Alabama Senate

Alabama lawmakers ended the 2025 legislative session on Wednesday. Here is a look at a few of the notable bills that passed, and some that failed, during the session.

Alabama lawmakers have passed legislation that would make it a felony to knowingly bring someone into the state who is in the U.S. illegally, echoing similar bills nationwide that could restrict domestic travel for some immigrants.

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey on Wednesday signed legislation putting new regulations on gummies, drinks and other products containing cannabinoids from hemp, a legal variety of the marijuana plant.

Alabama legislators honored a long-standing tradition on Wednesday with their annual award for the "deadest bill" of the session, bringing levity to an otherwise politically polarized Statehouse.

Alabama will soon join the states that have banned or restricted the presence of cellphones in schools. The Alabama Senate voted 30-2 for the bill to prohibit students in K-12 public schools from using phones during the school day.

Alabama lawmakers advanced legislation that would allow local law enforcement to enforce immigration law, as conservative legislators push for increased alignment with the federal government's crackdown on immigration. The bill was dubbed "Laken Riley Act," named after the 22-year-old Augusta University student who was killed last year in Georgia by an undocumented immigrant.

The Alabama legislature is working to make Hollywood feel more at home in our state. A bill is making its way through the Senate in Montgomery to add incentives for people who make movies or commercials here in Alabama. APR student reporter Barry Carmichael spoke to one Mobile resident whose movie making experience including meeting the actor who played Luke Skywalker.

Alabama lawmakers are working on a bill that could bring more doctors to rural parts of the state. The measure would extend tax credits for physicians who practice in rural Alabama. It would eliminate earlier wording that denied that tax break to doctors who live outside the community they serve.

A bill moving through the state legislature could give the governor the power to appoint the head of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs. The move comes after a public feud between the Gov. Kay Ivey and the former commissioner.

Republicans in the Alabama Senate on Tuesday picked Sen. Garlan Gudger of Cullman to be the next Senate president pro tempore. Republicans named Gudger as their nominee after a closed-door meeting. The powerful position is vacant because Senate Pro Tempore Greg Reed is stepping down to join Gov. Kay Ivey’s administration.