Alabama Legislature

By Luke Brantley
Staff Writer

Gov. Kay Ivey, State Rep. Chip Brown and Marion County State Rep. Tracy Estes and family of Aniah Blanchard gathered in Montgomery for the ceremonial signing of Aniah’s Law.
Blanchard was killed in 2019 by a man who was out on bond on charges of other violent crimes. Aniah’s Law would give judges more discretion to deny bail to those charged with violent crimes outside of just murder, such as kidnapping and rape.
According to Estes, the law has been in the works for a long time, and is finally being put on the ballot.
 

By Scott Johnson Managing Editor Montgomery - The Alabama Legislature has voted to legalize the use of medical marijuana and now goes to Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk. The bill will give Alabama residents with qualifying medical conditions the ability to obtain a medical cannabis card to purchase marijuana for medicinal use if recommended by a physician.

Brilliant - A family will have roughly 80 acres of land de-annexed from the Town of Brilliant.
Six tracts of land belonging to the Wild’s family will be removed from Brilliant’s incorporated limits effective Aug. 1.
The land was de-annexed through a local act of the Alabama Legislature, Senate Bill 331, which was passed by the lawmakers on Friday, May 8. The bill was made into law on the last day of the 2020 Legislative Session (Monday, May 18).

MONTGOMERY - The Marion County Commission is another step closer to a new Marion County Jail.
Marion County State Rep. Tracy Estes, R-Winfield, introduced local bills to the Alabama House of Representatives during the 2020 Legislative session, one of which may help the Marion County Commission in its plans to build a new jail facility.
One bill sees Marion County applying a new 7% lodging tax that Estes stated will see individuals visiting the county effected and not residents inside the county.

MONTGOMERY – A bond revocation bill is expected to be filed for consideration in the upcoming legislative session.
Rep. Tracy Estes, R-Winfield, announced on social media on Wednesday, Jan. 23, that bill sponsor Rep. Chip Brown, R-Mobile, plans to file the bill, which would be an amendment to the state constitution.
Estes said he had the honor of assisting with the bill and that it has been named “Aniah’s Law” in memory of 19-year-old Aniah Blanchard, who was murdered after allegedly being kidnapped by 29-year-old Ibraheem Yazeed.

MONTGOMERY - Marion County Rep. Tracy Estes, R-Winfield, was the lone legislator to abstain from approving the Fiscal Year 2020 Education Trust Fund (ETF) budget.
The Alabama House of Representatives took its final vote on the ETF on Friday, May 31. The budget passed 102-0.
The House District 17 representative told the Journal Record that his abstention was due to him not being provided information regarding Bevill State Community College (BSCC)-Hamilton Campus as requested.

The state’s gasoline tax had just been raised, and Gov. Kay Ivey was being interviewed by a reporter from WSFA-TV when she said something that caught the attention of state Rep. Tracy Estes, R-Winfield. 
“Well, all the freshmen who ran for the House and Senate were indeed briefed on the need for an infrastructure bill well before they were elected, and they were vetted by the House and Senate leadership, and if they were not for increasing the gas tax for infrastructure, they were not encouraged to run,” Ivey said. 

Montgomery - Marion County’s local legislators say they have faced backlash for their decision to vote to ban nearly all abortion in the state
The Alabama State Senate voted 25-6 on Tuesday, May 15, in favor of a near-complete ban on abortions after the state House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved it in April, 74-3.
All three of Marion County’s legislators—Rep. Tracy Estes, R-Winfield, Sen. Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman and Sen. Larry Stutts, R-Tuscumbia—voted in favor of the ban.

MONTGOMERY - The Alabama State Senate voted 25-6 in favor of a near-complete ban on abortions.
The Senate approved the measurelate Tuesday night, May 15 and Gov. Kay Ivey signed the bill into law the next day, Wednesday, May 16.
The ban bill only allows exceptions to avoid serious health risk to an unborn child’s mother, ectopic pregnancy and if the unborn child has a lethal anomaly.
Both of Marion County’s senators—-District 4 Sen. Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, and District 6 Sen. Larry Stutts, R-Tuscumbia—voted in favor of the legislation.