SB192 Alabama 2023 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Greg AlbrittonSenator

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; to provide for certain roads to be considered an industrial access road for purposes of this chapter; and to make nonsubstantive, technical revisions to update the existing code language to current style.

Summary

The bill excludes some industrial access roads built by public corporations from the state's public highway system as a way to prevent takings, and creates a dedicated funding and oversight framework for constructing and managing these roads and bridges.

What This Bill Does

It creates a special Industrial Access Road and Bridge Construction Account funded by most bond proceeds of the corporation, to be used only for constructing, reconstructing, and relocating industrial access roads and bridges and related work, with withdrawals approved by the State Department of Transportation and the Governor. It directs investment of those funds by the State Treasurer, with net interest going to the state’s Public Road and Bridge Fund for highway use. It sets contract rules (written contracts, DOT supervision, and Governor/DOT approval), requires property to be acquired in the state's name or conveyed to the state, and generally treats roads built by the corporation as part of the public highway system, while allowing private facilities to have security features; it also allows roads built under certain project agreements with private business entities to be owned by those entities.

Who It Affects

• Public corporations that issue bonds for industrial access road projects: their bond proceeds go into a dedicated account and can be drawn with DOT and Governor approval to build, relocate, or reconstruct industrial access roads and bridges.
• Private businesses partnering with the state (under project agreements): such roads may be considered industrial access roads and may be owned by the business entity, with the state DOT and Governor overseeing contracts and property matters.

Key Provisions

• Creates an Industrial Access Road and Bridge Construction Account funded by bond proceeds of the corporation (excluding refunding bonds) to construct, reconstruct, relocate industrial access roads and bridges and related work, with withdrawal approval by the State Department of Transportation and the Governor.
• Funds in the account are invested by the State Treasurer; net interest income is deposited into the state Public Road and Bridge Fund for highway purposes.
• Refunding bonds provisions specify use of proceeds to refund outstanding bonds and pay any premiums; defeasance details involve trusts/escrow funds and securities, with bonds no longer outstanding once defeased.
• Contracts for construction must be in writing, let under DOT supervision, and subject to Governor and DOT approval; DOT staff may supervise work if no contract is awarded to a private entity.
• Property acquired shall be in the state's name or conveyed to the state; roads and bridges built by the corporation generally constitute part of the public highway system, with security controls allowed on private facilities but not considered privatization.
• Section 40-18-374 project agreements allow roads built for business entities to be considered industrial access roads and bridges and potentially owned by the business entity.
• There is an explicit appropriation of bond proceeds for construction of industrial access roads and bridges, and the act becomes effective on the first day of the third month after passage.

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