Senate Judiciary advances jury-duty protections for nursing mothers, sextortion penalty changes, tougher bans on Glock "switches," mail-theft penalties and bail

The Alabama Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday advanced a slate of criminal‑justice bills and unanimously approved a measure protecting nursing mothers from mandatory jury service, while also voting to send several firearms, extortion and mail‑theft proposals to the full Senate.

The committee adopted an amendment and gave final committee approval to SB 76, a bill sponsored by Senator Linda S. Weaver that would create a statutory exemption for nursing mothers from jury service and designate the act as “Parker’s Law.” Candice Brown, who testified that she was summoned for jury duty while exclusively breastfeeding a three‑month‑old child and was denied an administrative excusal, told the committee, “I was called for jury duty while exclusively breastfeeding my 3 month old baby. I called, emailed, and turned in the appropriate forms to be excused, and I was denied. I had to report for jury duty with my infant, and we were treated poorly.” The amendment and the bill passed the committee unanimously.

The committee also reported SB 35, sponsored by Senator Chris Allen, to give a broader criminal penalty for threats involving explicit recordings and other coercive conduct often described as “sextortion.” Allen told the panel the bill narrows existing law to target threats that threaten to transmit or use images or recordings of explicit conduct to coerce another person. The committee debated evidentiary standards and the length of penalties; Senator Allen confirmed the proposal contemplates a Class B felony carrying penalties of up to 20 years. The bill passed the committee with a recorded favorable report of 10‑3.

On firearms, the committee advanced several related bills aimed at conversion kits that make a semiautomatic pistol fire like an automatic weapon (often called a “Glock switch” in testimony). Chairman Greg Weaver and other sponsors said the devices are already illegal under federal law but that state statutes need to explicitly give local law enforcement and prosecutors a state‑law basis for arrest and prosecution. The committee discussed multiple companion bills (including SB 116, SB 31 and SB 32) that: (1) criminalize possession of conversion devices or parts used to convert semiautomatic pistols to fully automatic fire, (2) raise state penalties for using such devices in shootings that cause death or serious injury, and (3) strengthen related possession offenses. Mayor Randall Woodfin of Birmingham urged the committee to act, saying, “I believe what you all are doing here today related to machine gun conversion devices will literally save Alabamian lives.” The committee gave favorable reports to the machine‑conversion device bills; one roll call recorded 12 in favor.

SB 75, a bill sponsored by Senator Weaver addressing mail theft and related fraud, drew discussion about grading penalties by the number of addresses affected and higher penalties where the theft was used to obtain sensitive financial information. Weaver described multi‑jurisdictional examples, including an alleged scheme that involved roughly $1.6 million in losses, and said the bill would allow state prosecutors to pursue cases that do not meet federal prosecution thresholds. The sponsor asked to carry the bill over to address drafting questions; the committee carried SB 75 over for further work.

The committee also considered bills on public‑safety and policing matters: SB 115 would increase penalties for impersonating a peace officer and penalize employers who knowingly hire persons whose APOST certification was revoked; the measure received a favorable report. Finally, the committee took a public hearing, adopted an amendment, and gave a favorable report to SB 118, a proposed constitutional amendment that would expand the types of alleged offenses for which a judge may deny bond; the committee also advanced SB 119, companion enabling legislation that would implement procedures if voters ratify the constitutional change. A public defender who testified during the SB 118 hearing cautioned that expanded no‑bond categories could increase pretrial detention and related fiscal costs; the sponsor and others said judges retain discretion in bond hearings and that the amendment as offered narrows language to focus on attempted or solicited murder and shooting into occupied structures.

Votes at a glance

- SB 76 (Weaver) — Jury‑duty protections for nursing mothers, “Parker’s Law.” Amendment adopted; bill advanced from committee (unanimous committee approval reported). - SB 35 (Allen) — Expanded sextortion/explicit‑recording coercion offense; committee gave a favorable report 10‑3. - SB 116 / SB 31 / SB 32 (Weaver, Smitherman and companions) — Criminalize possession and use of firearm conversion kits (commonly called “Glock switches”), and increase penalties for shootings using converted weapons. Committee gave favorable reports (multiple related bills advanced; at least one roll call showed 12 in favor). - SB 75 (Weaver) — Mail theft and fraud enhancements (penalties scaled by addresses and intent to defraud). Sponsor asked to carry the bill over for drafting fixes; committee carried it over. - SB 115 (Chambliss) — Impersonating a peace officer and employer liability for hiring un‑certified persons; favorable report given. - SB 118 (CA) — Constitutional amendment to expand offenses for which a judge may deny bond; amendment adopted to narrow solicitation/attempt/conspiracy language to attempted/solicited murder; committee gave favorable report after a public hearing. - SB 119 — Enabling legislation to implement the constitutional amendment if adopted by voters; the committee adopted related amendments and gave the bill a favorable report.

What lawmakers emphasized

- Supporters of the “Parker’s Law” change argued that the statutory protection gives robust, harder‑to‑reverse protections than an administrative rule; the sponsor said the bill allows nursing mothers a 24‑month exemption window and requires an affidavit to claim the exemption. The sponsor emphasized it does not remove judicial discretion if a mother appears without the affidavit.

- Lawmakers pressing for tougher measures on conversion kits and possession of machine‑gun conversion devices framed the bills as returning state statutory tools previously lacking to mirror federal prohibitions and give local law enforcement and prosecutors a clear state basis for arrests and prosecutions.

- Opponents and some members urged caution on maximum penalties and asked for clearer definitions and proof standards, particularly on the sextortion bill and conversion‑device language that might unintentionally criminalize lawful products or accessories. Several senators asked for clearer language excluding binary triggers and other devices already legal under federal rules.

What’s next

Most bills advanced to the Senate floor for further consideration after the committee votes and will be subject to amendments and second‑chamber action. The mail‑theft bill was carried over for additional drafting; sponsors asked staff and LSA to prepare refinements to several gun‑related bills to ensure the intended federal‑state alignment and to address drafting clarifications raised in committee.

(Reporting based on the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing record and public testimony.)