SB354 Alabama 2018 Session

Updated Feb 24, 2026

Summary

Primary Sponsor: Vivian Davis FiguresSenator
Democrat
Session: Regular Session 2018
Title: Sexual offenses, redefined certain sexual offenses, sex offender registration, community notification act, add foster parent engaging in sex act, technical revisions, Secs. 13A-6-60 to 13A-6-67, inclusive, 13A-6-70, 13A-6-71, 13A-6-81 to 13A-6-83, inclusive, 13A-6-122, 13A-6-241, 13A-6-243, 13A-11-9, 13A-12-120, 13A-12-121, 15-20A-5, 15-20A-6, 15-20A-44, 15-23-101, 15-23-102 am'd.
Summary: SB 354 broadens and renames sexual offenses, expands who can be charged, adds foster parents to sex offender registration, and strengthens victim protections through new offenses and testing rules.
What This Bill Does
It renames 'deviate sexual intercourse' to 'sexual battery' and broadens what counts as sexual contact by including touching through clothing and expanding incapacitation definitions. It expands forcible compulsion to cover more forms of coercion and allows certain sexual contact to be charged as sexual misconduct. It removes some gender-based limitations on offenses and adds new sexual torture offenses involving physical injury to sexual organs. It adds foster parents engaging in sex acts or sexual contact with foster children to the sex offender registration and notification system and creates school-related offenses for interactions between staff and students, plus related disciplinary provisions. It authorizes STD testing in other crimes where the victim was forced to engage in sexual activity, with a 48-hour testing window when in custody, and keeps test results confidential with post-test counseling if positive. It includes technical corrections to registration provisions and notes the bill’s compliance with constitutional requirements regarding local funding.

Who It Affects
Sexual offense offenders and people charged with sex offenses: definitions broadened, more acts become crimes, and registration/notification requirements may apply.
Foster children, students, school employees, and other potential victims: new crimes in foster care and school settings, victim protections, and testing/medical reporting requirements.

Key Provisions
Rename deviate sexual intercourse to sexual battery; broaden incapacitation definitions; redefine sexual contact to include touching through clothing.
Expand forcible compulsion to include moral, psychological, or intellectual coercion and various factors in determining force.
Allow certain sexual contact to be charged under sexual misconduct and remove the requirement that offenses apply only to the opposite sex; add new sexual torture offenses involving injury to sexual organs.
Add foster parent engaging in a sex act or sexual contact with a foster child as a sex crime subject to registration and notification.
Create school-employee related offenses: sex acts with a student, sexual contact with a student, and soliciting a student to engage in a sex act, with disciplinary provisions.
Authorize STD testing in other crimes where the victim was forced to engage in sexual activity; require testing within 48 hours if in custody; keep results confidential and provide counseling if positive.
Make technical corrections to sex offender registration provisions and clarify that offenders from other jurisdictions are treated as sex offenders in Alabama.
Constitutional note: bill is exempt from local funding requirements under Amendment 621 due to specified exceptions.
Effective date: becomes law 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: Sexual Offenses