And so it begins! The Alabama Legislature convened its 2025 regular session earlier today. Except for the election of Senator Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman) as Senate President Pro Tempore, the day is more of a formality leading up to Governor Kay Ivey’s State of the State address tonight. As a reminder, the Senate President Pro Tem. is the highest-ranking senator with the power of setting senate committees and appointing committee leadership.

This week we are looking at an overview of the announced agenda items by the governor and legislative leadership. 

The first week of session will be a three-day week, which will allow legislators to file bills today, Wednesday, and Thursday. A few committees will meet on Wednesday and conduct business but will only take up a few bills that have been “pre-filed,” or filed before session began.

Over 160 bills were pre-filed, with the majority of those being filed in the House of Representatives. An interesting fact is that the Senate cannot pre-file bills once the President Pro Tem. position is vacant, which is the reason for the disparity between the House and Senate. 

Governor Ivey will give the State of the State address tonight, but provided her priorities in a press release here. In a nutshell, Governor Ivey is expected to emphasize education and public safety. 

For education, she has been vocal on her continued support for education programs, like the CHOOSE Act (2024 school choice program) and the importance of the Literacy and Numeracy Acts, which have resulted in large gains in student test scores announced last week.

For public safety, she announced that her plan would focus on three things:

• Supporting Law Enforcement, 
• Fighting Crime, and 
• Smart Crime Reforms

You can watch the governor’s state of the state at 6:00 pm tonight here with coverage beginning at 5:30 pm. 

House Republicans – The House Republican Caucus presented its “Alabama Values” agenda a week ago.

The agenda prioritizes:

• Work Ethic and Job Creation in an Effort to Increase Labor Participation,
• Border Protection, 
• Honest Election Protections,
• Increasing Public Safety by Cracking Down on Violent Crime, 
• Providing Quality Public Education, 
• Supporting Active Military Personnel and Veterans, 
• Supporting Pro-life Policies and Care for Infants, Children and Families, and 
• Embracing Common Sense and Fighting “Woke Policies”

Senate Republicans – The Senate Republican Caucus has yet to announce an agenda, but we expect a similar focus to the House Republican caucus on public safety, education funding, and health care.

As a side note on gambling, House leadership has indicated that any gambling effort must originate in the Senate. While some effort is expected on the topic, the details are unknown and will likely not come up until at least mid-way in session.

House Democrats - The House Democratic Caucus announced its “Forward For Freedom” agenda last week.

The agenda is comprised of six priorities:

• Increasing Economic Opportunity, 
• Expanding Affordable Care, 
• Investing in Public Education, 
• Maximizing Voter Turnout, 
• Ensuring Fair and Humane Justice Through Gun Safety and Criminal Justice Reform, and
• Choosing Liberty Through Abortion, Allowing Marijuana Use, and DEI Efforts.

You can read a full copy of the agenda here. 

Senate Democrats - The Senate Democratic Caucus has not set an agenda. 

Stay tuned every week the legislature meets to the Capitol News and Notes for a summary and real estate highlights. Next week, we will look back at week one and discuss REALTOR® priorities for the session.