Song of the session

I guess in Alabama, it ain’t over till Randy Owen sings.

And that’s alright with us.

Tuesday was the final day of the state’s legislative session. A handful of of anticipated bills were given final approval by lawmakers and sent to Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk, and the lead singer of legendary country music band Alabama broke into a little “My Home’s In Alabama” while being honored for his work as a musician and humanitarian.

Among the bills poised to be signed into law by the governor, as reported by AL.com’s Mike Cason:

• One that makes it illegal to hold a cellphone during certain moments driving. Not texing or playing Wordle or giving this podcast five stars, but simply holding the phone while changing lanes without using a turn signal, swerving, or driving an any impaired sort of way.
• Another that exempts overtime pay from state income taxes. That one had been amended to add a $25 million cap on the exemptions that could be claimed, but on Tuesday the governor proposed an amendment to take the cap right back off. The legislature went for it.

Some other more contentious measures died on Tuesday, including the bill to make it a crime to help people with their absentee ballots, and another that would’ve cracked down on the sale of vaping products to those under 21.

The times they are a-changin’

Nick Saban hasn’t lost at The Swamp at the University of Florida since his first season coaching at LSU.

Perhaps in search of a greater challenge, he’s heading to the other swamp — Washington D.C.

AL.com’s Mark Heim reports that the coach is part of a group from the SEC that will lobby Congress for federal help regulating NIL. That’s the money players are able to make of their names, images and likenesses while still in college.

The hope is that if the feds helped regulate NIT, they might be able to create a more balanced system.

He said before leaving he doesn’t believe the system, as it is, works very well as far as fostering a competitive balance.

Rollin’ on the river

You can see a new cruise ship along the Tennessee River this week.

A new American Cruise Lines riverboat is making a cruise from Chattanooga to Nashville, reports AL.com’s William Thornton.

The American Serenade made its Christening cruise in April in the Lower Mississippi River.

It was in Decatur Tuesday and also will be making stops in Florence and Paducah, Kentucky, before arriving at Nashville, then turning around and cruising back to Chattanooga. It has state rooms up to 650 square feet in size. It also has a fitness center and lounges, so you’re taken care of no matter your desired level of relaxation.

Still farming

Here are the top five Alabama counties with the most farmland, according to Stacker (county’s most common crop in parenthesis):

• 1. Limestone 164,873 acres (soybeans)
• 2. Houston 149,744 (cotton upland)
• 3. Lawrence 147,701 (fescue tall grass)
• 4. Dallas 137,238 (timber)
• 5. Geneva 119,792 (bahia grass)

On this date

Born in 1987, Oscar-winning filmmaker Daniel Scheinert of Birmingham.

More Alabama news

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