Update 3 on the 2016 Alabama Legislature’s current session
Here is a summary of major new laws passed by the current session of the Alabama legislature:
Alabama Act 2016-149: This law tweaks aspects of the Alabama Trails Commission. It addresses membership on the commission and its advisory board and provides for terms of the commission and advisory board. The commission is currently part of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, but can be transferred to another state agency or department under specified conditions.
Alabama Act 2016-150: This act establishes the Alabama Transportation Safety Fund, which can be used to construct, maintain, or improve state, county, and municipal roads and bridges. The fund is primarily designed to be a way to receive and administer federal matching funds for highway construction.
Alabama Act 2016-151: This act amends Alabama Code § 32-2-83 and changes the way in which the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (formerly the Alabama Department of Public Safety) disposes of vehicles and allows for the vehicles and property to be sold to local law enforcement agencies.
Alabama Act 2016-152: This act amends various sections of the Alabama Code so that the number of days between conviction of a traffic offense and notification of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is reduced from 10 to 5 days. The act also revises penalties for persons operating commercial vehicles in violation of laws about railroad crossings. For multiple violations of railroad crossing laws, a person can have his or her license suspended up to a year, up from the previous maximum of 120 days.
Alabama Act 2016-153: This act addresses nighttime hunting of protected birds and animals and amends Alabama Code § 9-11-235. Nighttime hunting is now defined as 30 minutes after sunset and 30 minutes before sunrise of the following day, as sunrises and sunsets are recorded by the U.S. Naval Observatory.
Alabama Act 2016-156: This act creates the Alabama Task Force on At-Risk Children. This task force will study issues related to children in the juvenile and criminal justice systems, especially the availability of counseling and mental-health services. The task force’s report is due at the beginning of the 2017 legislative session.
Alabama Act 2016-164: This act creates the Alabama Juvenile Justice Task Force. This task force will study the financial and administrative costs of providing housing, transportation, and services for juveniles in the justice system. In passing this act, the legislature noted that the current system of funding these services is complex and antiquated and suggests that a comprehensive system of funding will probably work better. In addition, the task force will explore possibilities for alternatives to detention so that the costs for the services are reduced. The task force’s report is due at the beginning of the 2017 legislative session.
Alabama Act 2016-166: This law is be known as the Alabama School Bus Safety Act. This new law allows school boards to install cameras on school buses that photograph or video the rear of a motor vehicle that doesn’t stop for a school bus discharging children. This act provides for a civil penalty of $300 for each violation. Under the law, a violator is presumed “guilty,” but can contest responsibility in Alabama district or municipal courts.
Alabama Act 2016-188: This law is to be known as the Alabama Small Business and Agribusiness Jobs Act. It provides a tax credit to Alabama small business employers that create new jobs and hire new employees under certain conditions. The act allows the Alabama Department of Revenue to implement a program of tax credits for small businesses.
Alabama Act 2016-189: This act amends Alabama Code § 34-25-22 about licensing of polygraph examiners. Among other things, the amendments require that an applicant submit two sets of fingerprints to the Board of Polygraph Examiners, consent to background checks, and pay for the background checks.
Alabama Act 2016-191: This act concerns captive insurance companies (CICs), which are insurance companies owned by the insured. Typically, the insured is the only shareholder and only customer of a CIC, but groups of professionals can form such companies. The act revises the way in which CICs are licensed, allows CICs to be formed as a series of limited liability companies, changes the initial captive requirements for forming a CIC, caps the premium tax on CICs, and provides for the governance and taxation of protected cell CICs. A protected cell is a separate account established by a protected cell CIC in which an identified pool of assets and liabilities is segregated and insulated from the remainder of the CIC’s assets and liabilities.
Alabama Act 2016-198: In general, this act provides a 4 percent pay increase for most teachers and administrative personnel of Alabama public schools currently making less than $75,000 a year and a 2 percent increase for those currently making more than $75,000 a year. See the actual act for details.
Alabama Act 2016-199: This is the appropriations bill for public education for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2017. This act funds secondary schools, community colleges, and universities. See the actual act for details.