From our state house studio in Montgomery.

I'm Todd Stacey.

Welcome to Capital Journal.

It was a pretty wild day in the Alabama legislature.

As the Republican supermajorities in the House and Senate exerted their dominance and muscled through their priority legislation.

We'll start our coverage in the Senate, where Democrats threaten to filibuster the entire day, even up until midnight.

There were different reasons for the dispute, including disagreements over a local Birmingham water and sewer bill and just general opposition t the Republican slate of bills.

In the end, Republicans utilized cloture, a rarely used tool to shut off debate and pass their slate of conservative bills.

You know, I always go back to the sponsor, so.

Senator Chambliss, you're recognized.

Thank you.

This is not about this.

This is the app accountability bill.

Be.

This is not a motion based.

You're not recognized under chapter six.

The children.

This was another red meat package.

I think that Republicans being the supermajority, had to cloture themselves just to get them passed.

We had a calendar that was agreed upon early in the day.

That was basically a calendar that we was, bipartisan and that we all thought we can get out of here by 11 or 12:00 today.

And when they went into the meeting, they came back i with a whole different posture.

And so I would have definitely to talk about the possibility and, and us holding our worst calendars that we said it was going to hold them to.

And, how there are actions and consequences on both sides of the aisle for when things don't go your particular way.

And we understand that.

And obviously I think you all saw that today.

One ke bill passed by the Senate today is legislative legislation aiming to protect children from inappropriate material on cell phones and tablets.

Senate Bill 186 from Senator Clyde Chambliss would require smartphone manufacturers like Apple or Samsung to enable a pornograph and other graphic content filter on any phone or tablet sold in Alabama.

Such filters already exist on phones, but are typically not activated at the point of sale.

The 186 is a filter bill, and it, there is a filter on the on our phones currently, and it simply requires tha filter to be in the on position if the phone is in there, enabled for a child.

The second bill is the app bill, for the App Store, and it requires age verification before you can download certain apps.

Texas, I' told, also passed the app bill 30 to 1 or something like that today or yesterday.

So, the the point is to try to mak it consistent across the states and then hopefully when enough states adopt it, maybe Congress will will adopt it.

And, and we wouldn't hav a different law in every state.

That bill now goes to the House.

And other notable bills passing the Senate today include that companion bill.

Senator Chambliss was just talking about Senate Bill 187 that would put tighter restrictions on App Store providers, including a requirement that they verify the age of users.

Senate Bill five from Senator Chris Elliott, which would overhaul the governing board for the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

Senate Bill 13 from State Senator Gerald Allen, which would require the playing of the National anthem before each school day.

Senate Bill 14 from State Senator Wes Kitchens, which would codify Alabama's new statewide voter database, known as Avid and Senate Bill 158 from state Senator Will Barfoot, which would prohibit the use of foreign national driver's licenses from being used as a form of voter ID.

All those bills now head to the House.

In the House, Republicans also invoked clotur to end a Democratic filibuster.

They took u a slate of conservative bills, including one following the lead of President Donald Trump in renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.

House Bill 247 is sponsored by State Representative David Standridge, who said its purpos is to cut down on the confusion and recognize the executiv order coming out of Washington.

Well, it started with the executive order from the president that renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

And and so, that started the process.

And then there was some confusion, in the state about, do we use the Gulf of Mexico?

Do we use the Gulf of Mexico?

And then when it translated int we need to purchase resources, we need to purchase textbooks, we need to purchase maps, we need to purchase tourism, pamphlets.

Things like that.

Then they needed a clear direction.

And, and so that's the reason I brought the bill.

It's executive order.

It is being use by all the federal agencies now and then some other, entities like Google Maps and Apple Maps.

The House also passed legislation to create a shark attack alert system along the Gulf Coast.

House Bill 437 is named for Lulu Gribbin, the mountain Brook teenager who was attacked by a shark last year, losing a leg and part of her arm.

Lulu has turned her trauma into advocacy and has lobbied for better shark safety measures at the state and federal level.

