Steve Flowers: No real drama in 2025 legislative session

As this year’s session of the Alabama Legislature ends, we talked with Action 8 Political Analyst Steve Flowers about what was accomplished.

Flowers says it was largely free of drama and surprises.

Flowers says it was a good session, especially because the budgets were passed on time and without much controversy.

He doesn’t foresee a need for a special session, because Gov. Kay Ivey’s major proposals were approved.

Some of the bills that are now laws are a state ban on machine gun conversion devices, also known as “Glock switches.” There is already a federal ban in place, but prosecutors wanted a law at the state level as well.

Paid parental leave for state employees and teachers has been passed and signed, giving new mothers eight weeks of leave, and fathers two weeks.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is now under the control of the governor, instead of a board, which now only has an advisory role.

A classroom ban on cell phones in public schools has also been signed into law.

The one perennial issue that some support is gambling, either as a lottery or full-blown casinos, or both, an idea that went virtually nowhere this year.

“They brought that gambling bill in halfway through the session. I thought it had a chance, but they quickly put the stop on that because there was just too much on their plate and too much going on,” Flowers said.

Next year is a state election year, with the session starting in January so that lawmakers have more time on the campaign trail.
Flowers says that usually means they won’t want to tackle controversial issues just before facing the voters.