HB633 Alabama 2011 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Oliver Robinson

Democrat

Session

Regular Session 2011

Title

Ethics Law, thing of value, definition to exclude things provided at certain municipality-owned, public-private facilities under certain conditions, that are not provided to a member of the Legislature, Sec. 36-25-1.5 am'd.

Summary

HB633 would add a new exception to the Ethics Act so that certain admissions and hospitality given at municipality-owned, public-private facilities may not be considered a 'thing of value' if specific conditions are met and the recipient is not a member of the Legislature.

What This Bill Does

The bill amends the definition of 'thing of value' to exclude admissions, hospitality, meals, food, or beverages provided at a public-private facility owned by a municipality, as long as the recipient is not a member of the Alabama Legislature and the following conditions are met: no particular action is required to receive them; the facility is owned by a municipality; the facility is part of an economic or community development project; and the facility is leased to a for-profit entity that makes rent or other payments influenced by the facility's revenues. If these conditions are not met, the items would still count as a 'thing of value' under existing ethics rules.

Who It Affects

• Legislators: the exclusion applies only when the item is not provided to a member of the Legislature; if a legislator receives it, it remains a 'thing of value' and subject to ethics rules.
• Municipalities and their public-private facility operators (and the for-profit tenants): they would be able to offer admissions/hospitality at qualifying facilities without those items counting as 'things of value' to non-legislative recipients.

Key Provisions

• Defines an exception to 'thing of value' for admissions, hospitality, meals, food, or beverages provided at a municipality-owned, public-private facility, provided the recipient is not a member of the Alabama Legislature and the listed conditions are met.
• Conditions for the exception: (1) no particular course of action is required to receive the item, (2) the facility is owned by a municipality, (3) the facility is developed or constructed as part of an economic or community development project, (4) the facility is leased to a for-profit business entity that makes rent payments to the owner and/or makes other payments affected by the facility's revenues.
• The bill preserves the existing concept that items provided by government or entities that support government are not considered 'things of value' in general, while adding these specific municipal-public-private facility exclusions.
• Effective and operative details are included in the bill, including severability and related provisions.

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

Subjects

Ethics