HB253 Alabama 2019 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Chris PringleRepresentative

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2019

Title

Professional licensing Boards, self-sustaining, bds, agencies, and commissions exempted from publishing expenditures through Comptroller website, required to post expenditures on bd, agency, or commission website

Summary

HB 253 would require self-sustaining state professional licensing boards, agencies, and commissions to publish their expenditure data on their own public websites.

What This Bill Does

If enacted, the bill requires each self-sustaining licensing board to post all expenditures on its website, including amount, date, payer, and payee, plus detail on the expense object and, if available, classification. The information must be searchable and presented clearly, potentially with charts, and accessible to the public at no cost. Payee addresses cannot be disclosed, but the county may be shown, and confidential information must be protected, with a process to determine confidentiality for prices. The Department of Finance must add prominent links to these pages on the state home page, and each board must have a visible link on its own site; boards may adopt rules to implement these changes, and a vendor confidentiality process with a hearing and possible court review is provided.

Who It Affects

• Self-sustaining professional licensing boards, agencies, and commissions: must publish detailed expenditure information on their own websites, keep it searchable, and link to it from the state home page and their own homepages.
• Public and vendors/contractors: gain public access to expenditure data at no cost; vendors may request confidentiality for prices, with a formal process including a hearing and potential court review; payee addresses are restricted while county information may be shown.

Key Provisions

• Defines licensing boards as self-sustaining entities whose expenditures are not required to be published in the Comptroller's public database.
• Requires each board to publish expenditures on its own website, including amount, date, payor, and payee; provides for object and (where available) class/item level details; data must be electronically searchable and user-friendly, with possible graphical representations.
• Prohibits posting of payee addresses, but allows disclosure of payee county; restricts disclosure of confidential information; board personnel are immune from civil liability for postings made in reliance on confidentiality determinations.
• If information is already collected by the board, it must be included on the website; no fee may be charged to access required information.
• The Department of Finance must prominently link to each board’s expenditure information from the state home page; each board must place a prominent link on its own homepage.
• Boards may adopt rules to implement the section; a vendor confidentiality process is established, including a written notice, a hearing, and court review of confidentiality rulings.
• Effective date: the act takes effect on the first day of the third month after passage and 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

Professional Licensing Boards