Best Bills
Committees of independent judges with expertise in bill writing chose these bills as the best of the 2024 Youth Legislature session. Best bills do not have to pass in chamber to be considered for the award:
SB24 by Anna Beth Frazier, Spain Park High School, Hoover — Giving Them Their Right! — Amendment to Section 17-3-30.1 of the Code of Alabama 1975, and an amended version of the Felony Voter Disqualification Act. To remove some felonies listed in HB282 178796-3 from 2017. To allow criminals convicted of a nonviolent crime, listed below, to be able to vote after they have served their sentence and are released. The crimes being removed: Sodomy as defined in Sections 13A-6-63 and 13A-6-64.” with the exception of sodomy resulting from force, with a minor, or sexual assault (Lawrence v. Texas 2003); Endangering the water supply as defined in 4 Section 13A-10-171.”; Trafficking in cannabis, cocaine, or other illegal drugs or trafficking in amphetamine and methamphetamine as defined in Section 13A-12-231.”; Bigamy as defined in Section 13A-13-1.” with the exception of bigamy resulting from force, trafficking rings, or sexual assault; Prohibited acts in the offer, sale, or purchase of securities as defined in Section 8-6-17.”; theft of property as defined in Sections 15 13A-8-3 and 13A-8-4.”; Theft of lost property as defined in Sections 17 13A-8-7 and 13A-8-8.”; Theft of trademarks or trade secrets as defined 19 in Section 13A-8-10.4.” and forgery as defined in Sections 13A-9-2 and 13A-9-3.” See also Bills Signed Into Law
HB6 by Ellie Hoar and Greta Christiansen, Vestavia Hills High School – Snip it in the Bud – Every person assigned male at birth in the state of Alabama who is a convicted sex offender must undergo a mandatory vasectomy overseen by the state; No court-mandated vasectomy may be reversed without a judge’s adjudication upon the determination that the offender is no longer a threat to society.
FYB26 by Sloan Stephens, Mountain Brook High School – Safe Schools Funding through Assault Weapons Taxation Act – imposes a tax on the sale of Assault Weapons, with the collected funds dedicated exclusively to enhancing school safety measures, including the procurement of safety tools and the implementation of security protocols in educational institutions.
Best Bill photos by Ella Gant, Spain Park High School
Bills Signed Into Law
Gov. Hudson Campbell signed 17 bills into law during the 75th Alabama YMCA Youth Legislature. These bills either passed both the Youth Legislature Senate and House or were approved by the members of the First-Year program. The bills that become law are:
- SB13 by Cleo Washington, LAMP High School, Montgomery — Bank on It: Reducing the Number of Unbanked and Underbanked Individuals in Alabama – to incentivize financial institutions to provide banking services to low-income households, incentivize employers to direct deposit paychecks, create programs focused on secure credit cards and credit counseling services, encourage small-dollar loans to boost credit, and promote personal finance education.
- SBB34 by Maryam Kazamel, Vestavia Hills High School — Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2024 – to allocate funds specifically for expanding addiction treatment facilities, ensuring there are enough resources to meet the demand for rehabilitation services, particularly in rural communities; require insurance providers to cover addiction treatment services comprehensively; strengthen and update the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, mandating healthcare providers to use it and ensuring timely reporting of controlled substance prescriptions; require schools and healthcare providers to educate students and patients about the risks of opioid misuse and make available resources for addiction treatment; facilitate broader access to naloxone; expand access to medication-assisted treatment, including eliminating barriers to prescribing medications like methadone or buprenorphine; fund community outreach initiatives that aim to reduce stigma, provide information and encourage individuals struggling with addiction to seek help.
- SB24 by Anna Beth Frazier, Spain Park High School, Hoover — Giving Them Their Right! — See Best Bills Above
- SB35 By Madhumita Ravikumar, Vestavia Hills High School — Be Gay Don’t Do Fraud: An Act to Implement Conversion-Free Care — Ban licensed behavioral health professionals from engaging in Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) change efforts; violations will result in the revocation of their license; categorize SOGI change efforts as consumer fraud; unlicensed individuals conducting SOGI change efforts will face a minimum fine of $25,000 and other punishment depending on the severity of the case at the discretion of the judiciary; require medical professionals to undergo SAMHSA’s LGBTQ+ cultural competency training as a part of maintaining their license: training will count towards the minimum of 25 hours of continuing medical education annually required for license renewal.
