HB631 Alabama 2012 Session

Updated Feb 27, 2026

Notable

Summary

Primary Sponsor: Charles O. Newton
Republican
Session: Regular Session 2012
Title: Public records management, membership of state and local record commission altered, Secs. 41-13-20, 41-13-22 am'd
Summary: HB631 changes who sits on Alabama's State Records Commission and Local Government Records Commission and sets their meeting frequency.
What This Bill Does
It rewrites the membership for the two record commissions, adding university and HBCU representatives and other public officials. It allows the Governor to remove certain appointed members and lets ex officio members designate a representative. It requires both commissions to hold quarterly meetings (January, April, July, October) and sets rules about how many meetings are needed and how to handle quorums for the Local Commission. It specifies that members can be reimbursed only for expenses, not salaries.

Who It Affects
State Records Commission members (nine total: Director of Archives and History as chair, Chief Examiner, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Commissioner of Revenue, Director of Finance, one UA appointee, one AU appointee, and one HBCU appointee) and their ability to be removed by the Governor for UA/AU/HBCU appointees.
Local Government Records Commission members (sixteen total: Director of Archives and History as chair, Chief Examiner, Attorney General, Secretary of State, one UA appointee, one AU appointee, one HBCU appointee, a probate judge who chairs a county commission, two county commission chairs, a county administrator, a county tax assessor, a county or municipal school system superintendent, a county sheriff, a municipal police chief, and two city clerks) and their removal by the Governor for many appointed positions.
Ex officio members and their designees (all ex officio members may designate a representative to sit on the commission, except the Director of Archives and History who cannot designate).
Public officials and institutions involved in recordkeeping (universities, local governments, and state agencies) who will be represented on the commissions and governed by new appointment and removal rules.

Key Provisions
State Records Commission expanded to nine members: Director of Archives and History (chair), Chief Examiner of Public Accounts, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Commissioner of Revenue, Director of Finance, UA appointee, AU appointee, and an HBCU appointee; Governor may remove UA/AU/HBCU appointees; ex officio members may designate a representative; no salary, only expense reimbursements; four quarterly meetings in January, April, July, and October.
Local Government Records Commission expanded to sixteen members: Director of Archives and History (chair), Chief Examiner, Attorney General, Secretary of State, UA appointee, AU appointee, HBCU appointee, one probate judge who is not chair but also chairs a county commission, two county commission chairs, one county administrator, one county tax assessor, one county or municipal school system superintendent, one county sheriff, one municipal police chief, and two city clerks; Governor may remove many appointed members; ex officio members may designate a representative; no salary, only expense reimbursements; four quarterly meetings in January, April, July, and October; quorum set as one more than half of total ex officio members plus filled appointed positions.
Effective date: The act becomes effective on the first day of the third month after it passes and is approved 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: Archives and History Department