State Representatives
Bills Sponsored:
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This bill increased the minimum age to qualify for appointment as probate judge to 75
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This bill would offer an exemption from property taxes for land-owning taxpayers ages 65+ in Walker County
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This bill would make it illegal to disrupt a worship service via a riot, “unlawful protest”, disorderly conduct, or any other harassment of anyone else participating in the worship service. Anyone convicted of this would be guilty of a Class C felony, and on second conviction they would have to serve at least 5 years in prison. Something of note, this bill was proposed about 10 days after an anti-ICE protest that occurred in a church in Minneapolis.
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This bill would require healthcare professionals to inform patients of the likeliness of addiction in relation to Schedule II controlled substances or opioids before prescribing them
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This bill would expand the category of manslaughter to include providing any controlled substances that result in the receiver’s death. Current law specifies a controlled substance containing fentanyl.
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This bill would increase the minimum punishment for someone convicted of sex trafficking
Gregory Barnes in his own words:
Barnes stated in an interview with Alabama Daily News that he prioritizes mental health, veterans’ support and parental rights in education.
Gregory Barnes in the bills he’s sponsored:
For the most part, I find the bills Gregory Barnes has sponsored to be largely uncontroversial. Most deal with trying to protect citizens from drug addiction and drug overdoses, however HB363 is clearly a policy written as a reaction to a protest that occurred in Minneapolis, Minnesota after the murders of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good by ICE agents. Protesters yelled chants and generally just caused a ruckus inside Cities Church, where one of the pastors was a high ranking ICE official at the time. My opinion on this proposed bill is kind of mixed, as the text of the bill seems mostly reasonable until it specifies that the punishment for this newly defined crime would mean being charged with a Class C felony, and on second conviction a minimum of five years in prison. I think it’s also important to note a major aspect of protesting (which is a constitutional right) is civil disobedience and causing inconvenience to people who might be able to make a change. I also don’t think the original protest this bill would be in response to was a situation that should result in the protesters getting charged with a Class C felony. A major aspect of lawmaking is protecting everyone’s rights equally, meaning the right to free speech that the protesters are exercising and the right to freedom of religion that the churchgoers are practicing need to be protected in equal measure. I think this bill shows Gregory considers his religion to be a higher priority than the speech of protesters.
I also don’t care for HB208, which makes 75 the minimum age to qualify to be a probate judge. There have already been problems with judges being too old to understand new technology, as can be seen in the lawsuit against Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan. Probate judges deal pretty much exclusively with matters relating to family-related legal issues and taking care of the County’s public records, which likely won’t have a ton to do with new tech, but in situations where it does I think setting the minimum age to 75 is crazy.
His potential successor:
Gregory Barnes is set to be replaced this November by Mike Elliot. The campaign website for Mike Elliot on Ballotpedia redirects to… an Indonesian gambling website?? Yellowhammer news describes Mike Elliott as an educator who ran on “conservative values, economic development for Walker County, and lower taxes”. Looking at Mike Elliott’s campaign Facebook page, that seems to be correct.