The Alabama Senate met Tuesday for the first time since Republicans used their supermajority status to prevent Democratic senators from speaking on bills.

Republicans hold 27 of the 34 Senate seats but normally allow Democrats to use the rules to speak in long turns at the mic.

That did not happen on Thursday. as Republicans slammed through about about a half-dozen bills, passing cloture petitions to cut short debate and force votes on the legislation.

On Tuesday, the Senate was back to more of its usual procedures.

”Last week, Republicans said we need to pass some bills and reclaim our time because the Democrats had been taking a lot of the time over the last few months,“ Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, said.

”You saw today it got back to normal.”

The Senate moved quickly Tuesday to pass about seven uncontested local bills that affect only one county.

They also passed a bill by Sen. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville, that would require local school boards to establish a policy to allow students to take elective courses on religious topics offered by private organizations off-campus.

Democratic senators asked questions about the bill but did not try to delay the vote. After about a half-hour, it passed on a 25-6 vote.

The bill goes to the House but figures to face resistance there.

The House Education Policy Committee rejected a similar bill three weeks ago on a 9-4 vote.

The next meeting day for the Senate will be Thursday.

It could be a contentious day.

Gudger said the Senate is likely to take up a bill to transform the Birmingham Water Works Board into a regional system, despite opposition from city officials.

The bill is carried by Republican senators who represent the Birmingham suburbs and opposed by Democratic senators who represent the city.

It won approval in a committee after a public hearing on Tuesday.

The bill, by Sen. Dan Roberts, R-Mountain Brook, would reduce the BWWB from nine members to five and reduce Birmingham’s members from six to one.

Sponsors call the bill a move to reform the utility after years of complaints about customer service, excessive spending and missing representation from customers outside Birmingham and Jefferson County.

Opponents of the bill called it a hostile takeover of an asset that belongs to the people of Birmingham.

“Obviously, we have a little bit of tension in the State House overall with the Birmingham Water Works bill,” Gudger said. “We’re dealing on both sides of the aisle with that particular issue.”