MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Senate Pro Tem Greg Reed (R-Jasper) today said that the Senate and House entered session with three priority pieces of legislation to pass for the people of Alabama, and as of today, all three of those bills have cleared the legislature.

Working closely with the governor and the House of Representatives, the Senate identified three pieces of priority legislation to swiftly pass to provide Alabamians with much-needed economic relief:

• Legislation to provide businesses, nonprofits, LLCs, health care providers, educational entities, churches, governmental entities, and cultural institutions operating in this state, as well as individuals associated with these groups, legal protection from frivolous lawsuits related to the pandemic;
• Legislation to ensure that COVID-relief funds received from the federal government were exempt from state taxes;
• An economic incentives bill to recruit jobs, businesses and economic opportunity to the state of Alabama.

“These are trying times for many across our state, and the legislature, working with the governor, identified these three pieces of priority legislation to help Alabamians recover from the economic hardships endured throughout this pandemic,” Reed said.

Reed continued: “I am proud to say that the legislature, as of today, has accomplished our goal for the people of Alabama to pass each of these critical, priority pieces of legislation in the first two weeks of the legislative session. Alabamians expect these kinds of results from their representatives in the legislature, and we have delivered. I appreciate my colleagues in the Senate and the House, as well as the governor’s support and leadership, as we delivered these results for the people of our state.

“While these have been a strong first two weeks of session, we still have a lot of important work ahead of us. I look forward to continuing the bipartisan collaboration we have seen over the past few weeks as we continue to deliver results to the people of Alabama,” Reed said. 

“We are off to a considerable start here in the legislative session, and I am pleased with the work that has taken place not only among the Senate Republican caucus, but also across the aisle to deliver significant results for the people of Alabama,” said Majority Leader Clay Scofield. “There is certainly much work left to be done, and I am confident we will continue to focus our efforts on accomplishing successful results for Alabamians.”