‘Alabama Values’ will be GOP lawmakers’ focus in 2025 legislative session, but what does that mean?

The Alabama House Republican caucus on Monday announced what it called the “Alabama Values” agenda for the legislative session, which starts next week.

The caucus, which holds three-fourths of the seats in the House, did not put specific bills in the agenda but instead listed what it said were principles, conservative issues, and initiatives that it will support.

“The ‘Alabama Values’ name represents the conservative beliefs and values that most Alabamians embrace, but, at the same time, it also represents the morals and principles that we ‘value’ as a people,” House Majority Leader Scott Stadthagen of Hartselle said in a news release.

“Our caucus members stand unanimous in support of this agenda, and we look forward to promoting these conservative ideas and beliefs throughout the upcoming session and beyond.”

House Democrats are scheduled to release their agenda on Tuesday.

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A committee chaired by Reps. Kerry “Bubba” Underwood, R-Tuscumbia, and James Lomax, R-Huntsville drafted the GOP agenda.

They said Republican members brought forward too many quality bills to list, so they decided to compile the list of principles and what the caucus said were the reasons supporting those.

Work ethic and job creation. This includes bills and initiatives to increase Alabama’s labor force participation. Alabama’s labor force participation rate was 57.6% as of November, lower than the national rate at 62.5% and among the lowest in the nation. The rate is the percentage of people in the working-age population who are employed or seeking jobs.

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Border protection. Policies that discourage illegal immigrants from coming to Alabama and to fix damage caused by what the caucus said were irresponsible open border policies of the last four years.

Honest elections. Block efforts to repeal election protection laws and continue to add measures to keep elections honest.

Public safety. Work with local and state law enforcement to provide needed resources and supplement efforts to combat crime while preserving the fundamental gun rights that allow our citizens to protect themselves.

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Public education. Funding and expanding public education programs that produce desired results, addressing programs that fall short, and continuing to provide teachers and administrators with the classroom resources they need to do their jobs effectively.

Military and veterans. Programs and policies that ease the transition of military families locating in Alabama, provide them support while living here, and encourage them to remain once their service ends.

Innocent life and families. Commitment to pro-life policies, including support for non-profit agencies that provide services to infants, children, and families.

Common sense. Push back against “woke” policies and radical efforts that attack our morals and work to change the fundamental beliefs that make our state such a special place to live, work, worship, and raise families.

Besides Underwood and Lomax, others on the agenda committee were Reps. Cynthia Almond of Tuscaloosa, Susan DuBose of Hoover, Steve Hurst of Munford, Jamie Kiel of Russellville, Paul Lee of Dothan, Rhett Marques of Enterprise, Marcus Paramore of Troy, Kenneth Paschal of Pelham, Shane Stringer of Citronelle, and Randall Shedd of Fairview.

Gov. Kay Ivey will announce her legislative priorities during the State of the State address on Feb. 4, the first day of the session.

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