[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6559066,"mediaKeyId","3219392-26a77439ec1f9286e79399bf6e164a4b","parentId",3219392,"title","Votes at a glance: Senate clears dozens of House bills, many by unanimous or wide margins","audioSeconds",8106,"startMs",9048000,"endMs",17154000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3219392-26a77439ec1f9286e79399bf6e164a4b&start=9048&end=17154","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3219392-26a77439ec1f9286e79399bf6e164a4b/thumbnail_9048000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6559066/Alabama/Votes-at-a-glance-Senate-clears-dozens-of-House-bills-many-by-unanimous-or-wide-margins","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6559066-f128fdaf448d87682553cbad1717f5f7/orig.mp4?Expires=1770444739&Signature=Qhg9yLzcN2FzpafjF6W2qNOteZl4sBzlqbsKBPM~ak~3Evbe65J5tt-L5wei2~MD0mULc9qD7XUU-Cl3NqEzoCmPAz7xgDkXb89Cr5sl7JXSkqkjO371OQEUVpSK0Wpvtse4QEuI9uuEg-fC6c3f0RNHSebI-~EsAujH83u6OD6xuzAx2DAIApg8HQ5tapDzIQJrv~7U0nA9Wq62H7mIcs-ZNsur~9TEc2os4tBiOdBjXGpiIuoyYNfqVFlvQEU5-3gSyuLlf~vXX4ousZ~ozUKPCp-hCvZn5sinFEcIC0nsqm0Vo5F-7Aw-hemflYoFWTmTzVozus9NO5KU-fsH4A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Alabama Senate Sessions","date","2025-05-07T22:31:15Z","article","During a lengthy legislative session the Alabama Senate approved a slate of House bills on a range of topics from a new Alabama STEM Council to local county measures and consumer protections. Many bills were adopted with committee amendments and several passed unanimously or by wide margins.

Key votes recorded on the floor included:
- House Bill 365 (Alabama STEM Council): Committee amendment adopted; final passage by voice/previous roll (recorded 34‑0). The bill codifies the executive STEM effort and adjusts language for the new workforce department. (Floor: sponsor/committee; amendment adopted.)
- House Bill 543 (small business incentives): Final passage recorded 34‑0; sponsors said the measure helps small businesses statewide.
- House Bill 357 (tobacco products): Committee amendment refined definitions and compliance timing; final passage recorded 24‑6.
- House Bill 164 (small estates): Committee amendment adopted; final passage recorded 32‑0.
- House Bill 166 (K–12 school policy, companion to a Senate bill restricting some student phone uses): Final passage recorded 30‑2; floor amendment offered and defeated prior to final passage.
- A series of local and administrative House bills passed by margins recorded on the floor (examples below). Several committee amendments were adopted before final passage.

Votes at a glance (selected bills from the transcript and outcomes reported on the floor):
- HB 365 (STEM Council) — committee amendment adopted; final passage (34‑0).
- HB 543 (small business incentive) — final passage (34‑0).
- HB 357 (tobacco/heated tobacco products) — committee amendment adopted; final passage (24‑6).
- HB 164 (small estates forms/process) — committee amendment adopted; final passage (32‑0).
- HB 166 (school cell‑phone rules companion) — amendment defeated on long roll; final passage (30‑2).
- HB 165 (state holidays) — final passage (13‑5 on recorded roll used for the special order calendar).
- HB 506 (off‑road vehicles; fire department allowances) — final passage (28‑0).
- HB 505 (Alabama tax tribunal timing) — final passage (28‑0).
- HB 528 (consumer protection/price gouging) — final passage (28‑0).
- HB 90/91 (municipal and county housing authorities) — committee amendment adopted on HB 91; final passage (28‑0 each).
- HB 493 (child advocacy centers) — final passage (28‑0).
- HB 384 (food enrichment/niacin) — final passage (28‑0).
- HB 148 (motor vehicles/nonresident insurance requirement) — carried over and later passed (30‑0 when called up).
- HB 509 (game breeder licenses, amended with Conservation agreement) — committee amendment adopted; final passage (30‑0).
- HB 137 (warrants/interpreter rules) — final passage (recorded in transcript as passed).
- HB 207 (Office of Information Technology departmental) — final passage (recorded as passed).
- HB 45 (Medicaid coverage for particular colorectal screening tests; effective date edited by amendment) — committee amendment adopted; final passage (31‑0 as amended).
- HB 416 (sudden cardiac arrest/AED funding in schools) — final passage (31‑0).
- A block of local bills (county‑level taxes, compensation changes, corporate boundary changes, and others) was placed on a special order calendar and mostly adopted by recorded roll calls; committee amendments were adopted where noted on the floor.

Many measures the Senate approved were either routine committee reports, technical fixes or local bills that originate in the House. Committee chairs moved amendments that were generally adopted by unanimous consent or recorded roll prior to final passage.

