Alabama is making waves as it moves to become the first state in the U.S. with an Amber Alert-style system for shark attacks, after the state Senate unanimously passed legislation on Thursday.

The bill, HB437—dubbed “Lulu’s Law”—now heads to Gov. Kay Ivey, who says she’s ready to make it official and sign it into law.

“Lulu’s Law has received final passage by the Alabama Legislature and now heads to my desk,” Ivey said in a post on X, shortly after the Senate approved “Lulu’s Law” by unanimous vote. “I’m ready to sign it into law and keep Alabama’s beaches even safer.”

Despite bipartisan support, Democratic lawmakers pushed to broaden the alert system. Sen. Vivian Figures, D-Mobile, proposed an amendment that would trigger alerts for “confirmed spottings” of sharks—not just attacks.

Figures, who pushed to have the bill amended, said she wanted to add extra protection to avoid any similar attacks like the one that occurred to Lulu Gribbin last June off Rosemary Beach in Florida.

Gribbin is the Mountain Brook teen who was bitten by a shark and lost her right leg and left hand, and who has served as the inspiration behind the nation’s first shark alert system. The attack occurred about 100 miles east of the Alabama state line, and about two hours after another shark attack happened a few miles away.

“I think if we can prevent a shark from biting the first person so nothing happens to what happened to (Gribbin), then we’ve done everything we can,” Figures said while urging for consideration of her amendment.

Gribbin, at the Statehouse last month, spoke in favor of the legislation before the Alabama House unanimously approved it.

Sen. Dan Roberts, R-Mountain Brook, said that previous legislation had considered a broader approach that would have allowed for an Amber Alert if a shark was spotted within the vicinity of a beach. He said that issuing Amber Alerts for simply spotting sharks was a step too far.

“My suggestion is we implement this, see how it goes, and if we need to refine it in the future,” Roberts said.

Figures wanted to defend her amendment and have it voted on, but was not allowed to speak by Sen. Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville, who was filling in as the Senate President Pro Tem at the time. Givhan said that Figures’ amendment was “non-debatable.”

Figures, frustrated with not being allowed to continue, responded, “Well, that goes to say Republicans don’t want to protect our beaches in this great state of Alabama by at least allowing (an Amber Alert) for the sighting of sharks. If you come to Alabama beaches, we’ll let everyone know there are sharks in the water once they have bitten (someone) and lost a limb or more.”

She later told AL.com that her amendment would have required the alert to go off whenever someone like a lifeguard or marine police — an official authority — spotted a shark, not just someone from the public who may misidentify one.

The previous legislation introduced this spring, in the form of HB198, would have set off the alert whenever there was a report of a shark spotted close to a shoreline, or if one was believed to be posing an “imminent danger” to anyone.

Related content: Shark alert system in Alabama: How will it work without causing beach panic?

The concern with the original bill from officials was that sharks could be misidentified or their proximity to a shoreline miscalculated, triggering unnecessary alerts.

The approved legislation only allows for the Amber Alert once there is an unprovoked shark attack of someone within “close proximity to a shoreline or coastline.”

It remains unclear whether the Amber Alert will be issued if there is a shark attack in Florida.

If the alert is concentrated on attacks off the Alabama coast, it is unlikely to go off. According to the International Shark Attack file administered by the Florida Museum of Natural History, there have only been 10 confirmed shark attacks in Alabama waters along the state’s 53 coast miles over the past 187 years. Florida, with over 1,350 miles of coastline, has the highest at 942.

Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, said he also wanted the legislation changed to allow for the alerts if there was a confirmed shark spotting. He also said he was concerned that even with the new warning, people will still get into the water.

Singleton cited that visitors will often ignore beach warning flags and still enter the water even if there are double red flags flying, which instructs beachgoers that the waters are closed.

“I’m for this and whatever will help save someone’s life,” Singleton said, calling the alert another “tool in the toolbox.”

He added, “I wish people would start thinking for themselves. Even an Amber Alert won’t help people who just don’t want to adhere to the warnings at the beach.”

The legislation establishes the system for Mobile and Baldwin counties through the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

IPAWS is an integrated gateway through which an authorized public safety entity— a local emergency management agency —may alert the public to emergencies such as a wildfire or an AMBER alert for a missing child.

The alerts can be “geofenced,” which means the alerts will be confined to a restricted geographic area such as the beaches.

The legislation also says the development and implementation of the alert system would be through a committee of experts and agencies. They include, among others, the Alabama Emergency Management Agency, the EMAs in Mobile and Baldwin counties, and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

The Alabama system, once implemented, could also serve as a model for other coastal states like Florida. Few areas of the country have any kind of system for alerting the public about sharks. Hawaii state officials maintain a real-time shark incident map. In Cape Cod, Mass., there are beach warning flags that warn of shark sightings.