LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY

As the 2026 Legislative Session begins, the Alabama State Bar is introducing a new legislative tracking format to make it easier for members to follow bills relevant to their practice areas. This new format is reflected below in the Legislative Tracking section.

On Tuesday, January 13, 2026, the Alabama Legislature convened for the start of the 2026 Legislative Session. This marks the final year of the Quadrennium, which requires an earlier start under the Alabama Constitution. As a refresher, all 140 members of the Alabama Legislature are elected every four years, and this is an election year.

Under the Constitution, the Legislative Session may last no more than 120 calendar days, with a maximum of 30 session days. During this first week, the Legislature met for three session days to allow for the initial filing of bills, committee meetings, second readings, and to advance certain bills for eligibility for passage in their house of origin on Thursday. A total of 449 bills were introduced this week, 278 in the House and 168 in the Senate.

Of the bills introduced this week, approximately 168 have been noted to be of interest to lawyers. These bills are reflected in the new tracking format below. Some topics of interest introduced this week include requirements for candidates for certain state offices, including circuit and district judgeships, district attorneys, and circuit clerks, to be natural-born citizens; changes to conservatorship and guardianship laws; mortgage and lender regulations; administrative law procedure updates; numerous consumer protection measures related to electronic screen time, age verification, and content; election laws; amendments to the Alabama Uniform Trust Code; and revisions to the Alabama Business and Nonprofit Entities Code. Approximately 80 bills related to criminal law were also introduced this week.

Additionally, the General Fund (HB 218, SB 146) and Education budgets were introduced to begin the appropriations process. Members are encouraged to review the tracking information below for bills pertinent to their practice areas. Miscellaneous legislation, including administrative law bills, may be found under the Civil category. The Domestic Relations category includes guardianship, trust, elder law, and family law-related matters.

After convening on Tuesday, the Legislature moved quickly into substantive work. Both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees held full agendas, addressing topics such as abuse and exploitation of elders and its effect on intestate succession; nondisclosure agreements involving sexual abuse settlements; changes to youthful offender eligibility in certain murder cases; death penalty eligibility for certain sexual offenses; transmission of obscene material to a child; custody law revisions; and clarification of the role of law enforcement in eviction proceedings.

Other committees also considered bills of interest, including consumer protection measures involving smart device applications and age verification, as well as legislation addressing unclaimed property related to digital assets.
Bills receiving a vote in their house of origin on Thursday included legislation requiring post-election audits by probate judges in the House and a bill establishing a process for handling out-of-state warrants in the Senate.

As always, the Alabama State Bar encourages all members to be aware of legislation that may impact court costs and fees. Access to justice is a priority. Please be aware of advertisements that may be occurring for local bills and those that may already be filed to use the courts as a fundraiser for non-court entities. We encourage you to be informed and notify us as well.

LEGISLATIVE TRACKING

We are pleased to introduce a new legislative tracking format designed to provide a more user-friendly experience for our members. Within the tracking sheets below, you may click directly on each hyperlinked bill to read the full bill text. The Alabama State Bar offers legislative status reports on pending legislation that may be of interest to lawyers. For ease of reference, bills are organized into the following categories, each of which is linked separately below: Civil/General; Court Costs; Criminal; Domestic Relations; Elections, Ethics, and Government Relations (EEGR); Judicial; and Tax.

A comprehensive master list containing all tracked legislation is also available here.

Look Up A Specific Bill Here

LEGISLATIVE CALENDAR

The 2026 regular session of the Alabama Legislature will continue as follows:

Senate: Adjourned until Tuesday, January 20, 2026, at 3:00 p.m.

House: Adjourned until Tuesday, January 20, 2026, at 1:00 p.m.