The Alabama House of Representatives passed HB 658 by Rep. Mickey Hammon (R-Decatur) on Thursday after a protracted filibuster by opponents. The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration and debate.

The bill refines and clarifies the sweeping immigration law that was passed in 2011. A number of provisions in Act# 2011-535 had created issues for Alabama businesses as they attempted to adhere to the new requirements. Additionally, vague language in the original act created the potential for unintentional violations. Among the revisions, the new bill states clearly that contractors are not responsible for the employees of subcontractors.

The sponsors of the revision bill made it clear that they were not weakening the legislation and are in some instances, tightening it. The bill changes the penalty for first violation from a 10 day suspension of licenses to 60 days. The HBAA continues to work with its industry partners to make modifications that further clarify the law.

A slate of five insurance bills failed in the Senate this week. Though four of the bills were ostensibly agreed to by the major insurance carriers, the fifth bill was a deal breaker. Insurance groups railed that requirements in SB 231 would drive up costs to the carriers as they attempted to comply. Those requirements would have forced insurance carriers to notify customers of the state-mandated insurance discounts for homes built to specific standards designed to help the structure withstand high wind events. After heated debate and despite an offer by Senator Ben Brooks (R-Mobile) to use his personal printer and paper for the first year to produce the notices, opposition forces dug their feet in and stopped the measure from moving forward. After failure of the first two bills on procedural votes, the Senate President Pro-Tem Del Marsh (R-Anniston), seeing that the remaining bills would similarly fail, pulled the final three bills in the slate for consideration at a later date.

One year after tornadoes ripped across Alabama, the Alabama Legislature approved a bill that assigns oversight of prefabricated storm shelters to the Alabama Emergency Management Agency (AEMA). In recent months, controversy has swirled around concerning the Alabama Manufactured Housing Commission's assertion that they were the state agency charged with governing the shelters since they were "manufactured" shelters. The Commission has been requiring that anyone installing a prefabricated shelter be a certified modular installer and that anyone selling these units be a licensed modular retailer.

SB 136 transfers all authority over prefabricated shelters to the AEMA. Senator Paul Bussman (R-Cullman) introduced the measure as an effort to reduce the cost and encourage more Alabamians to install these units. The bill now awaits signature by the Governor before becoming law.

The Alabama Senate voted unanimously to approve Governor Bentley's appointees for the Plumbers and Gas Fitters Board on Thursday. The HBAA congratulates all of the members of the newly re-constituted board. The members are:

• Professional Engineer - P.E. Pilgreen (Montgomery)
• Master Plumber - John Bimbo (Birmingham)
• Master Gas Fitter - Charles Owenby (Deatsville)
• Journeyman Plumber - Phillip Guthrie (Brownsboro)
• Journeyman Gas Fitter - Henry McCoy (Montgomery)
• Building Official- Bobby Bullock (Birmingham)
• At-Large - Janice Warren (Albertville)