Apr. 18—Local legislators from Morgan, Limestone and Lawrence counties found success this session in passing 35 bills that they sponsored ranging from title fraud to tax exemptions to education.
The Alabama Legislature adjourned on April 9, with nearly half of the bills from the local delegation passing in the final week.
Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, was one of the most prolific lawmakers this session and passed 13 of the bills he sponsored.
He is particularly proud of Senate Bill 292, also known as the Alabama Property Protection Act, which deals with title fraud, and Senate Bill 63, which prohibits health insurance companies from using artificial intelligence (AI) to make final coverage determinations.
Orr said hearing commercials advertising property title insurance first alerted him to an issue of fraudsters more boldly stealing people’s property by acting as if they own a property and then listing or selling it to others.
“What’s to stop somebody from forging (a) name, having a forged notary seal, and just walking up to the courthouse to record it and say that you own the property?” Orr said. “You deed it to yourself, and they can’t police it at the courthouse. That’s just the central clearing house to record documents. They can’t look behind the document.”
Orr said he worked with realtors, title insurance companies, banks and closing attorneys to craft a bill that protects all parties involved. The law introduces more identification verification during the buying and selling process, increases penalties for property fraud, creates a notification system to more quickly identify fraudulent actions, and develops a smoother process for clearing up title issues.
“It is long overdue, but the legislation puts Alabama ahead of the pack as far as our ability to address this emerging issue that is developing across the country,” Orr said. “(People were) claiming that this property is conveyed. Then they quickly try to sell it to some unwitting buyer, and it’s a problem. Then, when it’s discovered, trying to clear up the title to the property that now has this dubious transaction in the middle of the chain, and who is going to pay for that but the true owner? That’s not fair either. We tried to address all these issues in the bill, and I’m very pleased that it passed.”
Orr also passed Senate Bill 167 that would prevent appeals courts from giving deference to governmental agencies during judicial review of a contested case. Orr views the new law as promoting civil liberty in the courts. It reflects a 2024 U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned the Chevron doctrine — which allowed for government agencies to interpret ambiguous laws in their favor — at the federal level.
“I don’t want to impugn their credibility, but (administrative law judges) are paid and taken care of by the agency that is paying them,” Orr said. “They’re kind of the hometown umpire for the home team. With Loper Bright (v. Raimondo) that the Supreme Court passed recently, that case said, ‘No, in the federal court now, you have to treat it like it’s a new case, and everybody starts from ground zero. You can admit the evidence from the administrative hearing, but you don’t give a presumption in favor of the agency if they won at the lower level in the administrative hearing procedure, and the citizen is now appealing that to the court system.'”
Related to consumer protection, Senate Bill 221 by Orr prevents retailers from taxing credit card convenience fees on top of the purchase total. For example, he said a $10 purchase may have a 3% convenience fee. Rather than taxing $10, some places would tax $10.30, with the fee included.
“This prohibits them from doing that,” Orr said. “It was kind of a gray area. The Department of Revenue knew about it and had a policy saying it was OK, but there had been no law passed allowing it, and we slammed the door on that because we just don’t need to be taxing fees in the state.”
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Localized bills
On the local level, Orr’s bill requiring Decatur Utilities to participate more in economic development also passed.
Also locally, other legislators passed bills that would benefit residents 65 and older in Morgan, Limestone and Lawrence counties who own property. The bills would freeze the assessed value of their primary residence until they move, if they have lived there at least five years. Rep. Parker Moore, R-Hartselle, sponsored the Morgan County bill, and Reps. Danny Crawford, R-Athens, and Ernie Yarbrough, R-Trinity, sponsored the Limestone and Lawrence County versions respectively.
Crawford also sponsored and passed a bill amending the Limestone County sheriff’s compensation. It drew heated debate from the Limestone County Commission.
The law sets the sheriff’s salary at $149,000 annually. Meanwhile, Yarbrough sponsored a bill that would allow the Lawrence County sheriff to use a credit or debit card as long as he adopts a policy to ensure appropriate use.
Outside of his property tax bill, Moore also passed House Bill 323, which created new state military awards that the governor and adjutant general may present to individuals for their service.
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Education bills
Orr and Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, also sponsored several education-related bills.
Orr’s Senate Bill 59 requires public colleges and universities to submit annual reports to the state about how much they received and spent in state and federal funding for the year, as well as financial contingency plans for if funds are reduced. Senate Bill 62, also sponsored by Orr, creates the Alabama Charter School Finance Authority, which could issue bonds and make loans to public charter schools for project expenses.
Collins sponsored the bill that provided for a 2% cost-of-living adjustment for public education employees for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1. The bill also included a one-time bonus to be issued to retirees who receive monthly checks from the Teachers Retirement System. The bonus will be in the amount of $1 per month of service.
Collins also amended different educational programs.
House Bill 125 will now allow adult learners at least 22 years old to receive the ReEngage Alabama Grant when pursuing their first associate or bachelor’s degree. Previously, recipients had to be at least 25.
Collins also expanded the Alabama Math and Science Teacher Education Program. It previously provided loan repayment assistance to math, science and computer science teachers. House Bill 124 broadened the program to include teachers in any areas that have shortages and changed the name to the Loan Assistance in Support of Educators in Alabama Program.
Collins said she’s excited about passing House Bill 380 to permit the consolidation of contiguous county boards of education into a single multi-county board if they choose.
“It’s a constitutional amendment to allow, especially smaller, maybe rural counties to — not eliminate a school system — but to let their boards combine with other boards,” Collins said. “You have a multi-board and cut administrative costs is the goal of it, so you put more money back in the classroom. I think it could make a huge difference.”
Voters will need to approve the amendment in November for it to take effect.
Beyond education, Collins said she’s also proud of House Bill 379, which amended the Entertainment Industry Incentive Act to include financial incentives for smaller production companies.
— GraciAnn.Goodin@DecaturDaily.com or 256-340-2437
