Here is a list of bills that passed the Alabama Legislature this week.
Tuesday, March 5
House
HB 170, sponsored by Rep. Ed Oliver, R-Dadeville, alters the boundary lines and corporate limits of the Town of Jackson’s Gap in Tallapoosa County. The bill passed 14-0. It goes to the Senate.
HB 231, sponsored by Rep. Ivan Smith, R- Clanton, authorizes the Chilton County sheriff to establish procedures for using a credit card or debit card to make purchases. The bill passed 12-0. It goes to the Senate.
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HB 252, sponsored by Rep. Phillip Pettus, R- Killen, establishes a permit fee to carry a pistol in a vehicle or concealed on or about the person in Lauderdale County. The bill passed 8-0. It goes to the Senate.
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HB 138, sponsored by Rep. Rex Reynolds, R-Huntsville, would make a supplemental appropriation of $98 million from the American Rescue Plan Act – State Small Business Credit Initiative Fund to the Alabama Innovation Corporation or other entity so designated by the Department of Finance. The bill passed 103-0. It goes to the Senate.
HB 176, sponsored by Rep. James Lomax, R-Huntsville, bans cities and counties from enacting laws, regulations or ordinances on advanced air mobility and directs the Alabama Department of Transportation to develop a statewide plan to include vertiports, electric aviation charging, and the infrastructure needs of other advances in aviation technology. The bill passed 102-0, and it goes to the Senate.
HB 196, sponsored by Rep. Reed Ingram, R-Pike Road, would authorize the Land Commissioner to sell certain bid-in-land owned by the state by public auction in certain circumstances. The bill passed 103-0. It goes to the Senate.
HB 173, sponsored by Rep. Leigh Hulsey, R- Helena, prohibits the use of the three-cueing system of educational instruction in the curriculum. The bill passed 92-2. It goes to the Senate.
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Senate
SB12, sponsored by Sen. Chris Elliott, R-Josephine, removes certain conditions for a retired elected official receiving benefits from the Teachers’ Retirement System or Employees’ Retirement Systems to serve in another elected position to maintain benefits and full compensation. It passed 32-0. It goes to the House of Representatives.
SB31, sponsored by Sen. Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills, moves the administration of the Distressed Institutions of Higher Education Revolving Loan program to the executive director of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, among other changes. It passed 23-5. It goes to the House of Representatives.
SB95, sponsored by Sen. Vivian Davis Figures, D-Mobile, makes it illegal for people under 21 to possess, use, purchase or transport an electronic battery-powered device capable of dispensing substances to individuals in the form of vapor. It passed 31-0. It goes to the House of Representatives.
SB32, sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, removes a provision that a case must be assigned to the district’s attorney restitution recovery division for when someone’s pension, annuity or retirement allowance benefits are subject to some recovery actions. A vote total was not immediately available on Friday. It goes to the House of Representatives.
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SB72, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, prevents the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners and the Medical Licensure Commission of Alabama from revoking, susping, failing to renew, or taking action against a physician’s license for recommending or prescribing an off-label medical treatment, unless it presents a threat of serious harm. It passed 31-0. It goes to the House of Representatives.
SB114, sponsored by Sen. Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville, continues the Alabama Real Estate Appraisers Board until Oct. 1 2028. A vote total was not immediately available on Friday. It goes to the House of Representatives.
Wednesday, March 6
Rep. Jim Hill, R-Moody, watches the Alabama House of Representatives debate a gambling package on Feb. 15, 2024 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. The House approved a constitutional amendment that would create a state lottery and authorize casino gambling and sports wagering. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)
House
SB 159, sponsored by Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, provides civil and criminal immunity to in vitro fertilization providers and patients, as well as criminal and limited civil immunity to manufactures of goods related to IVF services. The bill passed the House 81-12. It went to the Senate for concurrence.
Senate
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HB129, sponsored by Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, creates a program to allocate up to $7,000 to qualifying students for certain non-public education-related expenses, including private school tuition. The bill passed 23-9. Gov. Kay Ivey signed the bill Thursday.
SB 159, sponsored by Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, provides civil and criminal immunity to in vitro fertilization providers and patients, as well as criminal and limited civil immunity to manufactures of goods related to IVF services. The Senate concurred with House changes 29-1. Gov. Kay Ivey signed the bill that evening.
Thursday, March 7
Rep. Mary Moore, D-Birmingham, asks a question during a debate on an airport authority bill on Feb. 20, 2024 in the Alabama House of Representatives at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)
House
HB 175, sponsored by Cynthia Almond, R-Tuscaloosa, authorizes Tuscaloosa to increase property tax for public school purposes, subject to approval in a special election. The bill passed 18-0. It goes to the Senate.
HB 190, sponsored by Rep. Jim Carns, R- Vestavia Hills, identifies the Personnel Board of Jefferson County as the civil service system of Jefferson County and clarifies designated beneficiaries. The bill passed 25-0. It goes to the Senate.