What to watch next: Several local bills were placed on a special order calendar for the chamber; sponsors said some measures may still face executive review before final enactment. Where the House language differs from the Senate — as in the archives board matter described in a separate report — conferees will be required to negotiate.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Alabama Senate","oneSentenceSummary","The Alabama Senate conducted a long series of final‑passage votes on House bills covering STEM education, tax and consumer protections, school policy, and dozens of local measures. Most passed by wide margins after brief committee reports and routine committee amendments.","taxTitle","Senate, Alabama Legislative Sessions, Alabama","taxId",62183,"location","Alabama","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6559070,"Senate sends archives board change to conference after heated floor debate",5054,2196000,7250000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3219392-26a77439ec1f9286e79399bf6e164a4b&start=2196&end=7250","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3219392-26a77439ec1f9286e79399bf6e164a4b/thumbnail_2196000.jpg","/articles/6559070/Alabama/Senate-sends-archives-board-change-to-conference-after-heated-floor-debate","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6559070-a2e8bcb0fa0244184c7f404fc8d0a482/orig.mp4?Expires=1770444739&Signature=Ykx3nWv8z57v2bBf5k2ZLitAPMq~T9ngH9s1bFi4DgxjECjZ2AuK1CFZUs5TNOC3C3AtfcFvcO5XlH0csWVD1pHKCVaoFZI4Wu4KX2-m0HUPb4X~RI0jDwocMmvsvyULEBFVHJ0o5hNuLwdh79INenhUcU5QWife17DNxYHUSoBI9huuYRGpSqYCbFFFwn6Y1DXa1NPWDCvTLGrR4f5YS-BZf-baze84UE5WE~j3xltrMJZRdBYX89QGDv2Uaja1oz2~WVcM7GEepj0AHhyhmlUZIEI4zCZqRcCm9P~TBK6baqzKWAisratruIPdS4Issu-X2568ofqiB3pvVWuUBQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Alabama Senate voted to send to a conference committee a House amendment to Senate Bill 5 that removes Senate confirmation of appointees to the Department of Archives and History board, after a lengthy floor debate that centered on oversight and concerns about preserving historical records.

Senator Elliott, the bill sponsor on the floor, said the change is contained in “Senate Bill 5, and the amendment that the House placed on the bill removes Senate confirmation.” The Senate later voted to not concur with the House amendment and instead to go to conference; the motion to non‑concur and go to conference was approved and conferees were appointed.

Senator Smitherman led a sustained objection to the House amendment, saying the change would strip the Senate of at least one oversight tool and risked diminishing how parts of Alabama history are preserved and presented. “This is a move to suppress the history,” he said on the floor, urging colleagues to preserve the Senate’s confirmation role for trustees. Smitherman framed his opposition around representation for districts, the archival mission, and what he described as the potential for historical materials—particularly Black history—to be sidelined.

Senate leaders offered competing procedural options. Senator Elliott moved a substitute motion to non‑concur and go to conference; the chamber took a long roll call on that motion. The Senate recorded the result as 33 yes and 1 no; the chamber then appointed three conferees: Senators Elliott, Smitherman and Jones. The motion sent the House amendment into a conference committee for negotiation between the chambers.

The amendment on the floor cited changes to Code of Alabama sections 41‑6‑3 and 41‑6‑4, which govern the composition, terms, and confirmation of the Department of Archives and History board of trustees. Under the current code language read on the floor, successor members were required to be communicated to the Senate “for confirmation” and the Senate confirmation process was the explicit oversight mechanism that opponents of the amendment said the House change would remove.

What happened next: the Senate’s referral to conference means members from both chambers — the three named conferees — must negotiate language acceptable to both bodies. If the conference committee reaches agreement, the compromise text returns to each chamber for a final up‑or‑down vote; if not, the change fails.

Why it matters: The Department of Archives and History manages state records, historical artifacts and exhibits that shape how Alabama’s past is recorded and taught. Lawmakers who opposed the House amendment argued removing the Senate’s confirmation role reduces a public oversight check that can affect who serves on the board and what the department’s priorities will be. Supporters of the House amendment said the change would streamline appointments; the Senate’s conference referral keeps the dispute alive for negotiation.

Quotes and attributions in this report are drawn directly from the Senate transcript. The conference committee members named on the floor were Senators Elliott, Smitherman and Jones.","The Alabama Senate voted to send to conference a House amendment to SB5 that would remove Senate confirmation for appointees to the Department of Archives and History board after a prolonged floor discussion led by Senator Smitherman, who warned the change would suppress parts of state history.","actionData","errors"]

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Votes at a glance: Senate clears dozens of House bills, many by unanimous or wide margins

Senate sends archives board change to conference after heated floor debate