HB12 Alabama 2010 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Joseph C. Mitchell

Democrat

Session

Regular Session 2010

Title

Legislative record, Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate to establish procedure to implement and maintain, record to contain committee discussions, floor debate, and other material

Summary

HB12 would require the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate to create and maintain an official legislative record of Alabama's legislative process, including debates and related materials.

What This Bill Does

If enacted, the bill would require the Clerk and Secretary to establish procedures for creating and maintaining a legislative record. The record would include verbatim committee discussions, reports, votes, floor debates, public hearing discussions, and member statements about votes or actions, plus other materials upon request. It may be published as part of the journal, as a separate publication, or in digital form, and could resemble the U.S. Congressional Record. The clerks must consider cost, accessibility, usefulness, accuracy, and historical preservation, and publish the record after sessions, with possible shorter intervals; they may charge a reasonable fee to cover publication costs.

Who It Affects

• Members of the Alabama Legislature, whose debates, votes, and statements would be recorded and potentially published in official records.
• The general public and researchers, who would gain access to a more complete, official record of legislative proceedings (with possible publication fees).

Key Provisions

• The Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate must establish procedures to implement and maintain a legislative record related to the legislative process.
• The legislative record must include verbatim committee discussions, committee reports, committee votes, floor debates, public hearing discussions, and insertion of member statements explaining votes or actions, plus other materials upon a member's request.
• The record may be included in the journal, published separately, or provided in a digital or computer form; it may resemble the Congressional Record.
• Factors to consider when establishing the record include cost effectiveness, accessibility, usefulness, accuracy, and ability to preserve history.
• The Clerk and Secretary must compile, index, and publish the legislative record within a reasonable time after sine die adjournment, with the possibility of shorter publication intervals.
• They may charge a reasonable fee for the record, with proceeds used to cover publication costs.
• The act becomes effective on the first day of the third month after passage and governor approval (or when it becomes law by other means).

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Legislature