Lawmakers today paused to honor Lulu and hear from US Senator Katie Britt, who is championin similar legislation in Congress.

So it is trul an honor to be here with you all today for the passage of, House Bill 437.

And I want to thank Representative Faulkner for all of the work, for your leadership, for spearheading this, to make this a reality.

But it's certainly a privilege to be here, to speak directly to Lulu.

Lulu have you have united this state behind a cause in a way that very few people can?

You have taken what, is the unimaginable and shown us how the Lord can turn that into action to save other people's lives.

Your bravery, your resiliency, has not only inspired people in this state, but all across the nation.

I have United States senators coming up to me and asking if they can get on with Louisville, and can they please be the lea on the other side of the aisle?

It's a really incredible moment to see someone like you stand so tall, so brave, and say with grit and resiliency and grace, I'm going to make things better for other people.

So thank you for what you'v taught each and every one of us.

It's an honor to carry Lulu' law in the United States Senate.

We're going to work diligently to get it across the finish line this year, making sure that beachgoers have the information that they need to keep their families safe.

And just on behalf of al the members of the United States Senate we are so proud of your story.

And the wa that you have conducted yourself and inspired people from coast to coast.

We love you and keep going.

This bill allows us to fight fo the safety of our environment.

Only 90 minutes before my accident, another shark attack occurred a few miles down the beach.

This bill will allow us to help future accidents and future shark attacks.

I would like to thank everyone for your support on this bill and I am so grateful.

I would especially like to thank the speaker of the House, Mr. David Faulkner and Katie Britt.

Thank you so much.

This bill means so much to me.

And other notable bills passing the House today include House Bil seven from State Representative Ernie Yarbrough, known as The Lake, and Riley Act.

The bill would allow state and local law enforcement to enter into agreements with federal authorities to help enforce existing immigration laws.

I'll be speaking in more detail about that bill with Mr. Yarbrough later in the show.

House Bill 178, from State Representative Mark Gidley, would require public schools and community college to display the Ten Commandments.

House Bill 67 from State Representative Scott stating and would prohibit public schools or librarie from hosting drag performances.

House Bill 244 from State Representative Mack Butler, would prohibit public school teacher from discussing gender identity or displaying gender ideological materials in the classroom.

And House Bill 165 from State Representative Rick Ream would establish Juneteenth, an official, as an official state holiday.

All of those bills now go to the Senate.

Today kicked off the first ever state agency job fair hosted by the Alabama Department of Workforce and the state Personnel Department.

The job fair connect those seeking work with agencies in need of quality employees.

This is the first event like this of its head ever that anyone knows up to what you're bringing job seeker specifically to state agencies, to where they are looking for opportunities to go to work within state government.

The benefits are strong.

The retirement is impressive.

So there's a lot of reasons to consider state employment.

One of the things that I've been struck b as I've moved around the room, no matter what your interests, it's represented here.

If you're interested in health care, it's Department of Public Health.

If you're intereste in corrections, law enforcement, interested in opportunities with veteran services, issues associated with compute science, topics with Alabama's, different agencies that are associated with what we do in computer science and how that's promoted within the state.

You have every kind of idea.

So whatever you're interested in, it's available in state government.

And those folks are here looking for employers today.

Alabamians want to go to work.

We need a strong workforce.

Increasing the number of folks involved and engaged in the workforce is one of my responsibilities.

So we're doing everythin we can think of to promote our today.

The Energy Institute of Alabam celebrated Lineman Appreciation Day to recognize Alabama's powerline workers for all they do to ensure reliable electric service around the state line.

Workers were recognized from Alabama Power, Alabama Rural Electric Authority, Energy Southeast Electric cities of Alabama Power South, and the Tennessee Valley Authority.

I know firsthand what that means when it thunder or when when the lights flicker, because there were many many times that my grandmother waited on him for a mea and he missed a lot of things.

And I know that each of you have so many sacrifices that you miss in your daily lives with your family to take care of us and the things that you do when we are all in our beds all cozy and we're staying warm, or our refrigerator stay on or internet's still on.

