SB332 Alabama 2023 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Shay ShelnuttSenator

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2023

Title

Relating to insurance; to limit the authority of secondary legal sources pertaining to insurance in legal proceedings.

Summary

SB332 would restrict how much secondary legal sources about insurance can be used as authority in insurance-related lawsuits, prioritizing primary sources and requiring Department of Insurance adoption for exceptions.

What This Bill Does

The bill creates a clear distinction between primary legal sources (like constitutions, statutes, agency rules, case law, and federal codes) and secondary legal sources (such as treatises, law reviews, textbooks, restatements, and dictionaries). It prohibits secondary sources on insurance from constituting law or public policy or being treated as authoritative in insurance cases unless the Department of Insurance formally adopts them. It also blocks secondary sources that try to create, remove, expand, or limit a legal right or remedy, or that conflict with primary insurance law, from being used as authority. The act becomes effective immediately after passage and gubernatorial approval.

Who It Affects

• Parties and lawyers involved in insurance-related legal proceedings, who would be limited in citing or relying on secondary sources as authoritative and would need primary sources unless a DoI adoption is in place.
• The Alabama Department of Insurance and publishers/authors of secondary insurance-related legal sources, who would determine or be affected by whether a secondary source is formally adopted and thus recognized as authority.

Key Provisions

• Defines primary legal sources as constitutional documents, the Alabama Constitution (2022), the Code of Alabama 1975, agency rules, state case law, and the United States Code.
• Defines secondary legal sources as publications not primary sources, including treatises, law reviews/journals, textbooks, restatements, dictionaries, and encyclopedias.
• Provides that, unless formally adopted by the Department of Insurance, a secondary source about insurance may not be considered law, public policy, or authoritative in insurance proceedings if it attempts to create/eliminate/expand/restrict a right or if it conflicts with a primary insurance source.
• Effective date: immediately after passage and governor's approval.

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

Subjects

Insurance, legal proceedings, secondary sources not authoritative.