HJR 158 Alabama House · 2026 Regular Session

250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, honored, William J. Bennett, commended

HJR 158 is a symbolic resolution by the Alabama Legislature honoring the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It commends former U.S. Secretary of Education William J. Bennett for his work promoting "virtue education" through his books, and encourages Alabama schools to consider incorporating character and virtue education into their curriculum. The resolution has no binding effect and does not mandate any changes to school programs. It is purely ceremonial, reflecting the legislature's support for educational values aligned with Bennett's advocacy.

Bill status signed all 3 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Mar 2026

Introduced Feb 19, 2026 Signed Mar 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Enrolled · 3 edits · Mar 13, 2026

MINOR

The bill transitioned from an introduced draft to its final enrolled version, updating the title to explicitly honor former Secretary of Education William J. Bennett and adding specific WHEREAS clauses that commend him and encourage schools to review their programming for character education. The final version includes certification signatures from legislative leaders and dates, confirming the bill has been passed by both the House and Senate.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains a resolution of commendation and encouragement rather than a mandate, but the text was expanded to specifically name William J. Bennett and provide more detailed reasoning regarding the importance of virtue education.

SCOPE

The title and introductory text were modified to explicitly name former Secretary of Education William J. Bennett and his contributions to virtue education.

REQUIREMENT

New clauses were added to formally commend Dr. William J. Bennett and encourage all schools to review their educational programming to infuse character and virtue education.

TECHNICAL

Final certification pages were added, including signatures from the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate, along with the dates the bill was passed by each chamber.

Floor votes

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No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from RULES (RULES)

upper

Mar 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported Out of Committee Second House

upper

Feb 26, 2026

Upper · Passed

Pending Committee Action in Second House (RULES)

upper

Feb 26, 2026

Committee

Received in the Senate and referred to the Senate committee on RULES

upper

Feb 26, 2026

Lower · Passed

Lovvorn motion to Adopt - Adopted Voice Vote

lower

Feb 26, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Rules (Rules)

lower

Feb 26, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported Out of Committee House of Origin

lower

Feb 19, 2026

Lower · Passed

Pending Committee Action in House of Origin (Rules)

lower

Feb 19, 2026

Committee

Received in the House and referred to the House committee on Rules

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors