The controversy over Alabama H.B. 56 continues. Although Senator Dial has said that the law was a mistake, his Republican colleagues have warned that the law will be tweaked to be more user-friendly, but it will not be weakened.

Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh of Anniston said he doesn’t want to consider any changes unless they are recommended by the attorney general, who is defending the law against legal challenges by the U.S. Justice Department and others.

Legislation to repeal Alabama HB 56 has already been written by Democratic Sen. Billy Beasley.

Beasley, who voted against the law in June, said Wednesday the negative national exposure the law has brought to Alabama is evidence that the law is mean-spirited and discriminatory against Hispanics.

“What we’ve done is tell the Hispanics we don’t want you in Alabama. Legal Hispanics are leaving as well as illegals,” he said.

Republicans still say that the law is popular in the state, and many do not think it is less welcoming to immigrants. But businesses say otherwise.

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The chief executive of Alabama’s state pension system, David Bronner, said last week that other states competing with Alabama for foreign-owned industries are using the law to portray Alabama as an unfriendly place.

Senator Dial has proposed some tweaks to the law, such as “making sure that people renewing their professional licenses and people buying car tags only have to prove their legal residency in Alabama once rather than every year.”

Dial, a former teacher and coach, said he would also like to take out the part of the law that requires schools to check the legal residency of new students, but he doubts there is enough support for removing that part of the law. That provision has also been put on hold by the federal courts.

There is no doubt that the Alabama case continues to be a struggle, and the pressure keeps mounting.

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