SB 48, sponsored by Sen. Greg Reed, R- Jasper, requires the posting of classroom curricula on a school website and allows parents or guardians to request information on instructional and supplemental materials used in the classroom. The bill passed 99-3. It goes back to the Senate for concurrence after House changes.
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SB 1, sponsored by Sen. Garlan Gudger, R- Cullman, makes it illegal for someone to knowingly provide an absentee ballot application with pre-filled information, with exceptions for emergency medical care. It would also make it a Class B felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, to provide or receive assistance for help with voting. The bill passed 75-28. It goes back to the Senate for concurrence after House changes.
SB 129, sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, bans the public funding of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and leaves teachers or employees who use “divisive concepts” subject to potential termination. The bill passed 75-28. It goes back to the Senate for concurrence after House changes.
HB 253, sponsored by Rep. Chip Brown, R- Hollinger’s Island, makes the Alabama State Port Authority is a body corporate with the ability to employ non-merit system employees. The bill passed 103-0. It goes to the Senate.
HB 194, sponsored by Rep. Phillip Pettus, R- Killen, exempts purchases made by volunteer fire departments and rescue squads from the requirements of the state procurement code and subjects them to local competitive bid law requirements. The bill passed 103-0. It goes to the Senate.
HB 95, sponsored by Rep. Troy Stubbs, R- Wetumpka, authorizes full-time students to complete required state required assessments through closed browser remote testing. The bill passed 99-2. It goes to the Senate.
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Senate
HB151, sponsored by Rep, Chris Blackshear, R-Smiths Station, which proposed a constitutional amendment to legalize and enforce some forms of gambling in the state. It passed 22-11. It returns to the House of Representatives with changes.
HB152, sponsored by Rep. Chris Blackshear, R-Smiths Station, which is the enabling legislation to create the Alabama Gaming Commission and outlined legalization under HB151, if it passes on the ballot. The bill passed 22-11. It returns to the House of Representatives with changes.
Alabama football fans are invited to a preseason pep rally Aug. 4 at the Tuscaloosa River Market.
The pep rally is part of the annual fall kickoff event hosted by the Tuscaloosa County chapter of the University of Alabama National Alumni Association.
The family friendly event will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the River Market, 1900 Jack Warner Parkway. Tickets, which include a barbecue dinner, cost $30 for adults and $15 for children ages 8 to 12. Children 7 years old and younger will be admitted for free.
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The pep rally will feature live entertainment, a silent auction and a range of family-friendly activities. There will also be a cash bar with wine and beer.
Tickets can be purchased on the chapter’s website, tuscaloosacountyuaalumni.com. Membership in the local alumni chapter is not required for attendance.
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University of Alabama President Peter Mohler and UA baseball coach Rob Vaughn will be part of the festivities.
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Mohler began his duties as UA president on July 21, 2025.
Before being named UA president, Mohler spent nearly 15 years at Ohio State University, where he held senior leadership roles overseeing research, innovation and economic development. He also served as OSU’s acting president, providing leadership during a pivotal period for one of the nation’s largest public universities.
Mohler earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Wake Forest University and a PhD in cell and molecular physiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Duke University Medical Center before joining the faculty at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
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Vaughn has been UA’s head baseball coach for three years, leading the Crimson Tide to the College Baseball World Series in 2026.
The Humble, Texas, native served as head baseball coach at Maryland for five seasons before coming to Tuscaloosa.
Vaughn played collegiate baseball at Kansas State, where his position was catcher.
Alabama begins the 2026 football season on Sept. 5 with a home game against the East Carolina Pirates. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
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Other Alabama home games include Florida State on Sept. 19, South Carolina on Sept. 26, Georgia on Oct. 10, Texas A&M on Oct. 24, Chattanooga on Nov. 21 and Auburn on Nov. 28.
Reach Ken Roberts at ken.roberts@tuscaloosanews.com. To support his work, please subscribe to The Tuscaloosa News.
The Alabama teen charged in a heinous knife attack on his parents in their sleepy private community hissed that he was “gonna kill” his dad as he allegedly stabbed him — as new photos show the blood-soaked front porch where his butchered mom died.
The grisly scene unfolded on home surveillance footage Sunday night along Augustine Drive in the handsome Belforest complex — which captured the 17-year-old threatening his father, while allegedly knifing him.
“You can hear both of them coming out of the house, and there’s like one scream from the mom,” neighbor Shawn Scurry, 51, told The Post Wednesday.
“Then the dad is arguing with the [son] — and when I say arguing, I mean like, ‘Why are you doing this?’
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“He’s basically saying, ‘I don’t want to die. Please stop. No.’ And then he’s repeating, ‘Somebody help me, please, help me’ very loudly,” Scurry said of the clip.
Samantha Baker (left) was allegedly stabbed to death by her 17-year-old son — as her husband, Lance Baker (right), begged the boy to stop the sickening attack. Facebook/Lance Samantha Baker
At one point, the audio captures the son “telling [the dad] he was gonna kill him.”
“Those words are in the video,” she said.
