Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety Training topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate committee advances bill to create authority for indoor police training facility
Summary
House Bill 333 would allow municipalities to join an authority that could issue bonds and build an indoor firearms training facility; senators questioned funding and governance but the bill received a favorable report.
House Bill 333, introduced by Representative Faulkner, would create an authority allowing municipalities and other local entities to form and finance an indoor firearms training facility for police. The Senate committee voted to give the bill a favorable report after debate over funding, governance and which municipalities would participate.
Representative Faulkner told the committee the bill "is creating an authority to allow us to construct a training facility for existing police officers. This is not an A post academy" and said the proposal responds to the closure of outdoor ranges near Birmingham as neighborhoods encroach on those sites. Faulkner said the authority would permit bonding and pooled funding from participating cities and that "there's no obligation in this legislation on the state or anybody."
Senator Albritton questioned whether the proposal "smells money" and asked how much cost the state might absorb; Faulkner replied the authority would seek funds from cities, bonds and potential federal grants but the bill itself does not obligate the state. Committee members pressed on governance questions, including membership thresholds: the bill sets a 20,000-population threshold for additional board members, a change Faulkner said he lowered from 50,000 to make more cities eligible.
Faulkner said Homewood, Vestavia, Hoover and Mountain Brook were among cities seriously considering participation and that the site under consideration is in Homewood. Senator Coleman asked for offline follow-up on diversity language and membership. The committee took a long roll on the motion to report the bill favorably; the transcript records multiple aye votes, one recorded no and one abstention, and the committee gave the bill a favorable report.
The bill authorizes creation of a local authority and permits bonding by participating members; it does not appropriate funds or identify a specific funding source. Supporters said the authority would preserve local training capacity as outdoor ranges close; skeptics warned of potential local taxpayer costs and said they would watch for future funding requests.
