SB236 Alabama 2025 Session

Updated Feb 23, 2026

Notable

Summary

Primary Sponsor: Will BarfootSenator
Republican
Session: 2025 Regular Session
Title: Regional Mental Health Authority Boards; to revise membership and qualifications
Summary: SB236 updates how regional mental health authority boards are formed and governed by adding sheriff and probate judge representation to executive committees and restricting additional director qualifications.
What This Bill Does
It requires each executive committee to include at least one active sheriff or representative and one active judge of probate who are already on the board. It prohibits the corporation from creating new director qualifications through its charter, certificate of incorporation, or bylaws, requiring adherence to department rules instead. It clarifies quorum rules for both the board and the executive committee and requires meetings to follow the Open Meetings Act. It also establishes residency, diversity, and expertise balance requirements for directors and outlines how appointments, terms, and removals are managed by local governing bodies.

Who It Affects
Regional mental health authority board members and executive committee members, who must include sheriff/representative and probate judge representation, may opt out but must stay on the board, and must meet residency and diversity requirements.
Local governing bodies that appoint board members and the Alabama Department of Mental Health, which must coordinate appointments to ensure diverse, area-representative boards and enforce the new qualification restrictions.

Key Provisions
Executive committee of nine members (for authorities with more than 16 directors) must include at least one sheriff or representative and one judge of probate who are on the board; if multiple such officials exist, they designate one to serve; officials may opt out of serving on the executive committee but remain on the board.
The corporation cannot add new director qualifications through its certificate of incorporation, constitution, or bylaws; qualifications must follow rules adopted by the department.
Directors must be residents of the area served; board membership must reflect diversity in race, gender, geography, urban/rural status, and economics, with a balance of areas of expertise.
Quorum rules: a majority of the executive committee constitutes a quorum when it is acting on behalf of the board; a portion of the board (three members of one-third) constitutes a quorum for the full board; meetings must comply with the Open Meetings Act and be filed with the Department; governing bodies appoint or reappoint directors and terms are staggered.
Effective date: October 1, 2025.

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