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Senate committee gives favorable reports to three House bills on speech‑pathology assistants, mental‑health boards and AEDs in athletic venues
Summary
A Senate committee gave favorable reports to three House bills: one to establish an associate‑level speech‑language pathology assistant program, one to update community mental‑health board membership and meeting rules, and one to require automated external defibrillators in athletic venues at public and private schools.
A Senate committee meeting (date not specified) gave favorable reports to three House bills after brief presentations and voice votes.
Representatives presented the bills and senators adopted substitute language or moved favorable reports without recorded roll‑call tallies.
Representative Stanbridge introduced HB 4 41, saying, “This bill, what it does is it establishes an associate level speech pathology, assistant program in our state. So it would be from associates level. This has been done in 23 other states and, we've worked really hard on this bill to get everybody to this point.” Senator Chastain described a proposed substitute as making only technical changes requested by the board, including replacing language about “register[ing] with the board” with language about applying for a license and adding a grant of rulemaking authority to the board. A motion to adopt the substitute was made and seconded; the committee gave the bill a favorable report by voice vote.
HB 4 25, introduced by Representative Bridal, updates the statute governing community‑based mental‑health governing boards (referred to in testimony as “310 boards”). Bridal said the bill was “a collaborative effort with the Alabama Department of Mental Health Association County Commissions, the Alabama Council for Behavioral Healthcare, and the Behavioral Alliance of Alabama.” The bill would add a requirement that a sheriff or the sheriff’s designee and the probate judge serve on the board if one exists, allow boards to meet virtually “in accordance with [the] Alabama Open Meetings Act,” and include opt‑out language if a sheriff or probate judge does not wish to participate. The committee moved and recorded a favorable report by voice vote.
Representative Oliver presented HB 4 16 and said the bill “is pretty self explanatory by the title,” adding that the bill differs from the prior measure that required AEDs in schools by extending the requirement to athletic venues at both public and private schools. After unanimous voice support, the committee gave the bill a favorable report.
Votes at a glance
- HB 4 41 (Representative Stanbridge): Substitute adopted; bill given favorable report (voice vote). Substitute codified technical board language and added board rulemaking authority. - HB 4 25 (Representative Bridal): Bill given favorable report (voice vote). Updates community mental‑health board membership to include sheriff/designee and probate judge where applicable; allows virtual meetings under the Alabama Open Meetings Act and provides opt‑out language. - HB 4 16 (Representative Oliver): Bill given favorable report (voice vote). Extends requirement for automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to athletic venues at public and private schools.
The committee did not record roll‑call vote tallies for these items in the transcript. No implementation timelines or funding details were stated during the presentations.
