More than two hundred bills were passed into law that addressed economic development, public safety, healthcare, taxation, education among other topics and issues. Below is a glance at some of the major new laws.

 

BUDGETS

Passing the state’s two operating budgets is the only thing lawmakers are constitutionally required to do each year.  A record 2026 $3.8 billion General Fund and $9.9 billion education spending plans was signed by Gov. Ivey.  

 

TAXES

• Reduced a penny from the state’s sales tax on most grocery items, bringing it to 2% starting Sept. 1. The cut amounts to approximately $122 million a year. The tax cut on groceries came instead of extending a 2023 law that took the state’s income tax off hourly workers’ overtime earnings.
• state will now require pharmacy benefit managers to reimburse independent pharmacies for drugs an amount equal to or above what is paid by the Alabama Medicaid Agency. That currently includes a dispensing fee of $10.64 per prescription.
• The Alabama Farmers Federation will soon be able to sell health plans to farmers. Premiums cannot be increased or coverage cancelled because of a major medical event. About a dozen other states allow similar plans.
• Increased funding for K-12 students who cost more to educate; those with special needs or whose first language isn’t English.
• The state can now borrow an additional $500 million for new prison construction.

 

ANTI-CRIME BILLS

Seven of Gov. Kay Ivey’s priority 8 anti-crime bills package were passed.  They include: 

• Expands law enforcement officers’ civil and criminal immunity.
• Bans at the state level devices known as Glock switches, firearm modifications that allow semi-automatic weapons to fire at rates similar to that of fully automatic weapons. 
• Expanding electronic monitoring for juvenile delinquents.
• Enhanced criminal penalties for impersonating an officer.
• A constitutional amendment on the 2026 statewide primary election ballot that would expand the list of criminal offenses for which judges may deny bail, including acts of shooting into occupied dwellings and conspiring to commit murder.
• Enhancing criminal penalties for various crimes when a firearm is involved.

And while not a stand-alone bill, lawmakers approved in the state General Fund budget an additional $3 million for the state’s Metro Area Crime Suppression Unit, a coalition of federal, state and local law enforcement officers tasked with improving public safety and reducing crime in Montgomery, and with the additional funding, potentially in other metro areas.

 

EDUCATION

• Record $12.2 billion education spending package
• Targeted funding for students with greater needs (RAISE Act)
• Paid parental leave and workers’ compensation for educators
• Statewide cell phone ban in classrooms
• Move On When Ready Act allows high schoolers to enroll full-time in college
• REACH (Restoring Educational Advancement of Completing High School) offers second chance to earn a high school diploma
• Cut teacher paperwork burden
• “Success Sequence” curriculum required in K-12 schools
  •  Complete their education
  • Secure full-time employment
  • Postpone parenthood until after marriage
• Increased funding for the CHOOSE ACT education savings account
• Principal stipend program narrowed to high-needs schools

 

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

• Powering Growth Package Act,  is  designed to accelerate energy infrastructure projects to boost industrial development in Alabama, particularly its rural areas. the bill will establish the Alabama Energy Infrastructure Bank, a division of the State Industrial Development Authority charged with financing energy infrastructure projects that support economic development. The law authorizes the agency to issue up to $1 billion in bonds to provide loans and other financial assistance to eligible energy infrastructure projects.

Highlights of the Powering Growth package include:

• Streamlined permitting processes to accelerate project timelines
• Strategic support for energy supply chains to ease material shortages and regulatory delays
• Expansion of power-ready industrial sites to attract investment and create jobs
• Establishment of the Energy Infrastructure Bank to finance high-impact energy and industrial projects

 

IMMIGRATION BILLS

• Mandates local law enforcement verifies arrested individuals’ immigration status and criminalizes the transportation of undocumented immigrants into the state.
• Strengthen laws prohibiting undocumented immigrants from voting and require law enforcement to collect DNA samples from undocumented immigrants in custody.

 

PORTABLE BENEFITS FOR GIG WORKERS

• Allows for independent contractors to maintain portable benefit accounts that follow them to other contract work and allow for companies to contribute to said accounts.  

 

SMARTPHONE CONTENT FILTER

• Effective October, all smartphones and tablets will be required to have obscene content filters automatically enabled for minors. The legislation is designed to better guard minors from obscene, sexual and graphic content accessible via smart devices.

 

HEMP REGULATIONS

• Caps THC at 10 milligrams per serving for edibles and beverages, bans any smokable hemp products, prohibits use for those under age 21 and limits THC product availability to specialty shops or dedicated areas of grocery stores of at least 14,000 square feet
• Impose a 10% tax on the sale of all THC products, establishes a licensing requirement for retailers and imposes severe civil and criminal penalties for retailer violations.

 

SHARK ALERT SYSTEM

• Geographic-based alerts will now be broadcast to phones near confirmed shark attacks, a collaboration between the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and other local and state agencies.

 

GUN STORAGE LAW

• Designed to facilitate the separation between an individual and their firearm in potential moments of crisis.  This bill establishes a legal framework required for gun and ammo stores, as well as law enforcement officers, to temporarily hold lawfully possessed firearms at the request of the owner for a given period.

Laws and regulations affect your business, so you should make it your business to know who represents you in the Alabama Legislature and in Congress. 

 

Click here to meet Montgomery’s delegation.

The governing body of Montgomery County is the Montgomery County Commission, consisting of five members who are elected by districts. Each Commissioner is elected to a four-year term and represents approximately 45,000 constituents. The Chairperson and Vice Chair are selected by a majority vote of the Commission.

The City of Montgomery consists of a Mayor-Council system of government. Both the Mayor and Council are elected by the people to a four year term. The current term is from 2023-2027. 

 

Click here to meet your local elected officials.