HB267 Alabama 2010 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Barry Mask

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2010

Title

Attorneys, legal services provided state, fees limited, contracts submitted to Contract Review Committee, Private Attorney Retention Sunshine Act

Summary

The Alabama Private Attorney Retention Sunshine Act would require public review, bidding, and fee transparency for state contracts with private lawyers, and place caps on fees and hours.

What This Bill Does

Rewrites how the state hires private lawyers by requiring open bidding for engagements over $100,000 and a formal review process for large contracts. For contracts over $1,000,000, itmandates filing with the Contract Review Committee, a written justification and relationship disclosure, a public hearing, and a committee report before the final contract can be approved (with a long waiting period). It adds ongoing fee transparency by requiring hours, expenses, total fees, and hourly breakdowns for contingent-fee work, and it caps the state's hourly fees at $1,000.

Who It Affects

• State agencies and state officials who hire private attorneys, as they must follow bidding rules for sizable engagements and go through the Contract Review Committee process for large contracts.
• Private attorneys and law firms that work for the state, as they would face bidding requirements, disclosures of relationships, public hearings, committee oversight, and fee/hourly limits.

Key Provisions

• Establishes the Alabama Private Attorney Retention Sunshine Act and requires proposed legal contracts to be reviewed and approved or disapproved by the Contract Review Committee; defines how fees are counted.
• Requires open and competitive bidding for any state legal services contract where fees and expenses are expected to exceed $100,000.
• For contracts exceeding $1,000,000, requires filing with the Contract Review Committee, a written justification addressing reasons for private counsel, alternatives, relationships, and contingent-fee arrangements; the Committee must hold a public hearing and issue a report with proposed changes.
• If changes are proposed, agencies must adopt a final contract reflecting those changes; if no changes are made within 60 days, the agency may enter the contract; the final contract cannot be signed until at least 345 days after filing.
• Requires a detailed accounting of hours worked, expenses, total fees, and hourly rate for contingent-fee arrangements, with a cap of $1,000 per hour for state legal services.
• Effective date: the act takes effect on the first day of the third month after passage and governor approval.

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

Subjects

Attorneys