Meanwhile, a large pool of blood stained the front entrance of a neighbor’s home where cops say 37-year-old Samantha Baker was butchered around 9 p.m. Sunday.
Another haunting image exclusively obtained by The Post shows blood splattered and smeared across a glass window overlooking the spot where Samantha was found dead.
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The bloodbath began after Samantha and her 46-year-old husband Lance Baker got into a heated argument with their 17-year-old son over a disciplinary issue inside their family home, Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office Captain Justin Correa told The Post Wednesday.
That’s when the boy — whose name is being withheld by police — turned a kitchen knife on his parents, allegedly stabbing them both “multiple times,” according to Correa.
A large pool of blood stained the front entrance of the Belforest community home in Baldwin County, where cops say Samantha Baker was found dead from multiple stab wounds Sunday night. Obtained by NY PostAnother haunting video clip exclusively obtained by The Post shows blood splattered and smeared across a glass window overlooking the spot where Samantha was found dead. Obtained by NY Post
The parents fled outside in a desperate bid to escape — but the attack continued.
Lance’s spine-chilling screams could be heard as he ran door to door down the block, leaving bloodied handprints on neighbors’ front doors while seeking help — with his son right on his tail, according to the traumatized neighbor.
“It was like fighting off a bee that keeps stinging you,” Scurry said, and claimed that another neighbor’s surveillance camera captured the teen repeatedly stabbing his father outside another nearby home.
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Correa confirmed that doorbell camera footage of the assault had been handed over to police, and said at least “a few” of the neighbors were not home when Lance was looking for help.
Lance only “went to doors where people were on vacation — that’s why they didn’t answer, and that’s why he was becoming helpless,” Scurry claimed.
Scurry, who was home at the time, only became slightly aware of the horror unfolding when she spotted the Bakers’ dog wandering around her front door.
“I walked with the dog back to their house, rang their doorbell. Nobody answered, and I went around to the garage,” she recalled.
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That’s when she heard cries in the distance.
“I heard … ‘Help me.’ I couldn’t find where it was coming from,” Scurry said, adding that she went back into her home after that.
The bloodbath began after Samantha and Lance got into a heated argument with the knife-wielding son over a disciplinary issue, according to authorities. Facebook/Lance Samantha Baker
The teen eventually retreated to his family’s home and called 911, said authorities, who described the attack as an isolated domestic matter.
Cops arrested him at the home without incident, according to Correa, who pushed back on reports that the alleged killer barricaded himself inside the house.
As emergency crews flooded their typically quiet street, Scurry said she stepped outside again and saw Samantha’s body before the coroner arrived.
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“I saw her face down with stab wounds all over her back,” the shaken neighbor said.
Samantha, a realtor, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Lance, a US Army Reserve Battalion Commander with the 1184th Deployment and Distribution Support Battalion in Mobile, was flown to a local hospital in critical condition, according to cops.
Nest camera footage from a neighboring home allegedly captured chilling audio of Samantha’s final moments — along with Lance’s frantic pleas for the teen to drop the knife. Obtained by NY Post
As of Wednesday, the father of two was still in the hospital, where his condition had become stable, Correa said.
The teen, who will be tried as an adult, is facing charges of murder and attempted murder. He is being held in jail on a $1 million bond after his arraignment on Monday.
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The family’s younger teen son was not at the home at the time of the attack, police said.
Jan 8, 2018; Atlanta, GA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back Tony Brown (2) against the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2018 CFP national championship college football game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Mac Jones joined “Bussin With The Boys” and was asked who his craziest teammate ever was, and he went back to his Alabama days to highlight Tony Brown.
Brown is a former Alabama cornerback.
“There’s this guy, Tony Brown,” Jones said. “I don’t know if you guys know him. Look him up on there. His name’s Crazy Tony, but he was a stud at Alabama. He played on that defense with like Daron Payne, like all those guys, Minka (Fitzpatrick), everybody. He played in the league for a little bit. He was the man, like scout team, me and him. Every day, like going at it, like pretty much fighting. He was just crazy, dude. I’d throw a dig route over the middle, and he would just crush our scout team receiver. Like, Mac Hereford… he would go over the middle and Crazy Tony would just crush him. Saban would just look the other way. I’m like, dude, he just got smoked. Like, what are we doing? It’s like same thing, fighting at practice and stuff. But he was a great teammate. He just had his thing on the field where it was like he just blacked out. It wasn’t because he was a bad guy or anything. That’s what he does. He goes and knocks people out.”
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Brown played for Alabama from 2014 to 2017, and he was a part of two National Championship teams. He finished his career at Alabama with 89 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and three interceptions before moving on to the NFL.
Justin Smith is the Managing Editor and Lead Writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine with over 10 years of writing experience & expertise. Smith has consistently delivered high quality, extensively researched information on the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide football team that fans can trust. Smith is official credentialed media with the University of Alabama under Touchdown Alabama Magazine. He is also the Director of Recruiting for Touchdown Enterprises, specializing in scouting and analyzing high school recruits around the nation, specifically focusing on recruits within the state of Alabama.
