SB94 Alabama 2010 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Myron Penn

Democrat

Session

Regular Session 2010

Title

Campaign contributions, limited for candidates for Alabama Supreme Court, Court of Civil Appeals, Court of Criminal Appeals, circuit courts, district courts

Summary

SB94 would cap contributions to candidates for Alabama appellate and trial court elections and provide inflation-adjusted increases to those caps.

What This Bill Does

It sets contribution limits: $5,000 per election for candidates running for the Alabama Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, or Court of Criminal Appeals; $2,000 per election for candidates running for circuit or district courts; these limits apply to individuals, PACs, and political parties. It establishes an automatic inflation adjustment based on the consumer price index, updated each January 1 of even-numbered years and rounded to the nearest $50. It defines who counts as a candidate for these offices and clarifies how the new limits interact with existing campaign laws. It also notes that corporate contributions remain limited to $500 per election under existing law.

Who It Affects

• Individuals, political action committees (PACs), and political parties: their donations to court-candidate campaigns would be limited to $2,000 (state trial courts) or $5,000 (appellate courts) per election, with possible CPI-based increases over time.
• Candidates for appellate and state trial courts: their campaign fundraising would be subject to these new per-election caps, and their timing and amounts would be affected by the CPI adjustments and the effective date.

Key Provisions

• Sets contribution limits: $5,000 per election for appellate office candidates; $2,000 per election for state trial court candidates; Applies to individuals, PACs, and political parties.
• Automatic CPI-based increases: limits are increased on January 1 of each even-numbered year according to the consumer price index, rounded to the nearest $50.
• Definitions: clarifies who is a candidate for appellate judicial office and who is a candidate for state trial court.
• Effective date: the act takes effect on the first day of the third month after passage and governor's approval.
• Corporate contributions: existing cap of $500 per election remains in place; this bill does not change corporate limits.

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

Subjects

Elections