The Frequency

Alabama’s 2026 regular session gaveled to a close on April 9 after all 30 allotted workdays were spent. It was a productive session on paper. But one of its final acts became its most defining: the closed primary bill died in the Senate’s final hours, a fight that consumed the session’s closing day and left the Alabama Republican Party’s top legislative priority in pieces.

On education, the session delivered. Legislators passed a $12 billion package for FY 2027, including $10.5 billion from the Education Trust Fund, $419 million in supplemental funds, and $1 billion from the Advancement and Technology Fund. They also passed SB168, which strengthens the Alabama Literacy Act by requiring Science of Reading instruction and banning the three-cueing method. The change reaches every K–12 classroom statewide by June 1.

For local families, the more immediate change may be HB78, the Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act, which sets new guidelines for screen time in licensed childcare settings. HB580, which passed on the final day, gives governing boards sweeping authority over curriculum and faculty tenure at public colleges — a change that has drawn concern from faculty governance bodies across the state. On immigration, zero of five bills passed. On the closed primary: watch 2027.

EAMC-Lanier Rural Emergency Hospital in Valley has reached its funding cap under Alabama’s Rural Hospital Investment Program. Not every hospital was so fortunate. Of 50 eligible rural hospitals across the state, only six managed to max out the $750,000 cap before contributions closed. EAMC-Lanier was one of them.

The Alabama Rural Hospital Investment Program, created in 2025, offers donors a state tax credit for qualifying contributions to eligible rural hospitals. The statewide limit for 2026 is $20 million, with a $750,000 ceiling per hospital. The program runs three years, 2026 through 2028, with caps increasing each year.

The $750,000 heading to EAMC-Lanier won’t disappear into overhead. The hospital has designated the funds for concrete upgrades: additional ultrasound machines, new surgical equipment for eye surgeons, and updated dining room furniture for the nursing home unit on campus. For a rural emergency hospital serving Chambers County, this kind of equipment investment is the difference between keeping local care local and sending patients an hour down the road.

The May 19 primary is 19 days away, and voters in Alabama House District 38 — which covers portions of Chambers and Lee counties — will see two Democratic names on their ballot: Hazel Floyd of Valley and Christopher F. “Apostle” Davis of Lanett.

Floyd, 22, is a Valley native and 2025 University of Alabama graduate with a degree in Political Science and Philosophy, finishing summa cum laude. She ran in the February 3 special election against Republican Kristin Nelson, losing 83.65% to 16.26%. It’s a steep number, but one that reflects the district’s composition more than her campaign. She’s running again on the same three pillars: public schools, rural communities, and small businesses.

Davis, a Lanett minister, is a less visible candidate. As of press time, he has no public campaign website, no documented interviews, and has not filed finance disclosures with the state. His appearance on the ballot is confirmed. His campaign platform is not. The winner of the May 19 primary faces incumbent Kristin Nelson in the November 3 general election. For Democratic voters in Chambers County, May 19 is the decision that matters.

Mike Rogers has represented Alabama’s 3rd Congressional District since 2003. He’s running for re-election in 2026. And for the first time in a while, he’s not running alone in his own primary. Two Republicans have qualified to challenge Rogers in the May 19 GOP primary: Draic Coakley and Terri LaPoint. Neither has the name recognition or resources to be considered a serious threat in a race where Rogers is running with President Trump’s full endorsement.

Lee McInnis, a native Alabamian, Auburn graduate, U.S. Army veteran, and career Defense Intelligence officer, is running as the Democratic challenger. McInnis entered the race in September 2025 and has been holding open town halls across the district, including one at Auburn University. His campaign has framed the race around a simple question: “Where is Mike Rogers?” It’s a question about visibility, constituent access, and what an incumbent with 23 years in office has actually delivered for East Alabama.

The Cook Partisan Voter Index rates this district R+23, the 17th most Republican district in the country. McInnis runs without illusions about the math. But in a district that includes Chambers County, the question itself carries weight.

When Alabama lawmakers gaveled out of the 2026 session on April 9, they left a building that was never supposed to be permanent. The current Alabama Statehouse, first occupied in 1986, was built as a temporary facility while renovations were made to the historic State Capitol nearby. Those renovations ended. The temporary building stayed.

Forty years later, it has mold, hundreds of millions in deferred maintenance, and no remaining political will to salvage it. The April 9 session was, barring any special sessions, the last one held there.

The replacement is a $400 million development under construction in Montgomery — the first new state legislative building in the United States since 1977. It includes a new legislative building, a 400-plus-space parking deck, and a plan to demolish the current structure and replace it with public green space. State officials say lawmakers and staff will move in around September or October 2026, with the first full legislative session in the new building set for 2027. The project remains on schedule and under budget.