By Kendall Ledlow, News editor 

In a rare occurrence for an election year, Alabama legislators have used all 30 workdays allotted to them for the 2026 Regular Session. Ending on Thursday, April 9, here are some of the standout bills sent to Governor Kay Ivey’s desk during the final stretch. 

HB2 requires all official state agencies and messaging refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” in compliance with President Donald Trump’s executive order. 

HB95, sponsored by Rep. Joe Lovvorn, says that after each county and general election, a probate judge will be required to conduct a post-election audit to certify that election’s validity. 

HB465, sponsored by Rep. Leigh Hulsey, will let residents with invisible disabilities be issued invisible disability decals for their cars.   

HB545, sponsored by Rep. Norman Crow, allows businesses to round any transactions paid in cash to the nearest nickel. This is likely because of the discontinuation of penny production at United States mints. 

HB527, sponsored by Rep. James Lomax, primarily focuses on overtime pay, but also establishes a grocery sales tax holiday suspending the 2% state tax on groceries from May 1 to June 30. 

SB9, sponsored by Senator Gerald Allen, bans vaping in all indoor public spaces. 

SB24, sponsored by Senator Linda Coleman-Madison, streamlines the process of former inmates regaining voting rights.   

SB57, sponsored by Senator Arthur Orr, will prohibit residents from using food assistance benefits to purchase specific sodas or sugary processed foods.  

SB118, sponsored by Senator Lance Bell, establishes the Alabama Background Check Service. This bill lets law enforcement agencies collect biometric data for identification purposes even when unrelated to criminal justice. 

SB270, sponsored by Senator Lance Bell, makes sure consumers don’t have to pay for excess electricity used by a data center in its operations. The responsibility instead falls on the data center. 

SB361, sponsored by Senator Garlan Gudger, would make it a class C misdemeanor (punishable by up to 3 months in jail) to improperly tether a dog to a stationary object or fail to leave the dog with adequate survival supplies. 

A trend across the final weeks was education.  

HB239, sponsored by Rep. Terri Collins, increases the salaries of public education employees. 

SB211, sponsored by Senator Gerald Allen, makes the State Board of Education adopt policies allowing public education employees to save up sick time and donate their sick days to their coworkers. 

SB248, the Alabama Released Time Credit Act sponsored by Senator Shay Shelnutt, lets the State Board of Education and other lower school boards pass policies about religious educational programs. Parents must choose whether or not their children participate in the programs. 

SB272, sponsored by Senator Arthur Orr, lets documents requested from local boards of education be redacted to exclude names and addresses. 

A series of bills were passed that affect high school curriculums. 

Rep. David Faulkner’s HB239 requires students in public schools to pass computer science classes. Senator Shay Shelnutt’s SB209 requires public schools teach sexual risk avoidance instead of a comprehensive state education. Senator Rodger Smitherman’s SB364 would require public school students to pass classes on violence prevention, conflict resolution and mediation. 

More bills were passed about higher education that will be discussed in another article. To monitor any other bills that were passed this week or have yet to be voted on, visit alison.legislature.state.al.us. 

The Alabama legislature will convene again in February 2027, using the newly constructed State House for the first time.