Y'all are out there and it's not a good time for you.

And I just want you to know how much I appreciate you, how much I appreciate your sacrifices.

And on behalf of the Alabama Legislature and the people of the state of Alabama, I just want to say thank you.

If peopl don't have electrical service, we are not really able to help them.

And what we do is meteorologist I've never looked at it as a job.

It's a career.

It's a calling, it's passion and an Alabama.

The accessing weather information can be a life or death thing.

When they see those trucks pull up and they see that power company logo on it, you are inspiring them.

You are telling them there are people looking out for you.

This is going to be all right.

We're the first line of normalcy after a storm got started to get somebody back to.

They lose everything, but they want to be able to charge your phone to call their family, their loved ones.

And that's just a sense of pride that we all take to to come in.

I mean, we leave home our lights are out, kids crying.

Want to know when you're coming home?

And I had to go.

Do I have to go help?

I have to go serve the communit to get their life back normal.

We'll be right back with tonight's guest.

You can watch past episodes of Capital Journal online at Video adaptive.org.

Capital Journal episodes are also available on AP TV's free mobile app.

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When you're driving or on the go with Capital Journal podcast.

Welcome back to Capitol Journal.

Joining me next is stat Representative Ernie Yarbrough.

Representative thanks for coming on the show.

Thank you for having me.

I'm honored to be here.

Well, it's a big day for you.

You passed your bill on the floor, the Lake and Rally Act.

I want to get that to that in a minute.

But first, I don't believe you have been on Capitol Journal before so I was hoping that you could, tell our audience a little bi about yourself and your district that you represent here in the legislature.

Sure.

Yeah.

So, again like you said, Ernie Yarbrough, state rep for House district seven.

So House district seven is northwest Alabama.

So that's a little bit of Morgan County, all of Laurens County, and, a decent portion of Calvert County.

So that district is, I'd say for the most part, very rural farming plays a big part.

And then a lot of our people also, go into the Laurens County are Morgan County for industry, manufacturing type jobs.

So, I probably have just described a fair portion of Alabama, but, you know, but definitely, an area that loves outside rural farming and family family values, is really important to my district.

Sure.

Well let's talk about Lake and Riley.

Act has to do with immigration.

Of course, based on the lake and Riley.

The tragic case out of Georgia.

Just walk me through what this bill does and why it's necessary.

Sure.

Yeah.

So this bill actually, predates Senator Barrett's bill.

I mean, I'm sure folks know it's famous.

That was the first bill that President Trump signed.

But this bill came to my attention, actually, last session, I noticed, you know, because one of the things I try to do is look around.

What other states are doing, as well as listening to my constituents, the things that are important so that I know what legislatio to either bring or get behind.

Right.

And so I thought maybe halfway through the session or so I saw a news article about this Lake and Raleigh act passed out of Georgia.

And and so I got to checking into it.

So this is a great piece of legislation.

And so then I filed it, the made it through one committee.

But we ran out of time and know last session gambling kind of was the big thing.

So, you know, there were just not a lot of time for getting their bills through.

So I pre filed it.

Funny enough, HB seven I could remember the seven in my district So that worked out pretty good.

Had several co-sponsors.

And so moved into this session.

But what Lincoln Raleigh Act does is it actually even though it predates Senator Ritz bill, her bill is fantastic at the federal level, and it actually complement and works wonderfully with her.

So what it does is while her legislation strengthens the federal obligation and duties, what this bill does is it allow state and local law enforcement to enter into an MOU, a memorandum of understanding with the federal government so that our state and local law enforcement, it's optional if they want to, they can help and through the MOU have a structured, relationship with the federal government to help enforce existing immigration laws.

So it doesn't create any new immigration laws.

It just simply says, hey, this is a problem that's gotten so big because of the last several years of just rampant illegal immigration that we not only need the federal, the federal agencies to do their part.

We need our grassroots law enforcement to help them.

So I'm trying to think jus practically how it would work.

