HB241 Alabama 2012 Session

Updated Feb 27, 2026

Low Interest

Summary

Primary Sponsor: Jay Love
Republican
Session: Regular Session 2012
Title: Acts of Alabama, House and Senate Journals, and other official documents, printing, guidelines and time frame established, Secs. 29-1-28 to 29-1-39, inclusive, 29-1-39.1, 29-1-39.2, 29-1-39.3 added; Secs. 29-1-12, 29-1-13 amended and renumbered as Secs. 29-1-26, 29-1-27
Summary: HB241 would govern how Alabama publishes and distributes the Legislature’s journals and acts, setting duties, timelines, and formats for publication and introducing penalties for delays.
What This Bill Does
It redefines responsibilities for the Clerk of the House, the Secretary of the Senate, and the Secretary of State in publishing journals and acts. It establishes deadlines for delivering materials to a state printer/vendor, specifies format and size limits for bound volumes, and requires certification and indexing. It also sets penalties for late delivery and requires bonds when using private vendors.

Who It Affects
Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate: must prepare journals, deliver copies to the vendor, and provide certifications and final forms within set timeframes.
Secretary of State: certifies title pages, compiles material for binding, and oversees distribution and publication of the acts and journals.
State printer/vendor: responsible for reproducing, binding, and distributing the acts and journals on a deadline-based schedule, with potential penalties for delays and bonds required when contracting with private vendors.
Legislative Reference Service: prepares the index to the acts.
Members of the Legislature and state offices (e.g., Supreme Court library, University of Alabama Law Library, Department of Archives and History): receive copies of the bound acts and journals and may use them as official references.
Local officials (probate judges, circuit court clerks, sheriffs, etc.): required to preserve pamphlet acts in official offices and maintain access for public Inspection.

Key Provisions
Creates Division 2: Compiling, Reproducing, and Publishing of Acts and Journals, with renamed Code sections and clarified duties.
Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate may prepare journals in camera-ready form or final reproductions and, at their discretion, prepare the final bound reproduced journals.
The Secretary of State must publish correct copies of bills and joint resolutions, showing bill numbers, authors, and act numbers in the bound volume.
Acts must be reproduced and bound in one volume (or multiple volumes if over 1,200 pages), with sponsor listings at the top of acts upon request.
Vendor must receive copies within specified timeframes, and copies must be certified as correct copies of enrolled acts.
Acts and journals are distributed to designated offices (e.g., members, Supreme Court library, LRS, UA Law Library, Archives and History), with pamphlet acts preserved by local officials.
Pamphlet acts are printed in slip or pamphlet form with size and formatting standards, and distributions include copies to key offices and public access provisions.
Delays trigger penalties: $20 per day for delays by officers or officials and $100 per day liquidated damages for vendor delays (with certain exceptions).
If the Legislature recesses for more than 30 days, acts passed before the recess may be ordered reproduced and bound immediately.
The act takes effect immediately upon approval.

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