular session, like this one was, then everything is essentially put on hold, such as committee meetings and bills not related to the special session topic. On Friday, the Alabama House of Representatives passed the gas tax bill, meaning it now moves to the Senate and could be voted on this week. To see how your representative voted, visit bamapolitics.com.
• ETA: On Tuesday, March 12, 2019, Governor Ivey signed the gax tax increase into law. (via AL.com)

• Sign up for a Lobby Day. These events are hosted by local organizations like Alabama Arise, Planned Parenthood, and others. Attending one is a great way to find out about bills that are related to an issue you care about, like reproductive rights or Medicaid expansion, and the experience of these organizations will help provide guidance on lobbying your legislator on that issue.

• Learn how to navigate the Alabama Legislature’s ALISON Database in this new video walkthrough. To find a list of bills for Regular Session, be sure to click on the session name (“First Special Session 2019”) on the homepage and then select “Regular Session 2019”.