Alabama House approves liability shield for gun dealers, expands prison financing and approves dozens of bills

The Alabama House of Representatives on the floor session adopted a package of bills and resolutions, including a Senate-sponsored measure granting limited liability protection to participating gun dealers in voluntary firearm storage programs, and a bill authorizing additional bond authority to finance corrections construction. Members also approved a series of other bills affecting education, licensure and economic development and took up multiple resolutions recognizing organizations and events.

The House adopted the measure known in debate as the Houston Hunter Act (Senate Bill 40 as substituted), which provides liability protection for federally licensed firearm dealers who participate voluntarily in community storage programs that allow people to place firearms in secure lockers during periods of suicide ideation. Sponsors and supporters said the bill aims to reduce access to a firearm in a moment of crisis by enabling a dealer to accept and later return a firearm without creating a new civil-liability exposure for the dealer. Opponents raised questions about program design and whether the proposed liability protection would be effective without safeguards such as in-person intervention or on-site counseling at retrieval.

The corrections financing measure (Senate Bill 60) received extended floor discussion. Its sponsors described the vote as a precaution to raise the Alabama Corrections Institutions Finance Authority (ACIFA) bonding authority by $500 million to address cost increases and anticipated shortfalls for planned "mega" prisons. Supporters said the change would be a contingency and that project phasing and bidding steps would follow; several members urged caution and asked staff to return with bond-market and debt-service impacts before any borrowing. Members also pressed for clarity on cost estimates, the state general fund’s exposure and how the work would affect other programmatic priorities such as mental-health capacity.

Other debated items included a floor substitute to change seafood-dealer licensing and marketing funding (House Bill 1), which increases a dealer license fee and directs part of the fee to Sweet Grown Alabama for seafood marketing. Sponsors said the change restores a dedicated marketing revenue stream that had ended after federal RESTORE/Deepwater Horizon funds lapsed; critics pressed about consumer price impacts and whether inspections or additional regulatory burdens would follow (the final substitute removed proposed increases in inspection requirements and focused on marketing).

On education, the House adopted a substitute that expands the statutory definition of "computer science" and makes at least one state board–approved computer-science course eligible to replace a math or science credit on the standard-diploma pathway for graduates in the 2031 class and later. Members debated readiness: supporters and state education officials said districts already must offer the courses and the change aligns statute with the state board’s timeline; other lawmakers urged confirmation that districts have teacher capacity, equipment and professional development to meet the requirement.

The House also approved a measure establishing portable-benefits accounts for platform and gig workers (Senate Bill 86), allowing financial institutions and administrators to offer tax-advantaged, worker-owned accounts that can receive contributions from workers and matching contributions from platform companies if parties choose to participate. Sponsors characterized the bill as voluntary for platforms and as a mechanism to allow gig workers to accumulate funds for paid leave, retirement or other portable benefits.

Votes at a glance (key final outcomes taken from the House roll calls recorded on the floor): - Senate Bill 40 (Houston Hunter Act, substitute): Passed (substitute adopted; final passage recorded as passed). Scope limited to federally licensed firearm dealers that voluntarily participate; immunity tied to return/retrieval activity; program concept described as the SAFER model (secure lockers + literature/education). Referenced federal ATF guidance during debate. - Senate Bill 60 (Corrections finance authority): Passed (BR and final passage adopted). Sponsor described it as a contingency to raise ACIFA authority by $500,000,000; members requested further bond-market analysis and phased options prior to drawing obligations. - House Bill 1 (Seafood dealers, floor substitute): Passed as substituted. Sets seafood-dealer license at $400 for Alabama residents and $600 for nonresidents, requires licensing for specified dealers and directs $200 of each license fee to the nonprofit Sweet Grown Alabama for seafood marketing; deleted earlier proposed additional inspections in the floor substitute. - House Bill 272 (Loan Assistance in Support of Educators — formerly AmSTEP renamed LaSIA): Passed. Broadened loan-assistance eligibility; adopted substitute and final passage recorded. - House Bill 332 (Computer science graduation requirement, substitute): Substitute adopted; final passage recorded. Expanded statutory definition of computer science and allowed department-approved computer-science course to substitute for a math or science credit on the standard diploma for the class of 2031 onward. - House Bill 365 (Alabama STEM council codification, substitute): Passed as substituted. - House Bill 376 (Extend license-plate redesign interval from five to 10 years): Passed. - House Bill 1 (commercial seafood regulation; substitute read at length and passed): Passed as substituted (substitute adopted after floor reading and final passage recorded). - Senate Bill 86 (Portable benefits for platform/gig workers): Passed (BR and final passage recorded). Creates portable accounts administered by financial providers; voluntary employer participation. - Senate Bill 104 (Job Creation and Military Stability Commission membership): Passed. - Senate Bill 130 (Gold or silver as legal tender by agreement): Passed. - House Bill 366 (Police K‑9 emergency medical transport and liability): Passed (committee substitute adopted; provisions authorize EMS personnel to provide and transport emergency care and limit civil liability for EMS acting in good faith). - Senate Bill 96 (Rebuilt titles for out-of-state totals): Passed. - Plus numerous local and ceremonial resolutions and local bills called on the calendar (House joint resolutions and several local bills recorded as adopted during roll calls).

What passed by voice or recorded roll call in the transcript included more than a dozen additional local and county-related bills called in order on the calendar; the full House journal and the clerk's record show the bill numbers and recorded tallies used on the floor (those roll-call tallies, as recorded in the House session, were used to confirm final passage for the bills listed above).

Discussion and follow-up directions - SAFER program implementation: Members asked the bill sponsor and supporters to present specific program design details (how participating dealers will be educated, what counseling or contact protocols will exist when a person retrieves a weapon, and how program administrators will document voluntary participation). Several legislators requested meetings with program organizers and representatives of veteran and first-responder communities before implementation details advance. - Corrections financing: Lawmakers asked the executive budget office and bond counsel to provide an updated assessment of any bond issuance’s effect on Alabama’s credit rating and long-term debt service before any draw on the increased ACIFA authority. Some members recommended considering a phased construction plan and including triggers tied to market conditions. - Seafood licensing and marketing: Legislators asked the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and Sweet Grown Alabama to detail the anticipated marketing plan and the expected consumer and business impacts before fee collections begin; supporters said the floor substitute aims to restore a focused seafood marketing fund that previously used RESTORE and federal dollars.

Ending The chamber conducted routine committee reports and formal recognitions and recessed after adopting the special-order calendar and a broad slate of measures. The House voted to reconvene at its next scheduled session, with committee follow-ups and fiscal analyses requested by members for several of the larger proposals.

(See the official House journal and clerk’s records for full roll-call tallies and the enacted statutory text for each bill.)