Alabama lawmakers return to Montgomery for the annual legislative session next week.

For many, that will mean setting aside time from another occupation.

There are seven lawyers among the 34 members of the Alabama Senate. That’s the most common profession, unless you count business owner.

About a dozen senators report owning one or more companies.

The Senate includes a handful of full-time and part-time farmers, two doctors, two realtors, two insurance agents, an accountant, a banker, and a civil engineer.

That information comes from the statements of economic interest lawmakers and other public officials file with the Alabama Ethics Commission.

There are 11 senators who did not work for compensation other than their legislative job, according to their statements.

The Alabama Constitution limits annual legislative sessions to 30 meeting days within 105 calendar days, or 15 weeks.

But senators say their responsibilities are year-round. The state is divided into 35 Senate districts (there is one vacant seat). There are about 143,000 people in each district, give or take 5%. And some reach out to their senators when they have a problem.

“A lot of times it can be seven days a week, especially for the district that I represent,” said Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove. “People call me about things that are not state issues. But they don’t want to hear from me that that’s not state issues. So, I have to follow through.”

Coleman, with 22 years in the Legislature, also has a law practice.

Coleman also works as a consultant for the Judge U.W. Clemon Center for Economic and Social Justice at Miles College, where she has taught for many years. When her contract with Miles ends in June, she will become a part-time municipal judge for the city of Birmingham.

“I get phone calls about Social Security issues,” Coleman said. “And it doesn’t matter what time it is. Phone calls about trains being left on the tracks, especially in underserved communities where people cannot get through. I get phone calls about fires, flooding, any other natural disasters.

“So, if you are the type of legislator like I am that is deeply rooted and connected to the community, it is indeed a full-time job. But I’m not complaining. It’s what I signed up for.”

While Coleman’s district is contained within Jefferson County, other districts in more sparsely populated areas cross into several counties.

Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, represents District 22, which takes in mostly rural areas across four counties in southwest Alabama. Albritton, who is retired from the U.S. Navy, was elected to the Senate in 2014. He is a lawyer, although he stopped his active practice in 2016.

Albritton is chairman of the Senate’s General Fund budget committee, one of the most demanding assignments. But he said all legislators have a full workload.

“Even a regular, normal, run-of-the-mill freshman legislator, has got work to do within the district,” Albritton said.

At one time, Albritton said his district touched seven counties and included 11 school boards.

“You’ve got to keep up with them,” Albritton said. “It’s a lot of travel involved. It might be a part-time job, but it ain’t no 35-hour-a-week thing.”

Legislators receive an annual salary based on the median household income in the state. The salary is adjusted annually by the State Personnel Board. This year it is $62,212.

Here are summaries of what Alabama senators do for a living, with most of the information taken from the statements of economic interest filed for 2023, the most recent on file.

Officials do not report exactly how much money they make but report their total combined household income in ranges of $50,000 to $150,000, $150,000 to $250,000, and $250,000 or more.

• Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, did not report working for compensation other than his legislative work, although he maintains his law license. Albritton reported a total combined household income of $150,000 to $250,000.
• Sen. Gerald Allen, R-Cottondale. Allen owns a business, CASHCO Marketing. He reported a total combined household income of $150,000 to $250,000.
• Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Montgomery, is an attorney. He reported total combined household income of $150,000 to $250,000.
• Sen. Billy Beasley, D-Clayton, did not report working for compensation other than his legislative work. Beasley has been a pharmacist for more than 50 years. He reported a total combined household income of $50,000 to $150,000.
• Sen. Lance Bell, R-St. Clair County, is an attorney who works for a law firm in Pell City. Bell is a municipal judge for Ashville, Childersburg, Ohatchee, Ragland, and Riverside, and a prosecutor for Pell City. Bell reported a total combined household income of more than $250,000.
• Sen. Tom Butler, R-Madison County, is a pharmacist. Butler did not report working for compensation other than his legislative work. He reported income from Butler Farm. He reported a total combined household income of $150,000 to $250,000.
• Sen. Josh Carnley, R-Coffee County, is owner and president of SanBuck Insurance and owns and operates a farm. He reported a total combined household income of more than $250,000.
• Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville, is a civil engineer who owns Chambliss Engineering. He reported a total combined household income of $50,000 to $150,000.
• Sen. Donnie Chesteen, R-Geneva, did not report working for compensation other than his legislative work. He is the former head football coach and athletic director at Geneva High School and a retired pharmaceutical sales representative for Bristol-Myers Squibb. Chesteen reported a total combined household income of $50,000 to $150,000.
• Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove, is an attorney. Coleman is a consultant at Miles College, where she has taught for many years. She has been appointed as a part-time municipal judge for the city of Birmingham, a job she expects to begin in June. Coleman reported a total combined household income of $50,000 to $150,000.
• Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, did not report working for compensation other than her legislative work. Coleman-Madison is the former Americans with Disabilities Act compliance administrator for the city of Birmingham. Coleman reported a total combined household income of $50,000 to $150,000.
• Sen. Chris Elliott, R-Baldwin County, is a business owner of Elliott Development LLC and Compline LLC. Elliott reported a total combined household income of more than $250,000.
• Sen. Vivian Davis Figures, D-Mobile, did not report working for compensation at any job that took more than one-third of her time other than her legislative work. Figures reported a total combined household income of $150,000 to $250,000.
• Sen. Sam Givhan, R-Madison County, is a real estate attorney. Givhan reported a total combined household income of more than $250,000.
• Sen. Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, is the owner of Southern Accents Architectural Antiques. Gudger reported a total combined household income of $150,000 to $250,000.
• Sen. Kirk Hatcher, D-Montgomery, is a Head Start director. Hatcher reported a total combined household income of $150,000 to $250,000.
• Sen. Jay Hovey, R-Auburn, works for Auburn Bank. Hovey reported a total combined household income of $150,000 to $250,000.
• Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Centre, is founder and owner Deep South Coffee Factory, a craft coffee roasting company, and is a shareholder in Paul Jennings Farms, a family cattle business named after his grandfather. Jones reported a total combined household income of $50,000 to $150,000.
• Sen. Keith Kelley, R-Anniston, is the president of Harris-McKay Realty. He reported total combined household income of more than $250,000.
• Sen. Wes Kitchens, R-Arab, is an insurance agent. He reported a total combined household income of $150,000 to $250,000.
• Sen. Steve Livingston, R-Scottsboro, did not report working for compensation other than his legislative work. Livingston owns The Fuel Center, Inc., a distributor of Chevron gasoline. He reported a total combined household income of $50,000 to $150,000.
• Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, is an anesthesiologist and medical researcher whose company is Shoals Medical Trials. Melson is also a farmer. He reported a total combined household income of more than $250,000.
• Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, is executive vice president of Cooks Pest Control and is a lawyer. Orr reported partial ownership, 5% or more, in about a dozen other businesses. Orr reported a total combined household income of more than $250,000.
• Sen. Randy Price, R-Opelika, owns a homebuilding business, a commercial trucking business, and is a farmer. His wife is Lee County Revenue Commissioner Oline Price. Price reported a total combined household income of more than $250,000.
• Sen. Dan Roberts, R-Mountain Brook, did not report an occupation that took more than one-third of his time other than his legislative work. Roberts has worked in construction, and operated businesses in real estate development and international trade. Roberts reported a total combined household income of $150,000 to $250,000.
• Sen. Davis Sessions, R-Grand Bay, is a farmer. Sessions reported a total combined household income of more than $250,000.
• Sen. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville, is a realtor. Shelnutt reported a total combined household income of $50,000 to $150,000.
• Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, did not report working for compensation other than his legislative work. Singleton reported a total combined household income of $50,000 to $150,000.
• Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, is an attorney. Smitherman’s wife, Carole Smitherman, is a Jefferson County Circuit judge. Smitherman reported a total combined household income of more than $250,000.
• Sen. Robert Stewart, D-Selma, is an accountant. Stewart reported a total combined household income of $150,000 to $250,000.
• Sen. Larry Stutts, R-Sheffield, is an obstetrician-gynecologist. Stutts reported a total combined household income of more than $250,000.
• Sen. Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills, did not report working for compensation other than his legislative work. Waggoner reported a total combined household income of $50,000 to $150,000.
• Sen. April Weaver, R-Brierfield, did not report working for compensation other than her legislative work. Weaver has had a career in healthcare administration and was a regional director for the Department of Health and Human Services during the first Trump administration.
• Sen. Jack Williams, R-Wilmer, did not report working for compensation other than his legislative work. Williams has owned and operated a farm with his wife. He reported a total combined household income of $50,000 to $150,000.