HB583 Alabama 2013 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Craig Ford

Independent

Co-Sponsor

Micky Hammon

Session

Regular Session 2013

Title

Political activity, Legislature, minority and majority parties caucus, public funds authorized for paying staff members of political caucus, Sec. 17-17-5 am'd.

Summary

HB583 lets state funds pay legislative caucus staff for legislative-process work and tightens rules on political activity and dues for public employees.

What This Bill Does

The bill amends the law to allow staff of a legislative caucus paid with state funds to perform tasks related to the legislative process, such as policy work, issue analysis, and recommendations. It defines what counts as a 'political caucus' for this purpose. It also strengthens rules on payroll deductions and dues for organizations that collect money from public employees, requiring certification that dues aren’t used for political activity, annual spending reports, and audits, and adds restrictions and penalties related to political campaigning by public employees.

Who It Affects

• Legislative caucus staff paid from state funds, who would be allowed to work on legislative-process tasks without those duties being considered 'political activities'.
• Public employees and the organizations that collect their membership dues or solicit political contributions, who would face new certification, reporting, auditing requirements, and restrictions on political activities.

Key Provisions

• Amends Section 17-17-5 to allow state-funded legislative caucus staff to perform functions related to the legislative process (policy formulation, issue analysis, recommendations).
• Defines 'political caucus' as a caucus of either house representing the majority in that house or the minority in either house.
• Requires organizations collecting membership dues from public employees to certify that none of the dues will be used for political activity and to provide annual expenditure breakdowns; imposes penalties for noncompliance and mandates annual audits by the Examiners of Public Accounts.
• Adds rules that public employees may be on approved leave or use personal time for political action, prohibitions on soliciting campaign contributions from coworkers, and criminal penalties for trading in public office.

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

Subjects

Political Activities