Continue to Collaborate Legislative Agenda

courtesy of City of Huntsville of vacant, abandoned, and tax-delinquent properties and address them in a way that would then allow those previously unusable properties to contribute to and improve communities in Alabama cities.

- Implement State Penalties on Illegal Devices to Protect Law Enforcement and Keep Our Communities

Safe: The Alabama Big 10 Mayors supports legislation that would enable more expedient prosecution of unlicensed persons found to be in possession of any “trigger activator” device, such as a “Glock switch.” These devices, which are federally illegal and not authorized by gun manufacturers, effectively turn a semi-automatic firearm into a fully automatic firearm. These devices increase the number of rounds fired per second and decrease the amount of control one has over the firearm, increasing risks to bystanders and law enforcement. New state legislation would allow state and local law enforcement the ability to address this growing crime problem and take offenders off the street, without waiting on the federal government’s lengthy indictment process.

- Ban “Exhibition Driving”: The Alabama Big 10 Mayors support legislation that prohibits and provides criminal penalties for “exhibition driving” – which is when a driver purposefully drives in a manner to intentionally create unnecessary engine noise, tire skid, burnouts, and other dangerous and damaging driving techniques. This is a growing prob- lem across Alabama cities that creates a public safety hazard for pedestrians and other drivers while draining limited law enforcement resources.

The Big 10 Mayors also focused on the importance of the recently passed Aniah’s Law.

Under Aniah’s Law, judges will now be able to deny bail to dangerous offenders who are likely to reoffend when charged with serious felonies like murder, kidnapping, rape, sexual torture, domestic violence, human trafficking, burglary, arson, robbery, terrorism, or aggravated child abuse.

In a joint statement, the group of mayors thanked Alabama voters for passing Aniah’s Law in late 2022 and the joint efforts continue so far in 2023 with the previously mentioned legislative agenda.

While the Big 10 mayors have been meeting regularly for several years to collaborate on state issues, this past election cycle was their first public, consolidated effort into electoral politics.

“Our two main areas of focus are growing Alabama’s economy and keeping the people of Alabama safe,” Battle explained. “Your community can’t thrive unless the people who live there feel comfortable in their homes and their city’s public spaces. Additionally, your citizens can’t thrive unless they have economic opportunities for themselves and the next generation of their family. As mayors, we’re always laser-focused on those two areas, and that is reflected in our 2023 agenda.” w