HB371 Alabama 2024 Session

Updated Feb 23, 2026

Notable

Summary

Primary Sponsor: Corey Harbison
Republican
Session: Regular Session 2024
Title: Cullman County, authorizes sheriff to take certain actions regarding abandoned or stolen weapons
Summary: HB371 authorizes the Cullman County Sheriff to maintain a permanent record of abandoned or stolen firearms and to sell, trade, or destroy them under defined rules with proceeds split between the sheriff and the district attorney.
What This Bill Does
It requires the Cullman County Sheriff to keep a separate permanent record of all abandoned and stolen firearms not subject to disposition by general law, including description, recovery date, serial number, and recovery location. Firearms may be sold or destroyed only after they are recorded, have been in the sheriff's possession for at least six months, and the owner has not claimed them. Sales or trades must be to gun dealers with at least one year of active licensure in Alabama, and a procedure to notify dealers about available firearms must be established. Proceeds from sales are split 70% to the sheriff's office and 30% to the district attorney; the sheriff may establish a destruction procedure and use department funds for that purpose; the act becomes effective October 1, 2024.

Who It Affects
Cullman County Sheriff — gains authority to record, manage, dispose of, and allocate proceeds from abandoned or stolen firearms.
Licensed Alabama gun dealers (at least one year of active license) — may purchase firearms from the sheriff and must be notified about firearms available for sale or trade.
Unclaimed firearm owners in Cullman County — risk losing ownership of their firearm after six months if unclaimed and the firearm is disposed of by sale or destruction.
District Attorney's Office — receives 30% of the net proceeds from firearm sales.

Key Provisions
Section 1(a): Defines 'firearm' to have the same meaning as in Section 13A-8-1 of the Alabama Code.
Section 1(b): The Sheriff of Cullman County must maintain a separate permanent record of abandoned and stolen firearms not subject to disposition by general law, including description, date of recovery, serial/identifying number, and place of recovery.
Section 1(c): A firearm may be sold or destroyed after being recorded, kept by the sheriff for at least six months, and remaining unclaimed by the owner.
Section 1(d): Sale or trade of firearms under subsection (c) is limited to gun dealers with at least one year of active business licensure in Alabama; the sheriff must establish a procedure to notify dealers of firearms available for sale or trade; net proceeds are allocated 70% to the sheriff's office and 30% to the district attorney.
Section 1(e): The sheriff may establish a procedure to destroy firearms and may use sheriff department funds for that purpose.
Section 2: The act becomes effective on October 1, 2024.

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