HB 307 adds hiring preferences for military spouses in Alabama state employment by granting them five additional points on employment test scores. Specifically, spouses of active duty service members and spouses of veterans (honorably discharged) each receive five points, while surviving spouses of service members who died in action or spouses of veterans with service-connected disabilities receive ten points. The bill also allows Alabama counties, municipalities, and private employers to voluntarily adopt similar hiring preferences for military spouses and veterans. These changes apply to employment tests and promotions within the state’s classified service, aiming to support military-connected individuals in job applications.
HB 351, the Alabama Personal Data Protection Act, grants Alabama residents specific rights over their personal data. It allows consumers to confirm if their data is being processed, correct inaccuracies, request deletion, obtain copies of their data, and opt out of data processing. Businesses (referred to as "controllers") must establish secure methods for consumers to exercise these rights and create appeal processes for denied requests. The bill also regulates how businesses handle deidentified data and authorizes the Attorney General to enforce these rules.
HB 341 exempts the first $5,000 of drill pay earned by Alabama National Guard members from state income tax. This directly affects part-time service members who receive compensation for training exercises (drill pay) but not active-duty military pay. The bill amends Alabama's tax code by adding a new exemption under Section 40-18-19 for this specific income, aligning with existing exemptions for other public safety personnel. It also includes minor technical updates to the tax code language for clarity, without changing other tax provisions.
SB 206 is a procedural bill that updates Alabama's legal code by incorporating all general and permanent laws passed during the 2025 legislative session into the Code of Alabama 1975. It adopts the 2025 cumulative supplements for volumes 3-22A (general laws) and volumes 22B-22N (local laws), while making six minor technical corrections to existing code sections (e.g., fixing age references, typographical errors, or agency names). This update ensures the legal code remains current and organized, with no effect on laws passed in future sessions like 2026. The bill also specifies that the Secretary of State must maintain custody of the updated reference volumes.
HB 361, the Alabama Living Donor Protection Act, prohibits insurers from denying or limiting disability, life, or long-term care insurance coverage to living organ donors. It requires public employers (state/local government) to provide up to 80 hours of paid medical leave for employees donating organs, with no retaliation allowed. Private employers offering similar paid leave (minimum 80 hours or 15 days) qualify for a 25% tax credit (capped at $2,000 annually) for tax years starting in 2027. The bill directly affects organ donors, insurers, public employees, and private sector employers. It aims to remove financial barriers to donation through concrete protections and incentives.
SB 59 requires Alabama's public colleges and universities to submit an annual report to the Executive Budget Office by October 31. The report must detail all state and federal funds received and spent during the previous fiscal year, broken down by funding source and certified as accurate. This bill directly affects all public institutions of higher education in Alabama, including the Alabama Community College System, by mandating transparency in how they use public funds.
SB 166 requires political action committees, principal campaign committees, and municipal candidates in Alabama to preserve all campaign records - including contribution details, expenditures, bank accounts, and filed reports - for four years after submitting their reports. This extends the current two-year retention period to align with the four-year window for prosecuting violations of campaign finance laws. The bill applies directly to entities already mandated to file campaign disclosures under Alabama’s Fair Campaign Practices Act. It mandates record preservation without creating new reporting requirements, focusing solely on retention duration.
SB 138 prohibits franchisors from requiring franchisees to operate on religious days if the franchisee has a sincerely held religious belief, unless specific exceptions apply. These exceptions cover cases where the original franchise agreement already required operation on a religious day, the franchisee later agrees to such a requirement, or the requirement is part of expanding franchise locations. The bill provides remedies for violations, including actual damages, attorney fees, and civil penalties up to $50,000 for repeated offenses. It directly affects franchisees with religious objections and franchisors managing franchise agreements, while excluding motor vehicle and other regulated franchise types.
SB 221 would change Alabama's sales tax rules by excluding credit card transaction fees from the taxable amount when customers pay by card. Specifically, merchants would no longer include fees charged by credit/debit card networks (e.g., interchange fees) when calculating sales or use tax on purchases. This directly affects merchants who currently pay tax on the total amount charged to customers, including these fees. The bill requires the Department of Revenue to create implementation rules and takes effect September 1, 2026.
This bill establishes an Alabama Charter School Finance Authority and grants it bonding authority to manage financial operations for charter schools. It creates a board with specific powers to enter contracts and make investments on behalf of the authority. The legislation also provides immunity from lawsuits for the authority's members, officers, and employees when acting within their official duties, except in cases of intentional, willful, or wanton misconduct. This protection applies to claims involving property damage, personal injury, or other civil liabilities arising from their official actions.
SB 42 revises Alabama's municipal election rules to require runoff elections whenever no candidate receives a majority of votes cast in any municipal election - including races with only two candidates. The bill mandates that if no candidate achieves over 50% of the total votes, the municipal governing body must hold a runoff between the top two candidates. This change applies to all Alabama cities and towns holding elections where a majority winner is not determined in the first round. The law, effective June 1, 2026, updates existing procedures to ensure runoffs occur in all such cases, eliminating the previous exception for two-candidate races.
HB 239 would increase salaries for Alabama public education employees by 2% starting in the 2026-2027 fiscal year. It applies to K-12 teachers, support staff (including bus drivers), and employees at the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind (AIDB), as well as two-year postsecondary education staff. The bill requires all affected employees to receive this automatic increase regardless of experience level, with local salary schedules adjusted to reflect the change. The pay increase is mandated to be applied in addition to any existing step increases or local adjustments.
