SB262 Alabama 2022 Session

Updated Feb 22, 2026

Summary

Primary Sponsor: J.T. WaggonerSenator
Republican
Session: Regular Session 2022
Title: Secretary of State, boards and commissions, membership, maintenance on website, annual reports of board membership to Legislature, Dept. of Examiners of Public Accounts to review appointment expiration dates for statutory authority and compliance, Sec. 36-14-17 am'd.
Summary: SB262 requires the Secretary of State to publicly maintain detailed, up-to-date information on boards and temporary task forces, requires annual membership and viability reporting, and directs auditors to review appointment dates and compliance.
What This Bill Does
If enacted, the Secretary of State must publish on its official website detailed information about every board, including appointees, appointment dates, expiration dates, appointing authorities, contact details, and the board's mission. The site must be searchable and updated annually, with new boards added within 30 days and a weekly list of vacancies published; inactive boards may be flagged for Sunset review. The Department of Examiners of Public Accounts will review appointment expiration dates for statutory authority and assess compliance in board audits. For temporary task forces, the Secretary will provide similar public information, including expiration dates, meeting notices, and final reports, and final reports must be transmitted when the task force ends.

Who It Affects
Secretary of State: must establish, update, and maintain the public website and compile annual reports.
Board chairs and appointing authorities: must provide timely vacancy and appointment information and ensure data is transmitted to the Secretary of State.
Legislature (House and Senate committees): will receive annual membership/viability reports and consider Sunset review recommendations for nonviable boards.
Department of Examiners of Public Accounts: will review term expiration dates and summarize compliance in board audits.
Public and researchers: will have access to up-to-date, searchable information about boards and temporary task forces.

Key Provisions
Amends Section 36-14-17 to require the Secretary of State to establish and maintain on the official website accurate, detailed, and up-to-date information for every board, including name, contact details, mission, appointees, appointment dates, term expiration, appointing authority, and statutory authority.
Website shall be searchable by board, appointing authority, and expiration dates; new boards must be added within 30 days of creation; updated annually with data compiled for each board by January 4 each year; paper copies available on request at cost.
Annual report: Secretary of State must report membership and viability status of each board to specified House and Senate committees by the tenth legislative day of each regular session and recommend Sunset review for boards inactive five or more years.
Vacancy and appointment notifications: timelines are set for vacancies due to term expiration, new board vacancies, and new board appointments; chairs and appointing authorities must notify the Secretary of State within specified timeframes.
Removal and archival: a board that is sunsetted or terminated must be removed from the active website within 30 days, with archival data kept available.
Temporary task forces: by specified dates, maintain public information on temporary task forces (name, mission, expiration, appointees, link to creation act, meeting notices, final reports) and make final reports available when the task force dissolves.
Audits and compliance: the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts shall review expiration dates for terms tied to statutory authority and examine compliance in board audits.
Effective date: the act becomes effective June 1, 2022.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 22, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.
Subjects: Secretary of State