Nation’s Most Conservative Legislature Shows Little Chance of Swinging Left Anytime Soon

While the original interior of the Capitol’s dome was whitewashed and plain, an early 20th century renovation (1906–07) resulted in the rotunda space gaining ornate moldings and cornices as well as a stained-glass skylight. Then, from 1927 to 1930, eight large murals showcasing important points in Alabama’s history were painted and installed as mixed media on canvas by Scottish-born artist, Roderick Mackenzie, who maintained a studio in Mobile, Ala. (Nagel Photography/Shutterstock)

News Analysis

When it comes to legislative decisions, there is no state in the country more conservative than Alabama. According to a report from the Center for Legislative Accountability, Alabama’s lawmakers voted from “a conservative position” 74 percent of the time last year, the highest level in the nation. And if anyone is worried that the introduction this year of gambling legislation is going to start the state’s slide left, they aren’t paying attention to a slew of conservative bills now being considered at the state house in Montgomery.

“I’m happy the people I serve with haven’t forgotten where they come from,” Alamaba state Rep. Matt Woods (R-Jasper) said to The Epoch Times. “We vote on the issues we bring forward, and my hope is that will be the case for a very long time.  We’re not going to be easily swayed on any issue. We look at things based on their merits. We stick to our beliefs.”

Mr. Woods, who was just elected to his seat in 2023, pulled off a feat unheard of in most state houses nationally: winning unanimous passage of a bill that would enhance penalties for those who use artificial intelligence (AI) to produce child pornography. Not to be outdone, Alabama state Rep. Parker Moore (R-Hartselle) immediately introduced House Bill 161, which would penalize those who use AI depictions for adults.

Gaming in Alabama

But Alabama, which has thwarted efforts to bring marijuana dispensaries to the state even though it passed a medical marijuana law in 2021 with limited licensing (there are currently no marijuana dispensaries in the state), is now bracing for the introduction of gaming for the first time.

Some in the Alabama Senate are calling for committee consideration this week for a comprehensive gambling proposal that would allow lottery tickets, legalized sports betting, and up to 10 casinos with table games and slot machines. The House has already passed the measure and has the backing of Gov. Kay Ivey.

But while a few conservative moral social mores could soon fall in the state legislature, some aren’t very concerned that Alabama may lose its standing as one of the most conservative states in the country.

Alabama’s Churches

A former pastor and now president and CEO of the conservative Alabama Citizens Action Program (ALCAP) non-profit, Greg Davis told The Epoch Times that the state is a very different place because it has been able to hold a standard longer than others.

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“Alabama has stood strong for morality and human thriving. People tend to slide towards more liberal living and more loose morality.  It’s the power of temptation,” he said. But the lobbyist also attributed the moral backbone that has propped up Alabama’s long-term socially conservative reputation to the state’s religious leanings.

“It’s been our churches. Not the buildings. The people. It’s the Christians in our state that hold to a standard of morality that’s more beneficial to others’ lives and we try to protect innocence.”

Alabama church life is dominated by those affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The state has 3,219  Southern Baptist churches, with services in more than 30 languages. It’s also one of the reasons Alabama has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, banning the procedure with minimal exceptions. The Alabama Baptist Convention is one of the main funders of Davis’s ALCAP group.

But Alabama has gained national and nefarious attention in the past few weeks for a state supreme court decision that frozen embryos are considered children. This decision has all but shut down In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) clinics across the state.

“I think the [state] supreme court ruled correctly according to the law and we do believe that life begins at conception. The IVF clinics should have had a backup plan. They knew this was coming. There may be an alternative bill filed that will give some relief to families who are seeking IVF,” Mr. Davis said.

Conservative Legislation in 2024

Multiple legislative proposals that could restore IVF access with support across the political aisle are now making their way through the Alabama House and Senate. But if anyone dares disagree that the state is still one of the most conservative in the country, a quick glance at some current proposed legislation might get them to back down immediately.  Some examples include:

• Senate Bill 261 would prohibit state contracts with businesses that boycott certain sectors of the economy based on environmental, social, and governance policies (ESG), the strongest anti-ESG legislation in the nation.
• Senate Bill 129 would prohibit certain public entities, including state agencies, local boards of education, and public institutions of higher education, from maintaining a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) office or department.
• Senate Bill 92 would define man, woman, boy, girl, father, mother, male, female, and sex for purposes of state law. The bill provides a person’s sex is observed or clinically verified at birth.

Not all state legislators are pleased by some of the newly introduced legislation. “They have a bogeyman now, bogeywoman right now, and that’s trans women, and they’re going to keep sponsoring legislation to attack this group of people,” state Sen. Merika Coleman (D-Birmingham) told CBS 42.

But while the Alabama legislature continues to promote bills they believe are best for the state’s citizens, Mr. Woods says he’s a little concerned those citizens are more interested in issues far from Alabama.

“My constituents pay more attention to Fox News than what’s going on at the state level.  All politics may be local, but at the end of the day, people here want to talk about the border, Israel and the Ukraine. We’re dealing with things that are much more important to their daily lives than those.”