HB291 Alabama 2023 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Donna GivensRepresentative

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2023

Title

Relating to use of industrial access roads and bridges; to amend Section 23-6-9, Code of Alabama 1975, to exclude certain industrial access roads constructed by certain public corporations from the public highway and street system of the state; and to make nonsubstantive, technical revisions to update the existing code language to current style.

Summary

The bill would create a dedicated funding and oversight framework for industrial access roads and bridges built by a public corporation, and clarify they are not a taking of public property when used for secured industrial access.

What This Bill Does

It establishes an industrial access road and bridge construction account funded from the corporation's bond proceeds (excluding refunding bonds) to construct, reconstruct, relocate, and related work and property purchases for industrial access roads and bridges, with expenditures subject to approval by the State Department of Transportation and the Governor. Bond proceeds would be invested by the State Treasurer with net interest going to the state Public Road and Bridge Fund for highway purposes. The bill provides rules for refunding bonds, including defeasance and escrow arrangements. All such contracts must be in writing and overseen by the DOT, with DOT supervision of work and property acquisitions done in the state’s name or conveyed to the state. It also states that roads and bridges built by the corporation are part of the state's public highway system, allows private facilities to establish security controls on access roadways in cooperation with law enforcement (not privatizing the roadway), and appropriates bond proceeds for construction.

Who It Affects

• Public corporations that build industrial access roads and bridges, who gain a dedicated funding source and defined oversight.
• The Alabama Department of Transportation and the Governor, who must approve and supervise bond-funded construction and related work.
• The State Treasurer, who would invest the bond proceeds and manage interest allocations.
• Private facilities using industrial access roads, which may implement security controls without privatizing the roadways.
• The general public, which would benefit from maintained public road infrastructure and protections related to property rights and public use.

Key Provisions

• Creation of an industrial access road and bridge construction account funded by the corporation’s bond proceeds (except refunding bonds) for constructing, reconstructing, relocating, and related work on industrial access roads and bridges and for acquiring necessary property.
• Investment of bond proceeds by the State Treasurer under the corporation’s direction, with net interest income deposited into the state Public Road and Bridge Fund for highway purposes.
• Refunding bonds provisions, including defeasement using a trust or escrow fund to pay principal, premium, and interest when due, and ensuring securities are managed appropriately.
• Contracting rules: contracts for construction must be in writing, supervised by the DOT, subject to Governor and DOT approval, with work supervised by the DOT and performed by DOT employees if not contracted.
• Property acquisitions must be in the state's name or conveyed to the state.
• Roads and bridges constructed by the corporation are part of the state’s public highway system, with allowed security controls for private facilities that do not privatize the roadway.
• An appropriation of bond proceeds to cover construction of industrial access roads and bridges in the state.
• Effective date: the act takes effect on the first day of the third month after passage and Governor approval.

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