SB258 Alabama 2015 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Trip Pittman

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2015

Title

Governmental immunity for officers and employees of the state, official capacity and personal capacity, term includes governmental entities such as counties and municipalities as defined in Sec. 11-93-1, Code of Alabama 1975, Act 2014-124, 2014 Reg. Sess., am'd; Sec. 36-1-12 am'd.

Summary

SB258 would extend civil immunity to officers, employees, and agents of local government entities (counties and municipalities) and their instrumentalities.

What This Bill Does

It amends Act 2014-124 to include governmental entities defined in Section 11-93-1 (counties, municipalities, and their instrumentalities) within the immunity rules. This means local government actors and education employees would have the same civil immunity as state actors when acting in official capacity. The bill preserves the existing personal-capacity immunity conditions for certain official actions and keeps the exceptions for willful, malicious, fraudulent, bad-faith, beyond-authority, or legally misinterpreted conduct. It becomes effective immediately after passage and the governor's approval.

Who It Affects

• Officers, employees, and agents of counties, municipalities, and their instrumentalities who act in official capacity or within the scope of their duties.
• Education employees (teachers and staff) employed by state or local boards of education and related state entities.

Key Provisions

• Expands the definition of 'officer, employee, or agent of the state' to include governmental entities defined in Section 11-93-1 (counties and municipalities).
• Extends immunity to these local government actors for acts done in official capacity and, in personal capacity, under the same conditions as state actors (e.g., planning, administration, enforcement, etc.).
• Keeps existing exceptions: immunity does not apply if required by federal or state law or if the actor acted willfully, maliciously, fraudulently, in bad faith, beyond authority, or under a mistaken interpretation of the law.
• Effective date: immediately following passage and gubernatorial approval.

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

Subjects

Civil Procedure