HB 355 Alabama House · 2026 Regular Session

Houston County; temporary judge of probate service period extended, compensation of temporary probate judge revised

HB 355 extends the maximum service period for temporary probate judges in Houston County from 90 to 180 days per appointment and increases their compensation from $50 to $100 per hearing. This bill directly affects temporary probate judges and Houston County's probate court system by modifying how long these judges can serve and how they are paid. Non-employee temporary judges receive the $100 per hearing rate from the judge's discretionary fund, while court employees serving as temporary judges receive no additional pay under this provision. The changes apply to Houston County probate court operations and take effect October 1, 2026.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

House Passage

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

Signed into Law

Feb 2026

Introduced Jan 29, 2026 Signed Feb 25, 2026

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What changed between versions

Introduced → Enrolled · 4 edits · Feb 25, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was finalized and enrolled after being introduced, with the primary substantive change being a correction to the term limit for temporary judges of probate. The text was updated to change the maximum service term from 90 days to 180 days, and the line regarding the 200-day hearing cap was corrected to remove a formatting error. Additionally, the bill's title and sponsor list were updated to reflect the final enrolled version.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on Houston County probate courts, but the applicability of the term limit for temporary judges was significantly extended from 90 days to 180 days.

REQUIREMENT

The maximum term length for a temporary judge of probate was increased from 90 days to 180 days.

A formatting error in the text limiting judges to 200 days of service was corrected from '90180 days' to '90 days'.

TECHNICAL

The bill status was updated from 'Introduced' to 'Enrolled', and the version number was changed from V7JCDPL-1 to V7JCDPL-2.

The list of representatives sponsoring the bill was updated to include 'Lee' and remove blank names.

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

Feb 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 455

upper

Feb 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported Out of Committee Second House

upper

Feb 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Pending Committee Action in Second House (Local Legislation )

upper

Feb 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 274

lower

Feb 3, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported Out of Committee House of Origin

lower

Jan 29, 2026

Lower · Passed

Pending Committee Action in House of Origin (Local Legislation)

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors