Guns, Abortion and School Flexibility--State House GOP Leaders Announce 2013 Plans
By: Megan Hunter
Updated: January 17, 2013
The Alabama House GOP laid out its plans for the 2013 legislative session.
Guns, women's rights, and school flexibility were all among the GOP's top proposals for the next session's agenda.
Leading the charge, speaker of the house Mike Hubbard said these proposals come at a time when the federal government needs a reminder that Alabama will "dare to defend our rights."
"We see an ever encroaching federal government that some of us believe is unconstitutionally out of control. It's up to us. We are the last line of defense for the people of Alabama," said Hubbard, R-Auburn.
Some of the proposals House GOP leaders want to push include The Women's Health and Safety Act, which deal with abortions and will "set mandatory standards for nursing care and post-operational care for follow up visits and establish severe penalties for non-compliance."
Also on the list, The Alabama Firearms Protection Amendment, which would "require courts to use strict judicial scrutiny in evaluating state laws that infringe on the right to bear arms."
"We can't foresee what the federal government may or may not do in the future," said Hubbard, "so we are making it very clear that we intend to defend our citizen's rights to bear arms."
The agenda also included The Local Control School Flexibility Act, which will "allow local school systems to request flexibility from certain state statutes."
Speaker Hubbard said this proposal was included in last year's charter school bill, but there are no charter school amendments in this act.
Other items on the agenda this year are an act that would allow employers to opt out of the contraceptive coverage mandate under Obamacare, and a bill that requires the state to pay back an estimated $437 million borrowed from the State Trust Fund last year.
