On Wednesday, the Alabama Senate Judiciary Committee convened to consider several pieces of legislation.
Streamlining voting rights restoration
The first bill discussed was Senate Bill 24, introduced by Senator Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, which aims to streamline the voting rights restoration process for convicted felons in the state.
Under current Alabama law, individuals who have lost their voting rights following a felony conviction may have those rights restored by the Board of Pardons and Paroles if they have completed their sentence, including probation or parole, paid their court fines in full and have no additional pending felony charges. Coleman-Madison’s bill would require both the Board of Pardons and Paroles and the Secretary of State’s office to post “easily accessible” instructions on their websites detailing that process for individuals looking to restore their voting rights.
Additionally, SB24 would direct the Board of Pardons and Paroles to publicly post the names of individuals who have had their voting rights restored on its website, alongside information on where they were last registered or their last known residence. The board would also be required to provide that information to the Secretary of State.
The original version of the bill also required that the Board of Pardons and Paroles and Secretary of State provide a form for individuals to request a certificate of their eligibility to register to vote on their websites, and that the Secretary of State directly notify the individual and local boards of registrars when their voting rights are restored. However, Coleman-Madison explained that the bill had been streamlined through a substitution.
“We’ve really streamlined this bill to basically just require that Pardons and Paroles post instructions on how inmates or individuals who are scheduled to be released can get their voting rights back and also to require the Pardons and Paroles Board and Secretary of State to post on their website the names of the individuals who have met all of the criteria,” Coleman-Madison explained.
The committee subsequently adopted the bill’s substitution, although APR was unable to obtain a copy to compare with the bill’s original language. SB24 went on to receive unanimous support as substituted and was passed by the committee.
Heightened criminal penalties
In addition to SB24, the committee also went on to pass Senate Bills 142 and 94, introduced by Chairman Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, and Senator Tim Melson, R-Florence, respectively.
Both bills look to heighten criminal penalties for certain offenses, with SB142 heightening the penalty for reckless endangerment in cases where an individual creates “a substantial risk of serious physical injury to multiple individuals” from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class C felony. That penalty would be elevated further to a Class B felony if the individual “uses a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument in the commission of the offense.” While a Class A misdemeanor carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a $6,000 fine, a Class C felony is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $15,000 fine, and a Class B felony is punishable by up to 20 years and a $30,000 fine.
Meanwhile, SB94 looks to increase the penalty for illegally parking in a designated disability access parking place or handicap parking spot from a small fine to a Class B misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of 6 months in prison and a $3,000 fine. The bill had previously looked to increase the penalty to a Class C misdemeanor before being substituted with the current version carrying a harsher sentence.
Multiple committee members suggested potential amendments to SB94, including Senator April Weaver, R-Brierfield, who suggested mandating that a disability license plate or placard be relinquished by an individual’s family if the individual dies before the plate or placard expires. Meanwhile, Senator Lance Bell, R-District 11, proposed allowing law enforcement to tow vehicles that are parked in disability access parking without the proper authorization.
Despite these suggestions and concerns from several senators, including Vivian Figures, D-Mobile, over how increased criminal penalties could worsen the conditions within Alabama’s already-overcrowded prison system, the committee passed both bills without amendment.
School notification of capital offenses
Senate Bill 140 was also heard by the committee on Wednesday.
The bill, sponsored by Senator David Sessions, R-District 35, would mandate that a juvenile court provide written notification to the local superintendent or principal of a K-12 school if a student enrolled at that school is adjudicated delinquent for committing a capital offense, murder, rape in the first degree, or sodomy in the first degree. The bill would also allow the court to provide notice to the local superintendent or principal if a student is adjudicated delinquent for any act which if committed by an adult would be a crime.
SB140 was quickly passed by the committee without further discussion.
Each piece of legislation passed by the committee will now go to the Senate floor for further consideration.
