Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, is sworn in by Alabama Chief Justice Sarah Stewart on Feb. 4, 2025 in the Alabama Senate chamber in the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. Gudger won the majority Republicans’ nomination for the position late last year. Gudger’s wife Heather stands between them. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector
Alabama’s legislative leaders said Tuesday they would prioritize crime prevention and immigration bills as the 2025 regular session of the state Legislature began.
Newly-elected Senate President Pro Tempore Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, said the Senate’s to-do list “is long, and our time to accomplish it is short” in the chamber shortly after being sworn in as the chamber’s leader.
He added after the chamber recessed that “protecting Alabama values and protecting families” and “government efficiency and transparency” are two “overwhelming themes” lawmakers are considering but did not mention specific legislation or policy.
“I think that we need more of that in government, and I believe that everybody right now would like to see that,” Gudger said.
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Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, said after the House gaveled out Tuesday that the chamber would prioritize a crime bill package early in the session. He said his staff and Gov. Kay Ivey’s staff worked closely to develop the package.
“We’ll probably hear the governor say something about those tonight at the State the State,” Ledbetter said. “So we’re excited to see that, and I think it’s going to make a difference.”
Gudger said that “key bills” will be introduced soon addressing immigration, such as targeting migrants who are felons and those lacking permanent legal status from using fraudulent documents to buy firearms, though it is already illegal for them to own firearms, while Ledbetter said a priority of the Legislature will be a package of about 10 immigration bills. The speaker said he expects the bills to move through quickly.
“I think most of the ones are just to make sure that the people here are legal, and if they’re not, they’re not criminals,” Ledbetter said.
Another priority for the Legislature will be to change the funding model for the Education Trust Fund to be a weighted model. Money is currently delivered to schools under a formula that relies on average daily attendance. Legislators have been speaking for months about changes that would provide extra money for schools with special needs populations, such as students in poverty; English language learners and rural schools.
“I think it’s just the thing about it: You change something that has been changed in 30 years, you need to try to go through the process and make sure we don’t hurt people,” Ledbetter said. Ledbetter said the new model will benefit poverty stricken school systems and be an overall benefit to the state.
“And that’s what they’re doing. They’ve done a great job of being cautious,” he said of House ETF Committee Chair Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, and Senate Finance and Taxation Education Chair Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur. “But I do think once we get it changed, it’d be better for the state, better for the students in the state.”
Gudger said the chamber aimed to provide quality education from K-12 to higher education and retaining graduates in the state, though he did not mention specific legislation.
“We want to be able to retain that knowledge and that sophistication when they get their graduate degrees into Alabama, to stay in Alabama, and we’re able to retain that knowledge here, instead of it going out of state.
He also pointed to potential gambling legislation but said he has not seen any bills and is not part of the discussion.
“Right now, people are talking about it, but I haven’t seen anything,” he said.
House members have been more reluctant to discuss gambling after a bitter fight between the House and Senate over a comprehensive proposal last year. Ledbetter said “we’re not going to do anything on this side” related to gambling.
“That’s something they’ll have to handle,” he said. “But we won’t see anything from the House.”
Senators also honored former Senate Pro Tempore Greg Reed, R-Jasper, who left the Senate last year after Gov. Kay Ivey to become Senior Advisor to Workforce Transformation as the Department of Labor is rebranded as the Department of Workforce. Reed, speaking to the chamber, thanked Senators for their work while he served as leader of the Senate.
“What a group of enormously capable, wildly intelligent, continuously dedicated men and women that are about the business of doing all the things important to people of the state of Alabama,” he said to the body.
Gudger also said to the Senate body that he’ll focus on teamwork “to ensure that every member feels included, valued, respected, and heard,” a theme he promoted in his bid to become the Senate’s leader.
“Let’s all of us embrace the spirit of Alabama and resolve as one man and woman, Democrat, Republican, black and white, liberal and conservative, to work together for the betterment of the citizens that all of us took an oath to serve,” he said.
Ivey was scheduled to deliver the State of the State address, outlining her priorities for the session, Tuesday evening.
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