Legislative Summary

This week, the Alabama Legislature was bustling, marked by a noticeable urgency as only five legislative days remain. Both houses prioritized advancing bills from their respective chambers to ensure any chance of final passage. The House of Representatives held vigorous debates, working late into Tuesday night, with numerous committee meetings on Wednesday. Few new bills were introduced due to the minimum five-day requirement for passage. Thus far, 344 bills have been introduced in the Senate and 491 in the House of Representatives.

The majority of bills introduced addressed local concerns, with exceptions such as one addressing bail jumping and another expanding the state auditor’s office duties. Additionally, two new court cost bills were introduced in the House of Representatives.

Both Judiciary committees faced substantial agendas. The Senate Judiciary tackled bills concerning the trafficking of obscene materials, updates to involuntary commitments, confidentiality of juvenile information, and changes to electioneering communications. Meanwhile, the House Judiciary discussed updates to the Alabama Code of Military Justice, tax lien auctions and sales, and retroactive child support provisions. The House committee also gave a favorable report to a Senate bill amending last year’s notary legislation.

The Senate and House navigated through extensive bill calendars, including agency bills, workforce development, education, and other state matters. For specific progress on bills relevant to your practice, please refer to the tracking documentation.

Two bills increasing court costs were introduced this week:

• HB478 – Covington County – $30 booking fee upon conviction to sheriff
• HB491- Choctaw County – creation of $50 fee in all cases including municipal for a jail fund

The other pending proposed fee increases are as follows:

• HB85 Marion County – $30 fee per document; proceeds to Sheriff
• HB311 Baldwin County – increase from $30 per document filed to $60 per document filed with majority of proceeds to the Sheriff
• HB384 Tuscaloosa County -increase from $12.50 per document to $60 per document and increase to $85 for out of county; majority of proceeds to Sheriff and District Attorney
• HB431 Houston County – increase fee by $20 per case for county jail and District Attorneys
• SB263 Etowah County – $35 fee per document for Sheriff

As always, the Alabama State Bar encourages all members to be aware of legislation that may impact court costs and fees. Access to justice is a priority. Please be aware of advertisements that may be occurring for local bills and those that may already be filed to use the courts as a fundraiser for non-court entities. We encourage you to be informed and notify us as well.

LEGISLATIVE TRACKING

The Alabama State Bar provides legislative status reports concerning pending legislation that may be of interest to our members, with direct links to the actual legislation. The reports divide legislation into the following categories for your convenience: civil/general, court costs, criminal, domestic relations, elections ethics and government relations (EEGR), tax, and judicial.

You can find our comprehensive updated bill-tracking spreadsheet here.

LEGISLATIVE CALENDAR

The 2024 regular session of the Alabama Legislature will continue as follows:

• The Senate has adjourned until Tuesday, April 30 at 4:00 p.m.
• The House has adjourned until Tuesday, April 30 at 1:00 p.m.