Senators Arthur Orr and Larry Stutts, along with representatives Danny Crawford, Ben Harrison and Phillip Rigsby — members of the Limestone County Legislative Delegation — gathered Tuesday morning for an annual Legislative Update at Athens State University.
The event, which was moderated by the Athens-Limestone Chamber of Commerce, gave the legislators the opportunity to speak to a large number of members from the community about their work in the 2024 legislative session.
“The community interest and turnout is overwhelming, and that tells me that there is a serious interest in what is going on in their area at the state level,” Orr told The News Courier after the program on July 30. “People vote with their feet. These people came out to hear the questions asked, because they want to know what’s going on in Montgomery and how it impacts them.”
Orr emphasized the value of events such as the yearly legislative update as a way to learn information directly from them, so people do not have to worry about any news getting lost in translation.
“Ultimately, the things we do directly affects them,” Orr said. “ In the world we live in, with TikTok and quick news, things can get lost or misinterpreted easily. It is important to hear the more detailed answers from us to understand what is really going on.”
As the chairman of the Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee, Orr fielded various questions during the event about money that is coming into the Athens-Limestone County area, as well as the record high 2025 general fund budget of $3.3 billion that was approved by the state senate.
Other legislators tackled myriad other questions about the bills they worked and voted on, such as Alabama House Bill 152, which would have addressed and introduced statewide gambling — including casinos and the lottery.
The bill passed in the State House but stalled in the Senate. Stutts and Harrison said at the event they voted “no” to the bill, but District 5 representative Danny Crawford said he voted “yes” to help pass it in the House.
“I just thought the people should have a chance to vote on the issue, and the constitution allows that, so why not give them a chance to vote,” Crawford said. “If people want to play the lottery, that’s their choice, not mine. I shouldn’t be the one telling them no, it’s not good for you. I’m going to give them the chance to vote and they can enjoy it or not.”
Crawford reinforced Orr’s sentiment, noting the importance of the annual Legislative Update as a way to hear from the people who are handling the situations that are going to impact their way of life.
“We’ve had these every year since I’ve been in the legislature,” Crawford said. “These are very important, and it’s great seeing the interest by the people here in our community. You saw today, we don’t always vote the same on every issue, so they get the chance to (hear) how I voted and why I voted.”
Other topics, such as bills about unionizations, concerns with the pharmaceutical industry and a new statewide capped property tax, were also discussed at the event. Pammie Jimmar, president of the Athens-Limestone Chamber of Commerce, told The News Courier that this event will be here to stay.
“This event is extremely important to our community, we’ve done it for many years, and we will continue to do it,” Jimmar said. “Our legislators are working for us, and what a great opportunity this is to hear from them and to see our support for them.”