HB522 Alabama 2012 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Joseph C. Mitchell

Democrat

Session

Regular Session 2012

Title

Legislative record, Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate to establish procedure to implement and maintain, record to contain committee discussions, floor debate, and other material

Summary

HB522 would require the Clerk of the Alabama House and the Secretary of the Senate to create and maintain a formal legislative record of proceedings, similar to the Congressional Record.

What This Bill Does

It requires the Clerk and the Secretary to establish procedures to implement and maintain a legislative record. The record would include verbatim committee discussions, committee reports, committee votes, floor debates, public hearing discussions, and insertion of member statements about votes or actions, plus other materials on request. It may be published as part of the journal, as a separate publication, or in digital form, and would consider factors like cost, accessibility, usefulness, accuracy, and preservation; publication would occur within a reasonable time after sine die, and shorter intervals are possible. The act allows the clerks to charge a reasonable fee to cover publication costs.

Who It Affects

• Legislators and legislative staff would have to capture and potentially present detailed debates, votes, and member statements in the official record.
• The general public and researchers would gain access to a more complete and searchable record of legislative proceedings.

Key Provisions

• Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate must establish procedures to implement and maintain a legislative record.
• The record must include verbatim committee discussions, committee reports, committee votes, floor debates, public hearing discussions, and insertion of member statements about votes or actions, plus other materials upon request.
• The record may be published as part of the journal, as a separate publication, or in digital form, and may resemble the Congressional Record.
• Clerks must consider cost-effectiveness, accessibility, usefulness, accuracy, and historical preservation when establishing the record.
• The clerks must compile, index, and publish the record within a reasonable time after adjournment sine die; shorter publication intervals may also occur.
• The clerks may charge a reasonable fee for the record, with proceeds used to cover publication costs.
• The act becomes effective on the first day of the third month after passage and approval by the Governor.

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

Subjects

Legislature