TALLADEGA, Ala. – Four state senators and representatives whose districts include Talladega County gathered at the Ritz Theatre in Talladega this past week for a Town Hall focused on the recently completed legislative session. Rep. Barbara Boyd was invited to attend but did not respond.
The event was co-sponsored by the three chambers of commerce in Talladega County. Each speaker was given a brief period to discuss his or her take on the legislative session. We will publish a series of stories focusing on each lawmaker individually.
State Rep. Ben Robbins
Rep. Ben Robbins was among the most legislatively active members of the House, leading the chamber in the number of bills filed.
“Being informed and involved is important,” Robbins said. “We outperformed our neighbors in the region. It helps that, budget-wise, we have savings in place.”
Robbins said one of his main focuses during the session was addressing the potential harm caused by the combination of social media and children.
“We need to get kids outside more with activities funded through social media regulation,” he said. “We need to have a focus on technology and how it interacts with children in mind. Technology is coming quickly, and we need to be in front of it.”
Regarding assistance for economic development, particularly in the technology sector, Robbins said the state needs a clearer approach to tax abatements.
“We need a formula for abatements to have a better handle on the balance of good from development and the specific good and realistic employment goals for our economy and our communities,” he said. “It has to make sense.”
During the question-and-answer portion of the event, Robbins addressed data center development by first asking, “What is data itself?”
“It is information, your information, my information, our information,” he said, “and a starting place is getting a data privacy bill passed [with] stronger protection in place for our personal data.”
On rural hospitals, Robbins discussed the Rural Health Care Initiative and the use of available grant funding.
“It’s about using those available grant funds wisely to protect operation and even enhance important services, as [Coosa Valley Medical Center] has done, addressing mental health care needs with adequate facilities,” he said.
Robbins’ response to questions about the use of Flock cameras focused on the lack of consensus needed to pass regulation.
“We have to acknowledge that we do not have the consensus we need on the subject, not enough to pass regulatory legislation and put it in place,” he said. “The time for that is now, the time before we are back in session. What can we pass? That’s a matter of consensus, hopefully before the next session, on a lot of important issues.”
Up next will be Rep. Steve Hurst.
