HB225 Alabama 2015 Session

Updated Feb 24, 2026

Summary

Primary Sponsor: Richard Lindsey
Democrat
Session: Regular Session 2015
Title: Counties, co. commission, operation, contracts with municipalities, contracts or employment with family members of commissioners clarified, self-funded property insurance, maintenance of annexed roads including evacuation route, bonding of employees of emergency communication districts, Secs. 11-1-10, 11-3-5, 11-30-1, 11-49-80, 11-98-4 am'd.
Summary: HB225 would let Alabama counties contract with municipalities, tighten conflict-of-interest rules for county commissioners, allow counties to self-fund property insurance, set evacuation-route road annexation rules, and strengthen bonding requirements for emergency communications district staff.
What This Bill Does
The bill allows counties to contract with municipalities in Alabama. It tightens conflict-of-interest rules for county commissioners and defines 'family member' per ethics law, preventing commissioners from contracting with the county or employing relatives. It lets two or more counties self-fund property insurance, similar to how they can self-fund liability insurance. It updates road annexation rules for evacuation routes, limiting municipal annexation or regulation of evacuation routes without a county-municipality agreement, and clarifies bonding requirements for emergency communication district employees.

Who It Affects
Counties and county governments: gain authority to contract with municipalities; may form or join self-funded property insurance programs; manage evacuation-route roads under new annexation rules.
Municipalities: subject to intergovernmental contracts with counties and to new rules about evacuation-route roads and annexation considerations.
County commissioners and their families: subject to clarified prohibitions on contracting with the county or hiring relatives, with a defined 'family member' term from ethics law.
Emergency communication districts and their employees/directors: subject to clarified bonding requirements and minimum/maximum bond amounts to be maintained by the district.

Key Provisions
Authorizes county commissions to contract with municipalities within the state for public interest purposes (economic development, services, etc.).
Clarifies conflict-of-interest rules: a county commissioner may not contract with the county personally or through their business, and may not participate in hiring a family member; 'family member' is defined as in the state ethics law.
Authorizes two or more counties to self-fund property insurance, in the same way they can self-fund liability insurance.
Evacuation-route and annexation rules: county-maintained roads or bridges used for evacuation cannot be annexed or regulated by a municipality without a mutual agreement; outlines scenarios for annexation and consent processes related to county and municipal responsibilities.
Bonding of emergency communication district staff: specifies which employees must be bonded and sets bond amounts at not less than 0.5% of the district's prior-year funds, with a minimum of $10,000 and a maximum of $50,000; district pays the bonds; allows bonding to be combined for board members when appropriate.

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