HB826 Alabama 2010 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Mike Ball

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2010

Title

Campaign contributions, reports required to include occupation and name of employer of contributor, public officials or spouses of public officials, names and compensation of those who are employed by or have contracts with a municipality, a county, or the state, public disclosure required, filing with Ethics Commission, state agencies, Internet database of state expenditures, Comptroller to include subcontracts and purchase orders, competitive bids, exemption granted to Legislature, certain colleges and universities, and Postsecondary Education Department for professional services, removed, Alabama Full Disclosure Act, Sec. 36-25-5.1 added, Secs. 17-5-8, 41-4-65, 41-16-72 am'd.; Act 2009-750, 2009 Reg. Sess.; Act 2009-751, 2009 Reg. Sess.

Summary

HB826 broadens disclosure rules for campaign money, public official employment, and state spending, and tightens professional-services procurement and public access to state expenditures.

What This Bill Does

Campaign finance reports would require the contributor's occupation and employer, and would publicly disclose names of public officials or spouses or candidates who work for the state or have state contracts. The exemption for the Legislature and certain colleges/universities from competitive procurement for professional services would be removed, with new rules guiding the selection of professional services (including attorneys, physicians, architects, and engineers). The Comptroller would expand the Internet database of state expenditures to include subcontracts and purchase orders, along with contracts and grants, making the information more accessible to the public. Public officials, their spouses, and candidates who are employed by the state or have state contracts would must notify the Ethics Commission within 30 days, and those filings would be public records.

Who It Affects

• Campaign contributors and political committees, who would have to provide occupation and employer information in disclosures and face enhanced public reporting requirements.
• State officials, employees, candidates, their spouses, legislators, higher education institutions, and vendors/contractors doing business with the state, who would face new disclosure requirements, procurement reforms, and a broader, more detailed, publicly accessible state-expenditure database.

Key Provisions

• Campaign finance reports must include the contributor's occupation and employer for contributions over $100, and must publicly disclose the names of public officials or spouses or candidates employed by the state or who have a state contract.
• The exemption for the Legislature and colleges and universities from competitive procurement of professional services is removed; these entities would now follow the state's professional-services procurement procedures, including qualifications-based selection for professional services.
• Attorneys and physicians (and other professionals) used by state entities would be selected from specified listings with criteria based on skill, experience, and cost, and fees would be negotiated with oversight by the Governor and Attorney General; there are mechanisms to justify fee levels when higher than the lowest qualified proposal.
• The Department of Finance would maintain lists of professional-service providers and require proposals; price and other factors would determine selection, with a written justification required if fees exceed the lowest bid by more than 10%.
• The Internet database of state expenditures would be expanded to include contracts, subcontracts, purchase orders, and grants, with data presented in a searchable, user-friendly format; confidentiality protections and procedures for handling confidential information would be established, and vendors may request confidentiality with a hearing if needed.
• Public officials, spouses, and candidates employed by the state or with state contracts must notify the Ethics Commission within 30 days, with the information made public, and the database would be linked from state and agency websites for public access.

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

Subjects

Campaign Contributions