HB590 Alabama 2013 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Dan Williams

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2013

Title

Administrative Law and Procedure, warrants, administrative search warrants, official of governmental entity involved in administration of public health, safety, and general welfare law authorized to seek and obtain administrative warrant, procedures, willful obstruction a Class C misdemeanor

Summary

HB590 would allow administrative officials to obtain warrants to inspect premises for compliance with public welfare laws, with defined procedures and penalties for obstruction.

What This Bill Does

An administrative official can seek an administrative warrant from a judicial officer to enter premises and conduct inspections required by public welfare laws. The bill sets out how warrants are issued, how inspections are conducted, how testing and evidence are handled, and when inspections can take place. It makes willful obstruction of such inspections a Class C misdemeanor and notes how local funding rules interact with constitutional requirements.

Who It Affects

• Administrative officials and the government entities that enforce public health, safety, and general welfare laws, who would obtain authority to seek administrative warrants and conduct inspections.
• Owners, tenants, or other persons in control of premises that may be inspected, who could be required to allow inspections and could be charged with a Class C misdemeanor for obstruction.

Key Provisions

• Authorize an administrative official to seek and obtain from a judicial officer an administrative warrant to enter premises and conduct an inspection authorized by a public welfare law.
• Establish procedures for issuing and executing the warrant and for handling evidence discovered during the inspection.
• Make willful obstruction of an inspection conducted under this act a Class C misdemeanor.
• Provide definitions for key terms such as administrative official, administrative warrant, governmental entity, inspection, judicial officer, object of the inspection, person in control of the premises, premises, public welfare law, and unoccupied premises.
• Set the probable-cause standard for issuing an administrative warrant and outline circumstances that establish cause (routine standards, nonconformity, neutral criteria, or other constitutional standards).
• Require an affidavit and possible oath/affirmation for the warrant, describe the object of inspection, and specify consent or its refusal.
• Limit the warrant to a maximum initial duration of 14 days, with possible extension or renewal by the issuing judge, and require notice before execution if consent was previously refused.
• Detail execution rules: inspections not on weekends/holidays or outside 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. unless authorized; service in presence of person in control unless authorized for absence; continuation over days within the time period; and forcible entry only with explicit authorization.
• Provide rules on handling samples (receipts, inventories) and allow accompaniment of other authorized personnel during execution.
• Exclude evidence obtained under a warrant from use in other civil/criminal/administrative actions if the warrant is invalid or outside scope, with exceptions if the warrant was not constitutionally required.
• Set an effective date: law becomes effective on the first day of the third month after passage and governor approval, or otherwise becoming law.
• Address local funding: although the bill would mandate new or increased local expenditures, it is treated as exempt under Amendment 621 because it defines a new or amended crime.

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

Subjects

Administrative Law and Procedure