The Alabama Legislature's Cynical Betrayal

From the Alabama Republican Assembly

Montgomery, Alabama — April 3, 2026 — In a disgraceful display of legislative weakness and corporate favoritism, the Alabama Legislature on Wednesday sent a hollowed-out shell of House Bill 475 to Governor Kay Ivey's desk — a bill that once promised real relief from sky-high electricity rates but now stands as little more than a thinly veiled protection racket for the state's powerful utility monopoly.

What began as a bold consumer protection measure under the leadership of Representative Mack Butler, R-Etowah County, has been cynically eviscerated into the so-called "Power to the People Act." The original HB475, which sailed through the House with overwhelming support, would have forced the Alabama Public Service Commission (PSC) to hold formal rate cases every three years. Utilities like Alabama Power would have been compelled to justify their bloated rates in public hearings, with caps on excessive profits and a ban on passing lobbying, advertising, and political costs onto struggling ratepayers. It was a long-overdue reckoning with Alabama's status as one of the Southeast's most expensive states for electricity.

Instead, the Senate, over the furious objections of the bill's own sponsor, Mack Butler, gutted those core reforms and replaced them with a power grab that expands the PSC from three to seven members elected by congressional districts, phases in the change with gubernatorial appointments, and creates a new "Secretary of Energy" position handpicked by the governor to direct the commission. A temporary ban on base rate hikes until January 2029 was tossed in for window dressing, but the mandatory hearings that would have delivered actual transparency and accountability. Stripped away. Rate cases now require a supermajority vote of five out of seven commissioners. Critics aren't buying the spin.

Mack Butler commented "My name is on it, but it is definitely not my bill entirely. At the current moment I cannot support the bill in its current form. The original agreement was to merge the two bills. But the better components of my bill are not currently in the legislation."

After the vote: He expressed disappointment that the House didn't support his motion to table the bill but remained optimistic, saying "We're gonna be able to fight another day.

This isn't the end of any of this."

Representative Butler stood his ground, pushing back on efforts pushed by the leadership to jam through a piece of legislation that does little to help Alabamians, it further empowers the corporate entities the PSC was meant to regulate. Alabama voters need more Representatives like Mack Butler who are willing to challenge the status quo.

The final vote highlighted the persistent concerns: the Senate unanimously approved the amended bill (32-0), and the House accepted the Senate's changes with a vote of 72-26, despite Representative Butler's attempt to table the legislation, which was subsequently overruled led by House Leadership. Legislators who had previously expressed their commitment to representing the interests of constituents over those of special interest groups acquiesced following advocacy from the utility lobby. Alabama Power and affiliated organizations have maintained strong relationships with regulators, resulting in regionally high utility rates, which continue to impact families and small businesses amid ongoing inflation.

This isn't governance—it's surrender. HB475 has been reduced to mere bureaucratic changes, favoring monopoly utilities over working families. There are no meaningful rate reviews, profit limits, or restrictions on charging for corporate messaging. Oversight is weaker, bills will rise, and the PSC is now further removed from public accountability.

Governor Ivey has signed this sham into law; it will be yet another chapter in Alabama's sorry saga of putting corporate profits ahead of people. The real losers? The millions of Alabamians who are paying through the nose for power in the state.

For more information on the Alabama Republican Assembly, “the Conscience of the Republican Party,” visit them on the web at https://alabamarepublicanassembly.org or follow them on social media.