Habitual offender law; pleas of nolo contendere treated as a plea of guilty
HB 226 changes Alabama's habitual offender law by treating "no contest" pleas (nolo contendere) as equivalent to guilty pleas for sentencing purposes. This means defendants who enter a no contest plea to a felony will now have that plea counted toward prior convictions used to enhance penalties under the habitual offender statute. The bill specifically amends Section 13A-5-9 to clarify that such pleas are included in the definition of "convicted" for determining enhanced sentences. It directly affects felony defendants in Alabama who use no contest pleas, as these pleas will now trigger stricter sentencing for repeat offenses. The change applies to Class A, B, and C felonies under the habitual offender provisions.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
House Passage
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Apr 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Jan 14, 2026
Signed Apr 15, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons
What changed between versions
Engrossed
→
Enrolled
·
3 edits
·
Apr 15, 2026
MINOR
The bill was finalized and enrolled for signature, confirming its passage by both the House and Senate. The substantive policy content regarding habitual offender sentencing penalties remains unchanged from the previous version, with no new laws or altered penalties introduced in this final step.
Scope change
None; the bill's scope and applicability are identical to the engrossed version.
TIMELINE
The document title was updated from 'Engrossed' to 'Enrolled' to indicate the bill has passed both chambers and is ready for the Governor's signature.
TECHNICAL
The internal tracking code for the bill was updated from L5NDPAW-2 to L5NDPAW-3.
The legislative history section was updated to include the final Senate passage date (April 9, 2026) and the formal certification of the bill's approval by both chambers.
Floor votes
How they voted
This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
21
Key actions
8
Committee
4
Amendments
4
Apr 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 1322
upper
Feb 25, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported Out of Committee Second House
upper
Feb 10, 2026
Upper · Passed
Pending Committee Action in Second House (Judiciary)
upper
Feb 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass as Amended - Adopted Roll Call 358
lower
Feb 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 357
lower
Feb 10, 2026
Introduced
Robbins 1st Amendment Offered
lower
Feb 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 356
lower
Feb 10, 2026
Introduced
Judiciary Engrossed Substitute Offered (Judiciary)
lower
Feb 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported Out of Committee House of Origin (Judiciary)
lower
Jan 14, 2026
Lower · Passed
Pending Committee Action in House of Origin (Judiciary)
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Brock Colvin
RRepublican
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