The Alabama Legislature slowed its pace last week, ensuring a shortened legislative session last week as both the House and Senate returned to their traditional two-day meeting schedule rather than the more frenetic three-day schedule that has been kept over previous weeks.

Both Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter (R - Rainsville) and Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger (R - Cullman) indicated before the session began that it would adjourn “sine die” sooner than normal to allow lawmakers with primary opposition adequate time to return to their districts and campaign for reelection.

The Legislature normally meets in the House and Senate chambers on Tuesdays and Thursdays with a day for legislative committees to consider bills on Wednesday sandwiched in between, but for the first two weeks of the 2026 session, floor action took place on all three days. Additional three-day weeks are assuredly on the horizon for the leadership to keep its late March to early April target for final adjournment.

While the Senate busied itself mostly addressing common and mundane legislation dealing with basic government operations, appointments to boards, commissions, and committees, and local matters last week, the House debated and considered more weighty measures for the first time this session. Those same measures are expected to be debated on the Senate floor this week.

There are 22 legislative days remaining in the 2026 regular session.

Condominium Governance: Consents & Waivers, Arbitration & Mediation

Senate Bill 121 by Senator Arthur Orr (R- Decatur)  would make several significant changes to Alabama’s condominium law, including prohibiting the use of consents, waivers, and powers of attorney to obtain unit-owner authorization to amend a condominium declaration, expanding an condominium association’s ability to intervene in arbitration and mediation, and broadening the remedies courts may apply in declaration disputes. 

The legislation goes against Alabama Supreme Court’s recent interpretation of the Alabama Condominium Act. The primary concern is allowing courts to rewrite development documents and destabilize developments and communities. This would undermine existing developments and deter future developments across the state.  AAR’s Public Policy team continues to work with stakeholders to oppose this legislation.

App Stores: Age Verification & Parental Account Linking
The Senate Children and Youth Health Committee awarded a favorable report this week to legislation by State Rep. Chris Sells (R - Greenville) requiring app stores to verify a user’s age and link accounts held by minors to their parents.

Sells, who previously passed into law a bill requiring adult content filters to be activated at the time of cell phone purchases, said the legislation will prevent children from downloading apps without their parents’ knowledge.

Under the provisions of House Bill 161, children would be placed in an age category when setting up an app store account, and parents or guardians would create linked accounts allowing them to approve apps before downloading. The measure would also empower the attorney general to bring action when violations by app stores occur, and parents would be allowed to bring civil actions for failure to comply.

The legislation, which has already won House approval, now goes to the Senate floor for consideration.

Evictions: Notice of Disposal for Abandoned Tenant Property
Last week’s Capitol News and Notes highlighted House passage of legislation by State Rep. Mack Butler (R - Rainbow City) requiring district courts to provide notice to tenants that any abandoned property left behind after an eviction may be disposed of by the landlord.

House Bill 80 further states the landlord has no obligation to preserve the property once it is removed, and the legislation also provides civil immunity for landlords and officers for damage to a tenant’s personal property during execution of a writ of possession. 

Since its unanimous passage by the House, Butler’s bill has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where it awaits action.

Homestead Exemptions: Permanently Disabled Veterans
House Bill 155 sponsored by State Rep. Paul Lee (R - Dothan), which eases the ability for permanently disabled veterans to claim homestead exemptions, appeared on the House calendar on Thursday, but the body adjourned before its consideration after becoming bogged down in filibusters and debate over the legislation that preceded it. 

We expect House Bill 155 to reappear on the calendar for floor debate perhaps as early as this week.

A number of high-profile bills involving a variety of issues did receive lengthy floor discussion and approval last week.

Capital Punishment: Certain Child Sex Offenses
By a 73–6 vote with 17 abstentions, the Alabama House on Tuesday passed the Child Predator Death Penalty Act. The bill, sponsored by State Rep. Matt Simpson (R–Daphne), would allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty for individuals convicted of certain severe sexual offenses involving children younger than 12.

Under current U.S. Supreme Court precedent, the death penalty is limited to crimes involving the loss of life, such as murder or felony offenses resulting in death. Simpson has said he believes passage of the bill in Alabama could prompt the court to reconsider that precedent.

Florida, Tennessee, Idaho, Oklahoma, and Mississippi are among the states that have enacted similar measures, directly challenging the U.S. Supreme Court’s narrow 5–4 ruling in Kennedy v. Louisiana, which held that imposing the death penalty in such cases constituted “unusual punishment” due to its limited use nationwide.

The bill now moves to the Senate, where it will be carried by Sen. April Weaver (R–Brierfield).

Early Childhood Education: Limits on Electronic Screen Use
The House on Tuesday also approved legislation sponsored by State Rep. Jeanna Ross (R–Guntersville) that would limit electronic screen time for children in publicly funded early learning centers.

Ross, a former director of the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education, cited studies indicating that prolonged exposure to electronic devices can significantly hinder learning and social development in young children.

The measure would require the Department of Early Childhood Education to develop guidelines and training on appropriate screen use, including age-based limits. Under the proposal, children younger than 2 would be prohibited from screen time altogether, while specific limits would be established for children ages 2 to 5. The State Departments of Human Resources and Education would each play a role in developing the guidelines.

The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.

Alabama REALTORS® hosted the annual Yellowhammer News Legislative Preview panel, featuring YHN editor Grayson Everett in conversation with House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter and Senate Pro Tem Garlan Gudger on key issues facing the state. Leaders discussed Alabama’s ongoing workforce needs and highlighted the success of career training programs that prepare high school students for skilled trades.

The Legislature is expected to meet for only two days again this week, as additional priority legislation draws focus in both chambers. The Child Predator Death Penalty Act, which passed the House last week, is expected to be taken up for debate and a vote on the Senate floor.

Meanwhile, budget chairs are continuing work on the Education Trust Fund budget, which provides more than $9 billion in funding to K-12 public schools, community colleges, and public universities, and the General Fund budget, which allocates almost $4 billion to non-education state agencies, and those spending plans could begin seeing movement in the near future.

The General Fund budget will originate in the Senate this year and travel to the House while the Education Trust Fund budget will originate in the House and travel to the Senate.