- SB44 by Mary France Itsede, Hartselle — Build Back Alabama Prisons Act — to complete the correctional officer training course and be certified, trainees must: score not less than 80% on written exams; score not less than 90% on the first aid exam; pass 50 hours of handgun training; pass after 1-2 attempts on the handgun firearm course; serve 14 weeks of training at the Alabama Correctional Office; serve a 6-month probationary period in a correctional facility. To apply as a correctional facility guard, the qualifications are amended as follows: 21 years old or older; high school graduate or recipient of a General Education Development (GED) certificate; and possess a valid Alabama drivers license.
- HB5 by Ann Wright Carlson, Mountain Brook High School — A Bill to Require Entrance and Exit Examination for Children in Juvenile Detention Centers — to require entrance exams to youth entering the juvenile justice system with a foreshadowed sentence greater than two weeks. The entrance exam is to be given on the first day of the second week of incarceration. After said youth’s sentence is over, an exit exam will be required to ensure further education to be sought if necessary.
- HB14 by Sadie Brewer, Spain Park High School, Hoover — Legalize the Lotto — To create an Alabama lottery as well as legalize casinos and gambling.
- HB24 by Lulu Espy, The Montgomery Academy — A Bill to Mandate Kindergarten — a child who is five years of age on or before Sept. 1 or the date on which school begins in the enrolling district shall be entitled to admission to kindergarten in the public elementary schools at the opening of schools for that school year or as soon as practicable thereafter. An underage child may be admitted to public kindergarten, on approval of the local board of education on a space available basis, in either of the following circumstances: The underage child transfers from a public kindergarten in another state; The child will become five years of age between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31, and the child satisfies certain criteria that the local board of education may establish for underage enrollment, which, if adopted, shall include the successful completion of an assessment to determine developmental readiness for enrollment.
- HB47 by William Tabb, Mountain Brook High School — Bring Back Grasslands — to increase Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources funding to grow the number of programs and organizations that create, maintain and support prairies and grasslands in Alabama on both public and private land, as well as increase the department’s effort to burn on public lands in the state and teach more people about burning.
- HB98 by Campbell Webb, Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School — Require Gun Permits — To require gun permits for all handheld guns, open-carried and concealed carry, in the state of Alabama. This bill also requires a mandatory background screening and a firearm safety course.
- FYB8 by Caleb Johnston and Riley Godwin, LAMP High School, Montgomery — CARE Act: College Affordability and Rate Equity Act — to regulate the amount colleges funded by the government can charge students for tuition. Colleges funded by governmental revenue should not be able to charge greater than 0.002% of their total government funding per in-state student getting a bachelor’s degree. Colleges funded by governmental revenue should not be able to charge greater than 0.003% of their total government funding per out-of-state student getting a bachelor’s degree.
- FYB24 by Lee Ginger, Bayside Academy, Daphne — Stop Murdering Our Globe —Alabama will require a smog check of vehicles to get a driver’s license and renew vehicle license plates.
- FYB30 by Maggie Parker, Spain Park High School, Hoover — Cancel the Confederacy — Cities have the right to relocate, remove, alter and rename any public Confederate monuments or displays of the Confederate flag.
- FYB33 by Indira Landau, Mountain Brook High School — Combatting Teen E-Cigarette Use — E-cigarette detectors shall be installed in every restroom in public schools and a 10% tax rate shall be placed on all e-cigarette products in the state of Alabama.
- FYB35 by Mary Evelyn Kimbrough, Mountain Brook High School — Protecting Immature Skin From Retinol — to protect immature skin from the harmful effects of retinol by requiring identification proving that the consumer is of at least 16 years of age when attempting to purchase a skincare product containing retinol.
- FYB46 by Samantha Berg, Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School — Enforcing Body-Camera Usage on Correctional Officers — to lessen the abuses prisoners suffer at the hands of correctional officers by mandating correctional officers wear body-cameras.
- FYB52 by Mady Feola, Spain Park High School, Hoover — Oldies Off the Road — people age of 75 and older must retake their drivers test and get their sight, hearing and reflexes checked to be approved to continue to drive. They are to be rechecked every three years.