Alabama House Passes Several Public Safety Bills Despite Democratic Protests
MONTGOMERY Ala.
By Dale Hines
BlueRAMMedia.com
March 7, 2025
The Alabama House of Representatives passed several bills that were part of Gov. Kay Ivey’s Safe Alabama Package despite protests and attempted delays by the Democrats on Thursday.
Three Republican-backed public safety bills and one additional bill that furthers the protection of law enforcement and public safety but was not included as part of the Safe Alabama Package, all passed.
House Bill 202 Covers Police Immunity
House Bill 202 (HB202) introduced by State Rep. Rex Reynolds (R-Huntsville) would repeal the current laws on police immunity and establish that a law enforcement officer shall be immune from any claim that seeks to impose civil liability on the officer for conduct performed within the officer’s discretionary authority.
The bill creates heightened requirements for a plaintiff to prove that an officer acted outside their authority and new legal proceedings and hearings for the plaintiff to bring a complaint. It also creates additional immunity hearings for officers who are accused of misconduct. The bill’s provisions cover both civil and criminal immunity for police.
Democrats stood their ground, trying to delay its passing claiming it would allow police brutality and cause further discrimination targeting black and brown skin individuals by creating differing levels of legal protections for police that aren’t available to everyday citizens.
Reynolds, a former Huntsville police officer, presented the bill before the House.
“This substantially alters the level of culpability, liability, and exposure law enforcement gets the privilege of using on both the criminal and the civil side,” said State Rep. Chris England (D-Tuscaloosa). “The whole purpose of the bill is to expand immunity; to make it much more difficult to sue a law enforcement officer and also prosecute someone who is in law enforcement.”
But many Republicans spoke in support of the measure.
“As a current law enforcement officer, I just wanted to rise today to voice my support for you and your efforts, the efforts of the team that has been working on this,” State Rep. Russell Bedsole said. “Also, my appreciation to the members of the other party, in which they worked very hard with you on this. But, most importantly, I wanted to stand to voice my support for the 16,000 who serve our state as members of law enforcement.”
HB202 passed 75-26 after three hours of debate.
House Bill 265 introduced by State Rep. Joe Lovvorn (R-Auburn) is not a part of the Safe Alabama Package but still aligns with the legislative push for public safety this year. The bill will increase the penalty for resisting arrest to a Class D felony if the person brandishes a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument or if the person’s active resistance causes a physical injury to another individual. The penalty would be a Class C felony if the individual attempts to use a deadly weapon or causes a “serious” injury to another.
During the House debate, Lovvorn noted that the penalty for injury would apply if the person fleeing injures anyone, including a police officer while resisting arrest.
While some Democrats objected to HB265, arguing that innocent people could be wrongly charged.
“What if the person is not guilty of anything?” asked State Rep. Napoleon Bracy (D-Prichard). The only thing that they’re guilty of is running from the police; that’s the only thing that they’re guilty of. Have they committed a crime because the police say ‘stop?'”
“This will be treated as a crime enhancement,” Lovvorn replied. “So, if you’re declaring someone is under arrest, and then they resist that arrest and take off running, then this would apply as an enhancement.”
The enhancement could apply to an officer who independently injures himself during a pursuit without physical interaction with a suspect Lovvorn said.
HB265 passed 78-14 after nearly one hour of Democratic protest.
Another bill also passed but once again, despite its commonsense language, some Democrats again tried to hold the bill up and stop it from passing.
Senate Bill 116: Glock Switch ban.
It prohibits any mechanism that would turn a semi-automatic handgun into a fully automatic weapon.
The House passed the switch ban 78-22.
The Senate also easily passed Senate Bill 115 which covers Enhanced penalties for impersonating a police officer.
Senate Bill 115 (SB115) introduced by State Sen. Clyde Chambliss (R-Prattville) states that a person commits the crime of impersonating a peace officer if they are employed as or accept an appointment either knowing that they are not eligible to serve as a peace officer under the law or knowing that their certification with the Alabama Peace Officers’ Standards and Training Commission (APOSTC) has been revoked or suspended.
It passed 98-0 with four abstentions.
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