So like if, if the Alia, for example, or even a sheriff's office in a county if they enter into one of these, milieus, then if they come across, someone whose area of the country illegally traffic stops, nothing like that, then they would be empowered to apprehend that person, pass them over to Ice.

Or is that kind of the idea?

So the idea is so.

And I know you want t maybe talk about some concerns like people say, well with this be targeting, could it be could it be your profiling?

And the answer is no because this bill is structured in the context of probable cause, right.

The bill actually prohibit detaining someone on that simply on the basi of their illegal alien, status, so that they have to do something.

That's right.

So there's another crim committed, something, you know, again, police use probable cause, their discretion.

Hey, this is not right.

That's illegal.

That's a crime.

Something's not right here.

They engage as they would.

Anybody normally does.

Not.

Show me your papers.

That's right.

No, not at all.

Right.

And so.

So then in the process of following out their their normal course of duties, if they apprehend someone, they're just doing what police do then they are.

This allows them to have a structure process whereby they can check the the immigration or lawful status of that individual with Ice, and they they can't be detained solely on the basis of their, of their illegal alien status or whether they're here lawfully or not.

But if they if they are apprehended in the course of a crime and they then, contact ice and Ice gives an immigration detainer at that point you have to honor that.

Right?

So the whole the whole focus of this bill i that we don't want people here illegally who are committing crimes.

That's the focus of the bill.

It's not, anything other than if you're here illegally and you're committing crimes, then we don't want tha criminal element in our society.

I think that's interesting.

It's important that you, put it like that because so much o this issue can be characterized.

And sometimes it's probably, you know, good reasons for that as, like mass roundups and things like that.

But you all have couched this and other immigration bills as kind of public safety oriented.

Is that fair to say?

Absolutely, yes.

And that's the whole point of it.

I mean, nobody wants to liv in a society where we do that.

Show me your papers kind of thing.

Right.

It's not American.

Obviously America's history, we celebrate immigration, and that's that's a part of our heritage.

But at the same time, we have to recognize, I mean, one of the examples I had on the floor, I had just recently ten examples of horrendous crimes committed by illegal immigrants.

Several of those crimes they had committed petty crimes up to that point, smaller crimes for for like an egregious, violent, terrible act.

And if this had been in place, we would have actually been able to remove them from our communities and pu them, you know, to their country or over to Ice.

And the more violent crimes that they committed would have never happened.

I was going to ask you about that because connect it back to Lake and Riley.

We I mean, remind us of kind of what happened and and why or if a law like this being in place could have would it have prevented it somehow?

I mean, yes.

Okay.

Yeah.

So, like Riley, as everyone knows, a beautifu young lady in Georgia, she was, violently accosted while she was jogging, nursing student she fought for, I think it was ten, 15, 17 minutes.

Fought for her life, before her life was taken from her.

But the the man who, committed this crime, he had already committed several smaller kind of, like, shopliftin kind of crimes up to that point.

And it almost seemed like he was testing the waters, you know, and so he obviously ha a pattern of criminal behavior.

Well, so in this situation, if this bill was in place here or in Georgia, which is why they passed it in Georgia, they could have apprehended him on that first crime of shoplifting.

In that context they could have, through an MOU said, hey, ice is this guy here legally or not?

Nope.

He's not.

And we want you to.

Yeah, we want you to come take him.

So at that point, Ice gives an immigration detainer and then they turn him over to Ice, and Ice removes him as they see fit.

So he he wouldn't have been there, right?

That's right.

Very unlikely, at least, that he would have ever, ever been there.

Okay.

I do want to ask you about concerns, because we've been here befor and in some sense back in 2011, the 20, the, House Bill 56, it was passed back then with the intention of it being the toughest immigration law in the country.

Probably was.

But a lot of that got scaled back by the courts, some by the legislature itself, in terms of it found to be unworkable, unconstitutional, some of it.

Has that come up at all in terms of the, discussions over this bill, are you concerned at all that the, you know, the courts might see this as an overreach of some kind, or are you confident in its constitutionality?

I'm confident I'm I think it's a normal thing for the federal governmen to have a working relationship.

Are to have a law enforcement state or local work with them on certain cases or situations.

And again, this this law doesn't create any new immigration laws.

It is simply, a cooperative help to enforce laws that are already on the books.

And again, that the individual cannot be detained longer than 48 hours, which is standard, detaining time.

And they can't be detained solely upon the basis of their immigration status.

So, I think I think it's a good law.

I think it's sound.

And I'm very optimistic it will stand the test of the courts.

What about the Senate?

It's got to go upstairs to the Senate.

Tom, I'm going public.

What are the prospects up there?

Well, I have a senator.

Sam Gauvin is planning to carry the bill.

I've been told by the pro tem gauger that he is in support of the bill.

And so, I'm cautiously I guess I should use the phrase cautiously optimistic that we will have passage in both chambers.

I mean, the bill had the bill had tremendous bipartisan support, in DC, like like any other Senator Rich, there was like 46 House and I think 16 senators, including ours.

Democrats.

Yeah.

You know who votes more figures there.

So both.

That's right, that's right.

And so and this bill and this process, this bill through three committees has taken multiple amendments from both sides of the aisle.

Right.

And so there's this bill has been worked in good faith.

And all both parties agree that there's a nee that needs to be addressed here.

So I, you know, I'd say I'm cautiously optimistic that we can get this across the finish line, kind of staying on this issue.

I'm just curious because you mentioned representing a largel a big farming population, right.

An industry that over the years has depended on seasonal immigration and things like that, when maybe when the at the federal level, when they can get this under control.

Obviously the shif has been incredible in terms of focusing on enforcement.

Are you one that hope that Congress can do something about just the the laws itsel on immigration and kind of fix the system that has led to all this broken border and everything?

Yeah, I mean, I think on the one it's important like a home, you know, I have walls and doors and locks on my home.

But at the same time, we love having people in our home.

Right?

Hospitality is a big part of what my wife always says you know, build a longer table, bring more people around.

So it doesn't mean I don't have locks to me.

I don't have walls, don't mean I don't have means of self-defense, you know?

So I think it's important that we have structured port and gates and pathways of entry.

But within those ways and means to acknowledge, hey, we need seasonal workers.

Hey, we need X, Y and Z, right?

That' a, that's an important part of not only of our economy, but I think to establish a healthy relationship with other nations.

So, I fully support it.

I think it's wonderful.

And so I think that I your point hopefully it will help us while we want to identify the, the illegal criminal elements and remove them, we at the same tim do need to focus on maximizing legal and available avenues so that we not only remain that country that says, hey, give me your poor, give me your hungry, give me your tired.

But also recognizing that there's an important economic relationship that I think it helps both countries.

Yeah.

We're at a time.

Well, congratulations on passage of your bill.

We'll be watching it going forward.

And thanks for your time.

Thank you so much.

Glad to be here.

We'll be right back.

You can watch past episodes of Capital Journal online any time at Alabama Public Television's website.

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Click on the online video tab on the main page.

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From its establishment in 1969 by the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, also known as the Swampers.

Until the mid 1980s, the Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Sheffield, Colbert County was one of the most sought after recording studios in the nation.

Muscl Shoals played a prominent role in American popular music, both as a production facility and as a stylistic embodiment of southern regional music.

The studio also held a unique place in the narrative of soul music in the early 1970s, from the Rolling Stones to Aretha Franklin.

Performers who recorded at the studio represent some of the most notable and popular recording artists of the time.

The remarkable consistency of the music created by the Swampers is a testament to the synergy of the players and their dedication to the art of recording.

The studio's legacy, which is internationally recognized, testifies to music's ability to bring people together.

Muscle Shoal Sound Studio was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 2nd, 2006.

That's our show for tonight.

Thanks for watching.

We'll be back tomorrow nigh for our Week in Review episode.

That's 730 here on Alabama Public Television for our Capital Journal team.

I'm Todd Stacey.

We'll see you next time.