The Alabama Legislature moved on several bills last week, including a Daphne representative's bill pushing for stricter consequences for fentanyl trafficking convictions.
Here's a look at what was sent to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey's desk and what legislation heading for a possible vote.
Fentanyl traffickers will now receive jail time in Alabama
House Bill 1 was passed unanimously last week and signed by the governor. Rep. Matt Simpson, R-Daphne, had been pushing the bill toward a win since last year when statistics showed the number of fentanyl overdoses tied to the drug were exploding nationwide.
The bill puts mandatory minimum prison sentences in place for trafficking fentanyl, the only drug that until Friday did not require jail time with a trafficking conviction in Alabama.

According to the language of the bill, possession of 1-2 grams of the drug would result in a mandatory minimum sentence of three years; 2-4 grams would result in at least 10 years; 4-8 grams would come with a minimum of 25 years; and being convicted of possession more than 8 grams would be punished by life in prison.
The CDC said overdose deaths increased over 56% from 2019 to 2020, with more than 56,000 people dying nationwide from overdoses in 2020.
The number of overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids in 2020 was more than 18 times the number in 2013, CDC numbers show.

Bill aims to lower liquor liability insurance

Sen. Chris Elliott, R-Josephine, aims to lower the cost of liquor liability insurance for restaurant and bar owners.
Senate Bill 104 became law with unanimous passage in both houses last week. As written, the law outlines that a server must knowingly serve a drink to a visibly intoxicated person and for that to be the proximate cause of injury or death for the business to be liable.
The change makes individuals personally responsible for the overconsumption of alcohol, similar to legal requirements in other states.
The new law should is expected to help lower the cost of liquor liability insurance for restaurant and bar owners and allow the businesses to purchase higher amounts of insurance protection at a lower cost.

A fifth county commissioner in Baldwin?

Elliott is pushing for Baldwin County to add a fifth county commissioner to its ranks.
Elliott served on county commission from 2014-2018, suggested the expansion when he first entered the Alabama Senate in 2018.

Elliott's plan would add a full-time Baldwin County Commission chair as an elected position beginning in 2024.
Commission members reportedly are uninterested in adding a fifth member.

No smoking in cars with kids

House Bill 3 was passed with bans smoking or vaping in a car with children 14 years or younger.
Birmingham Rep. Rolanda Hollis had been working to pass the bill for nearly six years.
According to the bill, smoking cigarettes or vapes inside a car with a child is illegal regardless of whether the windows are up or down or whether the engine is running or not. Violators will be assessed a $100 fine.

End to grocery tax supported by senate

All 35 senators co-sponsored legislation to begin the process of ending the grocery tax in Alabama.
The move has been long supported by community members as a way to help economically struggling families put more food on the table. Alabama Arise estimates the average Alabama family spends several hundred of dollars a year on grocery tax.
The bill aims to gradually reduce sales tax on food from 4% currently to 2% by lowering the tax by .5% each year. The reduction would only come if there were enough state revenue to offset the loss to the education budget, which is partially funded by the grocery tax. The bill also stops cities and counties from raising their sales taxes on groceries, a point of concern for many legislators who have spoken out against similar legislation in past years.
The tax has been a point of contention in Montgomery for decades as Alabama is one of just a handful of states across the nation that continues to tax groceries.

A possible end to fine-based license suspension

The senate passed Senate Bill 154, which stops courts from suspending a driver's license for failure to pay a fine, fee or court costs that are levied as the result of a traffic violation unless the individual fails to make six or more of the required payments after the court's order.
The law does not apply to people who hold a commercial driver's license or are charged with driving under the influence.
Currently a person can lose their license after one infraction and the cost to reinstate an individual's suspended license is $100.
Advocacy groups such as Alabama Arise have long argued that losing a license makes it virtually impossible for people to then have transportation to work to make money to pay the fine. Without a license, they are unable to work, meaning they cannot pay the original fine or court costs either.
Senators who spoke on behalf of the bill on the Senate floor said it was intended to "give a little grace" to individuals who may miss or were unable to make a payment.
The bill passed the Senate 32-0 and moves to the House of Representatives.