Alabama Legislature’s conservative credentials up for debate at session end draws near

Published 9:54 am Sunday, April 17, 2022

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By PAUL DEMARCO | Guest Columnist

With the few remaining days of the 2022 Alabama Legislative session, voters will be watching what gets passed or fails.

There is legislation in other states like Florida and Arizona that have passed, which conservatives want to see made law in Alabama.

Bills in the Alabama Legislature that give more parents a say in their student’s education, punishment for municipalities that defund the police and strengthened election laws to protect against voter fraud are all teed up and ready for one last vote to go to the Governor for her signature.

Alabama is viewed as one of the most conservative in the country, yet if none of these bills pass despite similar laws getting enacted in other states, it will raise a lot of questions as to the conservative credentials of our Republican legislators.

The Alabama statehouse floor is littered with bills that Alabama citizens wanted to be passed but died before legislators adjourned their previous sessions.

Yet, bills that raised taxes and opened the door for the legalization of marijuana use became law in the past four years. In addition, numerous bills were passed that weaken the criminal justice system in our state despite the spike in violent crime across our state.

Alabama has a super majority of Republican lawmakers and their conservative credentials will be up for debate in the next week.

We will see what direction they take in the days to come.

Paul DeMarco is a former member of the Alabama House of Representatives.