HB220 Alabama 2019 Session

Updated Feb 26, 2026

High Interest

Summary

Primary Sponsor: Chris PringleRepresentative
Republican
Session: Regular Session 2019
Title: Crimes and offenses, manslaughter, death resulting from unlawful sale of a controlled substance, Sec. 13A-6-3 am'd.
Summary: HB 220 makes it a manslaughter crime for a distributor of illegal drugs if someone dies from using the substance, and it notes how this change interacts with local-funding rules.
What This Bill Does
It adds a manslaughter charge (Class B felony) when a person sells or otherwise distributes a controlled substance in violation of the law and the user dies as a proximate result. It amends the crime definition in Section 13A-6-3 to include selling/furnishing/delivering/distributing a controlled substance as the trigger for manslaughter. It also clarifies that, although the bill would normally affect local funding, it is exempt from local-funding approval requirements because it defines a new or changed crime. The act becomes effective on the first day of the third month after the governor signs it.

Who It Affects
People who sell, furnish, give away, deliver, or distribute controlled substances (they could be charged with manslaughter if someone dies as a result).
Local governments and taxpayers, since the bill discusses local-funding requirements under Amendment 621 but is exempt from those requirements due to defining a new/changed crime and has a specified effective date.

Key Provisions
Amends §13A-6-3 to make it manslaughter (Class B felony) when a person sells, furnishes, gives away, delivers, or distributes a controlled substance in violation of §13A-12-211 and the recipient dies as a proximate result.
Specifies that the new manslaughter provision applies in addition to existing murder/specific-crime rules, maintaining manslaughter as a Class B felony.
Addresses Amendment 621 (Section 111.05) by noting the bill is exempt from local-funding approval requirements because it defines a new crime or amends an existing crime.
Effective date: the act becomes law on the first day of the third month after it is passed and approved by the Governor.

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