Fincher: Expansion of death penalty, changes to SNAP benefits among noteworthy results of 2026 legislative session

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“So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu. Adieu, adieu to you and you and you.” – Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II from “The Sound of Music”

That’s a wrap.

The Alabama Legislature has adjourned its 2026 regular session. Barring an unlikely special session being called, legislators are done for the year.

It marks the end of this four-year congress of the Legislature, meaning there will be a quite a few new names and faces to learn next year as current legislators are either voted out or retire from their seats.

So what did this year’s Legislature do? Policymaking is always a mixed bag, so here are a few highlights and lowlights.

Public Service Commission

Somewhat surprisingly, the legislation that most captured the attention of the state was the changes to the Public Service Commission. Lawmaking requires compromise in order to get any legislation passed, and the reconstruction of the PSC definitely was an example of compromise.

Unfortunately, this looks like a compromised compromise that will only make the operations of the PSC more complicated and offers little to no progress in addressing the underlying problem of bringing down energy costs.

Instead the bill grew the state government by creating multiple new positions in addition to structuring the relationship between the commission and the new secretary of energy in such a way where neither has much incentive to work cohesively with the other.

There will always be bad legislation that gets passed every session, but the PSC bill was a rare bird in that it was bad in many different ways.

Primary elections

On a positive note, the bill that would require voters to register with a political party to vote in that party’s primary election died in the Senate without coming up for a vote. The Alabama Republican Party pushed hard for party registration, but Senate leadership sat on the bill as the clock ran out on the session.

Senate leaders might have taken note of a poll conducted by Unite America in March – and reported by AL.com’s Mike Cason – that showed 57 percent of Republican voters in Alabama do not want to register with a party to vote in a primary despite what state GOP leaders were demanding.

Frankly, it makes sense not to create extra hoops for voters to jump through when primary elections are funded by taxpayers. The Alabama GOP can set up nomination caucuses or conventions on the party’s own dime if it is worried about Democrats sneaking their voters into Republican primaries.

Death penalty for sex crimes against underage victims

Early in the session, a bill that would allow for the death penalty to be a potential sentence for people convicted of felony sexual crimes against children under age 12 breezed through the Legislature and was signed by Gov. Kay Ivey.

The ultimate fate of this law will likely be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, which has ruled against similar laws in the past, though supporters believe it might have a chance of being upheld due to the current ideology of the Court.

I tend to doubt this legal precedent will change even with a more conservative Court, but time will tell.

Changes to SNAP-eligible foods

One health-related bill that passed was the legislation allowing many soft drinks and candies to be excluded as allowable purchases for people using Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program funds – also known as food stamps.

This is probably a net positive as food stamp recipients hopefully will turn toward healthier dietary options.

Solar panel farms

Lastly, the one-year ban on constructing and operating solar panel farms, a bill that had a good bit of support among southwest Alabama legislators after a solar project in Baldwin County drew backlash from constituents, lacked the traction to pass during this session.

This was the correct course to take. It is unfair to apply a moratorium through most of the state just because of one project, but the Legislature should look at the negative and positive effects of solar farms and the approval process for similar projects in 2027.

The end of this legislative year carries an extra dose of bittersweet because not only does this close the chapter on this group of legislators – one of whom is my father, Bob Fincher, who is retiring after serving as state representative for District 37 for 12 years – but it also closes the doors of the current Alabama State House.

While most would agree a new State House was needed because of the major renovations required just to keep the current one propped up, the view down Union Street will look off-kilter for quite a while after the current building is demolished and the new one opens behind it.

Change never adjourns.

Brandon Fincher is an academic journal editor at Auburn University. He lives in Opelika with his wife, daughter and two Labrador retrievers. You can find his writing at brandonfincher.com.