HB4 Alabama 2016 1st Special Session Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Steve McMillan

Republican

Session

First Special Session 2016

Title

Trapping animals on public lands, injuries to person or animals, strict liability, repealed, Sec. 9-11-264 repealed

Summary

HB4 updates how Alabama defines nighttime for hunting, standardizing it as 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise and moving that definition into a new code section.

What This Bill Does

It clarifies the time window for nighttime hunting and aligns the definition with times recorded by the Naval Observatory. It adds a new code section (9-11-230.1) to define nighttime hours in the hunting article and amends 9-11-235 to reflect the nighttime window. It keeps existing penalties for nighttime hunting violations, including fines, potential jail time, and three-year hunting-license revocation, and the act takes effect immediately after passage.

Who It Affects

• Hunters and hunting license holders, because nighttime hunting is defined and the rules about when it applies are clarified.
• Law enforcement, wildlife officers, and regulatory agencies responsible for enforcing hunting laws and license suspensions, because they must apply the updated definition and penalties.

Key Provisions

• Amend Section 9-11-235 to define 'nighttime hours' as 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise, using Naval Observatory times, and retain penalties for violations.
• Add Section 9-11-230.1 to define 'nighttime hours' for the hunting article, ensuring consistent usage across the code; the act becomes effective immediately.

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

Subjects

Animals