Kiel said the bill was intended to prevent circumstances that occurred early in the pandemic, when Gov. Kay Ivey’s emergency orders closed certain businesses but not others and closed in-house worship in churches.

Ivey later said it was a mistake to close some businesses but not others

https://www.al.com/news/2021/04/alabama-senate-passes-bill-to-allow-churches-businesses-to-stay-open-during-pandemic.html