SB259 Alabama 2010 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Harri Anne Smith

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2010

Title

Obscene material involving children, disseminate further defined, material that constitutes possession of visual obscene matter further provided for, Secs. 13A-12-190, 13A-12-192 am'd.

Summary

This bill broadens Alabama's laws on obscene material involving minors by expanding what counts as disseminating and what material is illegal, and creates new penalties for possession of such material.

What This Bill Does

It broadens the ways to disseminate such material to include import, export, transfer, possession of, display, broadcast, transmit, retransmit, circulate, disperse, or distribute. It expands what counts as visual obscene matter, covering more kinds of content. It creates new offenses with penalties: possession of such material with intent to disseminate would be a Class B felony, while possession of such material without that intent would be a Class C felony. It treats each depiction of a minor as a separate offense and defines key terms such as disseminate and display publicly. It notes a local-funding issue but states the bill is exempt from local funding approval requirements under Amendment 621 due to specified exceptions.

Who It Affects

• People who possess, import, export, transfer, display, broadcast, or otherwise disseminate visual material depicting someone under 17 engaged in sexual acts would face Class B or Class C felony penalties depending on intent.
• Local governments or public entities may be affected by funding considerations, but the bill is exempt from local-funding approval rules under Amendment 621 due to specified exceptions.

Key Provisions

• Redefines disseminate to include selling, lending, showing for payment, importing, exporting, transferring possession or title, displaying, broadcasting, transmitting, retransmitting, circulating, dispersing, or distributing by any means.
• Expands the material that constitutes visual obscene matter to cover a broader range of content.
• Provides definitions for terms such as disseminate, display publicly, public thoroughfare, and knowing, and sets out what constitutes each.
• Establishes a separate offense for each visual depiction of a minor under 17 years old that violates the division.
• Imposes penalties: Class B felony for possession with intent to disseminate such material; Class C felony for possession without such intent; possession of three or more copies of the same depiction is prima facie evidence of intent to disseminate.
• Amends Sections 13A-12-190 and 13A-12-192 to implement these changes; the act becomes effective on the first day of the third month after passage and governor’s approval; the local-funding impact is exempt from Amendment 621.

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

Subjects

Crimes and Offenses