HB 612 Alabama House · 2026 Regular Session

Covington County; sheriff authorized to sell certain abandoned, unclaimed, or stolen property and firearms, auction and disposition of funds provided, constitutional amendment

This bill proposes a constitutional amendment to authorize the Covington County Sheriff to sell abandoned, stolen, and unclaimed personal property and firearms, with proceeds used for law enforcement. The amendment requires the sheriff to maintain public records of recovered items and store them properly, while allowing immediate sale of perishable property without notice if owners cannot be found. Firearms would be sold only to licensed gun dealers through sealed bidding, and other unclaimed property would be auctioned publicly after proper notice and a six-month waiting period. Owners can reclaim their property before sale by proving ownership and paying recovery and storage costs. If unclaimed after six months, net proceeds from sales would be deposited into a dedicated fund for the sheriff's office to use at their discretion for law enforcement purposes.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Mar 2026
Introduced Mar 11, 2026 Signed Mar 31, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Enrolled · 3 edits · Mar 31, 2026
MINOR
The bill transitioned from an 'Introduced' draft to an 'Enrolled' final version, incorporating substantive policy updates to the proposed constitutional amendment. The most significant change is the addition of a requirement for the Covington County Sheriff to maintain detailed public records of recovered property, including descriptions, recovery dates, and serial numbers. The text also includes standard formatting updates and a new section instructing the Code Commissioner on how to format the final amendment once ratified.
Scope change
The scope of the bill remains focused on authorizing the Covington County Sheriff to sell abandoned, stolen, and unclaimed property and firearms, with no change to the core authority granted.
REQUIREMENT

Added a mandatory requirement for the sheriff to create and maintain permanent, publicly accessible records detailing the description, recovery date, serial number, and location of all recovered property.

TECHNICAL

Added a new section instructing the Code Commissioner to format the amendment for the final constitution, including instructions to fix errors and harmonize language.

Updated the document header and page numbering to reflect the bill's status as 'Enrolled' rather than 'Introduced', along with minor spacing adjustments in the synopsis.

Floor votes

How they voted

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

Actions timeline

Total actions
20
Key actions
8
Committee
4
Mar 31, 2026
Upper · Passed
Chambliss Local Certification Resolution - Adopted Roll Call 973
upper
Mar 31, 2026
Upper · Passed
Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 972
upper
Mar 19, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported Out of Committee Second House
upper
Mar 17, 2026
Upper · Passed
Pending Committee Action in Second House (Local Legislation )
upper
Mar 17, 2026
Lower · Passed
LocalCertificationResolutionAdopted
lower
Mar 17, 2026
Lower · Passed
Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 933
lower
Mar 12, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported Out of Committee House of Origin
lower
Mar 11, 2026
Lower · Passed
Pending Committee Action in House of Origin (Local Legislation)
lower
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.