There may not be any hot button issues in the Alabama Legislature this session.

According to Sen. Josh Carnley, R-Ino, the big bill that was signed into law last week was the “What is a Woman Act.” Carnley said the bill gave concrete legal definition to “man,” “woman,” “boy,” “girl,” “father,” “mother,” “male,” “female,” and “sex” to the state code. Gov. Kay Ivey signed the bill into law on Friday. The bill follows on the heels of President Donald Trump’s executive order that there are only two sexes, male and female. 

Carnley said immigration is a big issue with Trump and said there were several bills that were sent to the House for consideration that dealt with immigration. One bill allowed for the collecting of DNA and fingerprints from non-citizens who were arrested. The second bill addresses the concealment or smuggling of illegal immigrants and the final bill dealt with out-of-state driver’s licenses. Carnley said Alabama requires proof of citizenship before a driver’s license is issued. He said some states will issue driver’s licenses to non-citizens. He said this bill prevented people from moving in from another state and transferring a non-citizen’s driver’s license to Alabama. 

Carnley said the biggest political battle in Montgomery this year is likely to be between heavyweights Alfa and Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Carnley said Alfa is proposing legislation that would enable it to introduce healthcare plans for its members. BCBS is opposing the legislation, Carnley said. 

As far as budgets are concerned, Carnley said the Education Trust Fund Budget remained in good shape. But, he said the General Fund Budget would need a little tightening. He said the general fund is still in good shape for this year, but he said legislators would have to keep an eye open for next year. Carnley said federal COVID funding had dried up and costs and expenses were up across the board. 

Carnley said he didn’t expect to see any additional changes to the In Vitro Fertilization bill passed last year. In 2024, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos were “children” under Alabama Law. That ruling caused IVF clinics across the state to cease operations. The legislature passed a bill to address the issue last March. At the time, several lawmakers thought the problem might need to be addressed again this session. 

“I haven’t heard a lot about IVF,” Carnley said. “There were some ideas [last year] that there might be some federal legislation passed we would need to be cognizant of. So, we’re waiting to see what happens on a federal level. What we did last year solved the problem, I don’t think we’ll address it again unless something else comes up.”

As far as a statewide lottery or legalizing gambling, Carnley said he didn’t think that would be addressed this year. 

“I don’t think we’ll see a gambling bill this year,” Carnley said. “It could be that someone will bring one, but I don’t think it’d pass. Gambling is just so divisive. If you counted the votes, a lottery would pass. It’s where the money goes that is the problem. You might have two people that agree on a lottery, but don’t agree on where the money goes. So that ‘yes’ vote becomes a ‘no.’ Everybody wants the lottery, but nobody can agree on the money.”