Alabama Politician Criticizes Male Colleagues for Opposition to Parental Leave Bill

The Alabama Senate recently passed and then rejected a bill that would have provided public school teachers with eight weeks of paid parental leave.

Senators voted 26-2 in favor of the measure on Thursday, but ultimately did not give the unanimous consent needed to send the bill for possible consideration in the House of Representatives before the session ended.

State Sen. Vivian Davis Figures, who sponsored the bill, criticized the predominantly male Legislature for disregarding the concerns of women in the state.

“Maybe I’m going to have start raising hell” on the Senate floor, she stated. “The females may be a minority in elected office, but we are not a minority when it comes to voting.”

Alabama legislative rules mandate unanimous agreement after the 26th legislative day to transfer Senate bills for a vote in the House of Representatives. However, the Senate debated the measure on the 27th legislative day.

Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed raised concerns about the bill’s cost to the state and school systems, leading to the objection of transmitting the bill.

Sen. Arthur Orr, the Republican senator overseeing the education budget committee, expressed a desire to gather cost estimates and compare paid leave policies with other states.

Figures emphasized that the issue extends beyond one bill, highlighting the lack of representation of women in the Alabama Senate.

Alabama lawmakers previously approved stringent abortion restrictions in 2019 and faced challenges related to fertility clinics due to anti-abortion language in the state constitution.

Figures expressed frustration with male colleagues making decisions that impact women and pledged to introduce more bills related to women’s rights in the future.