HB281 Alabama 2019 Session

Updated Feb 24, 2026

Summary

Primary Sponsor: Chip BrownRepresentative
Republican
Session: Regular Session 2019
Title: Mobile Co., roads, unimproved, acceptance by county, Act 87-663, 1987 Reg. Sess., am'd.
Summary: HB281 creates a Mobile County process to accept and maintain certain unimproved roads with landowner involvement, while repealing several older Mobile County road laws.
What This Bill Does
It allows Mobile County to add a limited number of miles of unimproved roads to the county maintenance system each year, equal to the prior year's miles of county-maintained dirt roads graded, drained, base, and paved, and excludes dirt roads or improvements built after January 1, 1984. For a road to be considered, adjacent property owners must sign a petition, designate a chair, and provide a 60-foot right-of-way with drainage easements, plus cover culvert, utility, and fence relocation costs. The county engineer prioritizes roads by development density and guides the process from petition to final acceptance, with the county paying most planning, surveying, and construction costs; the act also sets rules for private roads in subdivisions and repeals several older road laws.

Who It Affects
Adjacent property owners along eligible unimproved roads who must sign petitions, provide the required right-of-way and drainage, and cover culvert and relocation costs if their road is considered for county maintenance.
Mobile County government (County Commission and County Engineer) and utilities/fences required to coordinate rights-of-way, utility relocations, and ongoing maintenance for roads accepted into the county system.

Key Provisions
Section 2 establishes an annual cap on miles that can be accepted and limits eligibility to pre-1984 dirt roads that connect to existing public roads, with a recorded plat required for land divisions.
Sections 3-14 define the petition process, required roles (chair), right-of-way and drainage requirements, cost responsibilities (including culvert pipes and relocations), a detailed multi-month timeline, and the conditions under which private roads and subdivision rules may apply; they also authorize the county to adopt related rules and repeals older acts.

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