Overview of some recently enacted bills
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Food for Thought
Judge of Probate Richard Dean
The Alabama Legislature’s 2026 Legislative Session ended with 1,046 pieces of legislation introduced. There were 666 (not sure if that is a sign) bills introduced in the House and 380 in the Senate.
Of those, 119 House bills were enacted with another 11 delivered to the governor for action. Of the 380 Senate bills, 176 have been enacted with another 22 delivered to the governor.
When looking at the Legislature’s website, the terms “enacted” and “delivered to the governor” are straightforward. However, the terms “engrossed” and “enrolled” might cause a little confusion.
In Alabama, the term “engrossed” means all amendments to the bill have been incorporated into the bill and the bill is ready for delivery to the other legislative house.
The term “enrolled” in the Alabama Legislature means that a bill has passed both the House and the Senate and has been prepared in final version for delivery to the governor for action.
Many bills introduced are never enacted or gain movement for many reasons. Sometimes legislation is introduced as a promise to someone with the intent for it to never move.
The typical Alabama legislative session is 30 days. The first legislative day began in February, and the last day must be completed by May 30. The governor may call special sessions for specific purposes. However, there are no special sessions on the calendar.
Below are some bills that were enacted that I thought might affect or interest Coosa County’s citizens. The Bill Number is followed by the Act Number and a bill synopsis.
HB2, Act 2026-364. Renames the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America.
HB66, Act 2026-101. Relates to driver license and nondriver identification cards. It will allow holders to voluntarily list certain invisible medical conditions on their license or nondriver identification cards. These invisible medical conditions could limit a person’s ability to communicate with law enforcement personnel. These conditions include communication impediments, autism, traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, schizophrenia, and cognitive disability.
HB78, Act 2026-169. Known as the Healthy Early Development and Screen Time Act. It requires the Department of Early Childhood Education, in collaboration with the State Department of Human Resources (DHR) and the State Department of Education, to develop standards and relevant annual training requirements for appropriate screen-time use in early childhood education; requires each state agency to implement the guidelines and training requirements for the early childhood education programs under their jurisdiction; conditions licensing of certain child-care facilities on compliance with screen-time guidelines; and authorizes the Department of Early Childhood Education, DHR, and the State Board of Education to adopt rules for compliance.
HB95, Act 2026-433. Mandates and establishes criteria for post-election audits of Alabama elections.
HB96, Act 2026-203. Increases the homestead exemption to fifty-six thousand four hundred dollars ($56,400) for residents over 62 years of age and for individuals with disabilities.
HB182, Act 2026-186. Requires the Alabama Department of Public Health to credit education or training acquired in military service toward qualifying for an Emergency Medical Services Personnel license.
HB300, Act 2026-190. Requires health benefit plans offered in Alabama that pay or reimburse for breast examinations, including rnammography, to provide that coverage without imposing a deductible, copayment, or coinsurance charge to the beneficiary.
HB271, Act 2026-284. Establishes a Lifetime Disabled Resident Hunting License. It states individuals who are less than 50 years of age shall be charged $50 for a lifetime disabled resident hunting license; individuals who are 50 years of age or older shall be charged $30 for a lifetime disabled resident hunting license.
HB332, Act 2026-252. Requires the Department of Human Resources to create an anaphylactic response policy; requires all licensed day care centers to adopt and implement the anaphylactic response policy; and requires all licensed day care center employees to complete an anaphylaxis training program.
SB19, Act 2026-130. Recognizes that a higher risk of prostate cancer exists in certain groups of men and requires health insurance plans to cover screening of both younger, high-risk men and all older men free of out-of-pocket costs.
SB149, Act 2026-166. Relates to K-12 teacher certification. Establishes the Military Veteran Temporary Teaching certificate and authorizes the State Board of Education to grant temporary teaching certificates to veterans who meet certain requirements for providing instruction in certain teaching fields for which the state board otherwise requires a bachelor’s degree.
SB168, Act 2026-211. Relates to public K-12 education. Specifically, it is the intent of this Legislature to require public K-12 schools to ensure that certain textbooks and instructional materials are not used in reading instruction; provides for related matters concerning practices, interventions, and curricula to be based on the science of reading; and prohibits the use of curricula that employ the Three-Cueing System model of teaching students to read. It defines the Three-Cuing System as any model of teaching students to read based on meaning, structure and syntax, and visual cues which may also be known as MSV [Meaning, Structure, Visual].
SB195, Act 2026-226. Allows will contests and estate administration in probate court to be removed to circuit court and remand to the probate court without assigning special equity jurisdiction to the probate court.
SB230, Act 2026-210. Authorizes campaign funds to be used for certain security measures to protect the safety of a candidate, an elected official, or his or her immediate family or staff.
SB242, Act 2026-220. Requires certain commercial driver license holders to possess a United States work authorization to operate a commercial motor vehicle within the state; requires an operator of a commercial motor vehicle to have proficiency in the English language; provides for certain impoundment procedures; creates the offense of presenting a false foreign commercial driver license; creates the offense of operating a commercial motor vehicle without proper documentation; and provides for penalties.
SB249, Act 2026-243. Increases the annual additional fees [to $10.00] for volunteer and professional firefighter distinctive motor vehicle license plates and provides for the distribution of the fees collected.
SB277, Act 2026-238. Clarifies that any local official whose compensation is tied to compensation of a state official shall not be entitled to receive any uniform county increases in compensation.
Many bills enacted this legislative session are local bills for the various counties and do not affect the other counties. To review all the bills introduced, go to the Alabama Legislature’s website at https://Alison.Legislature.state.al.us, then click on “Bills” on the topline menu.
If you have feedback for your representatives, give them a call or send them an email. Be respectful and address the issue by providing positive feedback.
May 19, 2026, the Alabama Primary Election will be held. Read “The Coosa County News” for important information and announcements regarding our upcoming elections. The April 24, 2026, “Coosa County News” will publish the voter list with pertinent information regarding the polling places.
Until next month, stay safe and God bless.