HB386 Alabama 2016 Session

Updated Feb 26, 2026

Notable

Summary

Primary Sponsor: Connie C. Rowe
Republican
Session: Regular Session 2016
Title: Second degree assault, enhanced penalties for violations against law enforcement officers, firefighters and other specified persons, Sec. 13A-6-21 am'd.
Summary: HB386 would upgrade the penalty for certain second-degree assaults against specific public safety workers when someone tries to stop them from performing their duties.
What This Bill Does
It amends Section 13A-6-21 to raise the offense described in (a)(4) — assault to prevent a peace officer, detention or correctional officer, emergency medical personnel, a utility worker, or a firefighter from performing a lawful duty and causing injury — from a Class C felony to a Class B felony. It keeps existing penalties for other second-degree assault provisions (such as assaults on teachers and health care workers) at Class C and clarifies that off-duty peace officers performing duties in approved uniforms are considered to be performing a lawful duty. It notes that the local-funding requirement under Amendment 621 does not apply because the bill defines or amends a crime, and it becomes effective on the first day of the third month after passage and governor approval.

Who It Affects
Group 1: Protected workers (peace officers, detention or correctional officers, emergency medical personnel, utility workers, and firefighters) would face a Class B felony if someone intends to prevent them from performing their duties and injures someone.
Group 2: Teachers and health care workers are included as potential victims under the statute, but the enhanced penalty does not apply to them unless the specific (a)(4) scenario is involved; assaults against them continue to carry Class C penalties under the other provisions.

Key Provisions
Upgrade the (a)(4) second-degree assault offense to Class B felony when the offender intends to prevent specified workers from performing a lawful duty and injures someone.
Preserve Class C penalties for other second-degree assault subdivisions (a)(1)-(3) and (a)(5)-(7).
Define utility worker for purposes of the statute and include off-duty peace officers in approved uniform as performing a lawful duty.
Section 2 states the bill is exempt from local-funding requirements under Amendment 621 because it defines a new crime or amends an existing crime.
Section 3 sets the effective date: the act takes effect on the first day of the third month after passage and governor 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: Crimes and Offenses