SB 198 Alabama Senate · 2025 Regular Session

National Guard; legal services office and legal assistance program created

SB 198 creates a dedicated Legal Services Office and Legal Assistance Program for the Alabama National Guard, directly serving Guard members and leadership. It establishes specific roles like state staff judge advocates to provide legal advice on military justice, personnel matters, contracts, and property issues. The bill also authorizes judge advocates and paralegals to perform notary services under defined circumstances. These provisions standardize legal support within the Guard, ensuring consistent access to legal counsel for both personnel and command.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

Senate Passage

Mar 2025

House Passage

Mar 2025

Signed into Law

Apr 2025

Introduced Feb 25, 2025 Signed Apr 8, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Enrolled · 3 edits · Apr 8, 2025

MINOR

The bill evolved from an introduced version to an enrolled version, primarily involving formatting updates, page renumbering, and minor text adjustments to the bill's title and section headers. The substantive legal content regarding the Alabama National Guard Legal Services Office and Legal Assistance Program remains unchanged.

TECHNICAL

Bill title and section numbering were updated to reflect enrolled status with corrected page references and formatting.

Minor text adjustments to section headers and page footers to align with enrolled bill standards.

SCOPE

Core provisions establishing the Legal Services Office, Legal Assistance Program, and notary authority for judge advocates and paralegals remain substantively identical.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 20, 2025

Lower · Passed

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 507

lower

Mar 19, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported Out of Committee Second House

lower

Mar 6, 2025

Lower · Passed

Pending Committee Action in Second House (Military and Veterans' Affairs)

lower

Mar 6, 2025

Upper · Passed

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 306

upper

Feb 27, 2025

Upper · Passed

Reported Out of Committee House of Origin

upper

Feb 25, 2025

Upper · Passed

Pending Committee Action in House of Origin (Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Safety)

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors