P.E. bill dead on arrival

Alabama House Bill 83 had sought to address the state's problem with adolescent obesity, but at the expense of high school elective courses. The bill has died in the Alabama Legislature, stuck in a House committee with only a handful of hours left in the 2008 regular session.

It was cause for jubilation in a Smiths Station choral class, where members of the school's chamber choir had been concerned enough about the bill that they sent letters, e-mails and faxes to the Statehouse in Montgomery to express their opposition.

"I'm glad that the Legislature did not see the need for that at this time or the near future. Very glad," said Faye Haag, the choral music director at Smiths Station High School. "Our students, especially the seniors, wanted to keep our fine arts program alive."

A report from Trust for America's Health gives Alabama the highest level of adult obesity and the seventh-highest overweight levels for high school students. The bill, sponsored by House Majority Leader Ken Guin, D-Carbon Hill, sought to address the problem by mandating the time students in elementary, middle and high schools would have in P.E. classes weekly.

But additional time for P.E. would have resulted in less time for electives. Students and faculty felt the bill lacked a balance between increased physical activity and other worthwhile electives.

One more day

There is one more day remaining in the Alabama Legislature's 2008 regular session and most of the Russell County legislative package hangs in the balance.

None of the local bills -- including those bringing a 5-cent beverage tax and a county sales and use tax to a vote and a bill to change how the county registrars are selected -- have passed the Alabama Senate, though most are poised to be voted on by the entire Senate.

Thursday's next-to-last day of the regular session was bogged down in filibuster, said J.W. Brannen, who acts as a liaison between the county and the legislative delegation. "We still have the final day, but there's not much going on today," Brannen said.

The Legislature will return for the final day of the session next week.