HOOVER — Alabama House Majority Leader Scott Stadthagen (R-Hartselle) was surrounded by friends and family as he qualified for reelection with one of the biggest supporter turnouts of the day.
“I passed a lot of bills, but 2 that really stick out,” Stadthagen said, reflecting on his time in the legislature to date.
“One was a transgender athlete’s bill. It is protecting the female athletes from boys playing against them in their sports. I think it was rough. It was one of my first controversial bills.”
“We had like two or three death threats that were legit during that one. It toughened my skin,” Stadthagen said.
House Bill 231 (HB 231) passed the House during the 2023 session. Stadthagen was a co-sponsor of the bill and introduced an amendment that removed intramural sports and created a two-year statute of limitations for a private cause of action against anyone who violates the bill's provisions. The House approved that amendment.
“The second one, I think, that sticks out the most is the Alabama Property Protection Act (PPA). And that prevents any citizen from China purchasing property around our military installations, our critical infrastructure is on agricultural land. So that protects us.”
The PPA bill (House Bill 339) passed during the 2023 session with Gov. Kay Ivey signing it into law on May 31, 2023.
“That’s what we're all about, protecting the future of the state of Alabama, also district nine,” Stadthagen said, “looking forward, there's a bright future for my district in Morgan County.”
“We are working hard on workforce development. We want to retain our students that leave high school, where they want to go to work and have a career right then, or if they want to go to college and come back and work. I want them to come back to Morgan County, not because of their family, but because there are good job opportunities for them. And that's one of my personal goals.”
“Mental health is very important to me. I think we need to move the needle a lot further than we have. We've got our hospitals right now that are working, has been in hospitals. Our county jails are also mental hospitals, and we need to address those issues.”
Stadthagen supported the "Alabama Values" legislative agenda put forward by the Alabama House Republican caucus for 2025.
"The 'Alabama Values' name represents the conservative beliefs and values that most Alabamians embrace, but, at the same time, it also represents the morals and principles that we 'value' as a people," Stadthagen said at the time. "Our caucus members stand unanimous in support of this agenda, and we look forward to promoting these conservative ideas and beliefs throughout the upcoming session and beyond."
Stadthagen has been a steadfast defender of Alabama's students, sponsoring House Bill 67 (HB67) last year. As previously reported by 1819, the legislation would prohibit public K-12 schools and public libraries from knowingly presenting or sponsoring drag performances in the presence of a minor without the minor's parent or legal guardian's consent.
It would also prohibit certain state entities from allowing minors to share certain facilities with members of the opposite sex during overnight programs operated or sponsored by the state entity unless the other individuals are family members of the minor and the minor's parent consents.
The second part of the bill's provision came due to drama last year after a Huntsville father revealed that Molly Bowman, a biological male who identifies as a female, would be working in the overnight camp at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center's Space Camp in Huntsville, where he planned to send his daughter.
Stadthagen closed his remarks at his kickoff, saying, “I have learned that God gave me two ears and one mouth for a reason. I'm going to listen to my district, and that one mouth I've got, I want to speak very loudly for what they want me to say.”
Qualifying closes January 23 at 5 p.m.
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