HB8 Alabama 2010 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Joseph C. Mitchell

Democrat

Session

Regular Session 2010

Title

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

Summary

The bill would require the Clerk of the Alabama House to create and publish a formal legislative record of debates, votes, and related materials from the legislative process.

What This Bill Does

If enacted, the Clerk must establish procedures to implement and maintain a legislative record that includes verbatim committee discussions, committee reports, committee votes, floor debates, public hearing discussions, and statements by members about why they voted a certain way or took a particular action, plus other materials requested by members. The record may be published as part of the journal, as a separate publication, or in a separate digital form and should be similar in form to the U.S. Congressional Record. The Clerk must publish the record within a reasonable time after the session ends (and may publish more often), and may charge a reasonable fee to cover publication costs.

Who It Affects

• Members of the Alabama House of Representatives, whose discussions, votes, and explanations may be recorded and published
• The general public and researchers, who would have access to a publicly available legislative record in print or digital form for transparency and historical purposes

Key Provisions

• The Clerk must establish procedures to implement and maintain a legislative record of matters related to the legislative process
• The record includes a verbatim copy of committee discussions, committee reports, committee votes, floor debates, and discussions during public hearings, plus member insertions explaining votes or actions and other materials requested by members
• The record may be included in the journal, published separately, or provided in a digital or computer form, and may resemble the U.S. Congressional Record
• The Clerk must consider cost effectiveness, accessibility, usefulness, accuracy, and historical preservation when establishing the record
• The Clerk shall compile, index, and publish the legislative record within a reasonable time after adjournment of a session, with the ability to publish more frequently
• The Clerk may charge a reasonable fee to cover the costs of publication

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 25, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Legislature