State lawmakers discuss state issues affecting Limestone County — such as prisons, gasoline tax and the lottery — at a legislative wrap-up Tuesday at the Athens-Limestone Public Library. Pictured, from left, are Rep. Lynn Greer, Sen. Bill Holtzclaw and Rep. Danny Crawford.

Editor’s note: This the second and final report on the Greater Limestone County Chamber of Commerce’s legislative wrap-up held Tuesday at Athens-Limestone Public Library.

Despite the controversy surrounding the issue of Sunday sales in the city of Athens, State Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, said he was proud to have been associated with the measure.

“I don’t know if it’s a good thing or bad thing but we passed that bill and carried it into the senate,” Melson said Tuesday at the Greater Limestone County Chamber of Commerce’s 2017 Legislative Wrap-Up at the Athens-Limestone Public Library. “The city of Athens has the right to decide about Sunday sales.”

State Rep. Lynn Greer, R-Florence, also signed the bill. “It should be a local option,” he said.

Alcohol sales was just one of several issues discussed by the lawmakers. Each revisited bills they were proud to see pass and lamented those that failed.

Land irrigation tax credit bill

Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, is proud of the land irrigation tax credit bill because it allows area farmers to access to the Tennessee River to irrigate their farmland. He’s also proud of the direct pay bill, allowing Alabamians to bypass traditional insurance and see physicians and dentists who will let them pay up front or pay a monthly fee.

“This would allow doctors to contract with families (who can) pay for a range of coverage for unlimited visits with no copay,” he said, adding this bill can help those who can’t afford private insurance plans.

Orr said the direct pay option wouldn’t cover catastrophic coverages, but if families had access to preventative care, it may cut down on hospital visits.

Tax-free holiday

Parents and students in Alabama traditionally took advantage of the tax-free holiday the first weekend of August, but lawmakers moved it up to July 21-23. Melson said he supported the bill because the closer the holiday got to the start of school, the less shoppers took advantage of it. He said moving the holiday up would help retailers.

Fair Justice Act

Greer is proud of the Fair Justice Act, which is designed to speed up the appeals process for death row inmates.

“If you get (the) death (penalty) in Alabama, it won’t take 30 years to execute,” he said. “We’re going to do it in 10-13 years. This will save tax payers millions and millions of dollars.”

Greer used the case of a man recently executed whose crime was committed 35 years ago.

“It’s not fair to victims and it’s not fair to the taxpayers,” he said.

Right to Life

State Rep. Danny Crawford, R-Athens, spoke enthusiastically about the Right to Life bill, which he supported. Voters will now choose whether they want it written in the state Constitution that Alabama has the option to end abortion access if Roe v. Wade is ever overturned.

Autism bill and midwifery bill

This year it became legal for Alabama mothers to have a midwife assist with a home delivery rather than go to a hospital, and behavioral therapy for autistic children and adults is now a mandated insurance coverage.

Sen. Bill Holtzclaw, R-Madison, described both laws as “game changers.”

“They’re game changers because grassroots efforts won over big business,” he said.

Limestone County is a border county, so women who wanted to have their babies at home or out of a hospital setting were driving to Tennessee where it’s legal to do so.

Melson hopes the midwife bill works out for mothers and babies, but his main problem with it was the potential risks nurses, doctors and hospitals face when a home birth goes wrong.

“I wanted to make sure when trouble hits fan, nurses, hospitals and doctors aren’t sitting near a lawsuit,” he said. “I don’t mind women having babies at home — it’s not that I care if people wear motorcycle helmets or not, it’s so the rest of us don’t have to pick up payment while they stay in rehab. I don’t want to pay the rescue squad.”

For those on the autism spectrum, Holtzclaw said they deserve for their therapy to be covered by insurance.

“If we catch it early, it’s a game changer and that’s what it’s all about,” he said. “We are one of four states that don’t have this. We’re not breaking ground, we should’ve done this all along.”

Melson said he had mixed feelings about the autism bill.

“Obviously it’s a terrible problem and we’re going to see more and more cases diagnosed,” he said. “It was right thing to do but I had mixed feelings.”

Melson said he felt like lawmakers gave Blue Cross Blue Shield (of Alabama) a hard time on the issue.

“Blue Cross offered coverage to companies with 50 or more employees, but companies weren’t buying the coverage,” he said.

Bills that didn’t pass

In addition to talking about the bills that passed, lawmakers were asked to discuss the session’s failures. Crawford was disappointed many of the bills he sponsored were short lived.

“It was a learning experience and an aggravating experience because so many bills I sponsored died every week,” he said. “It’s aggravating that you can’t get great bills through. The posture of what’s going on around the country, we’re seeing it at the state level as well. It’s unfortunate.”

Crawford said the failed bill preventing water authorities from having to make a tax exemption request with each project slows progress and adds an extra expense.

Holtzclaw said budgets were frustrating, as was the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board levying a five percent tax increase per bottle of alcohol sold. The price increase will take effect on Nov. 1. Lawmakers have approved budget language to direct $6 million of the expected money to district attorneys and $2.2 million to Alabama’s court system.

“I don’t discount the district and courts need funding, but an appointed board is not accounted to you the people,” he said. “We let a board raise a fee. Our job as legislators is to tell you why we raised a tax. Now it doesn’t matter. What should worry you is what’s next.”

State Rep. Phil Williams, R-Huntsville, was disappointed to see that a sanctuary campus bill didn’t pass. The bill would have blocked state funding to Alabama public colleges that chose not to follow federal and state immigration laws.

Williams used the example that if the University of Alabama Birmingham decided it was a sanctuary campus, its state funding could go to Athens State University. He doesn’t know if lawmakers will see the bill again next session.

A bill allowing the Alabama Department of Human Resources access to inspect faith-based daycare passed the House, but didn’t pass the Senate. Melson said he didn’t support it because he felt like faith-based individuals took care of children and put them in a structure they’re comfortable with.

“In my district, I wouldn’t support that as it was written,” he said. “It put in requirements most of these (daycares) couldn’t follow.”

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.