HB86 Alabama 2026 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Chris EnglandRepresentative

Democrat

Session

2026 Regular Session

Title

Parole; criteria for parole consideration revised

Summary

HB86 would revise Alabama's parole criteria to require positive consideration of specified factors and to use actuarially based guidelines for parole decisions.

What This Bill Does

It amends Section 15-22-26 to require the Board of Pardons and Paroles to use guidelines that positively consider certain factors in parole decisions and to base decisions on an actuarial assessment to protect public safety. The guidelines cover risk to reoffend, progress on reentry, input from victims and law enforcement, participation in risk-reduction programs, institutional behavior, offense severity, and the inmate's employment and education. The board must give positive consideration to low risk to reoffend, employment, and education, and may consider other factors in the guidelines. Effective October 1, 2026, parole decisions remain discretionary, and the board must articulate reasons for approval or denial and provide those reasons to inmates and interested parties upon request.

Who It Affects

• Incarcerated individuals eligible for parole: their parole decisions will be guided by the new actuarial guidelines and factors, potentially affecting whether they qualify for parole.
• Victims, victims' families, prosecutors, law enforcement, and the Department of Corrections: they can provide input and can request and receive written reasons for parole decisions.

Key Provisions

• Provision 1: Establishes actuarially based parole guidelines with a three-year review cycle, an open comment period, and public posting for transparency.
• Provision 2: Requires positive consideration of specific factors (low risk to reoffend, employment, education) and allows other guideline factors; preserves board discretion and requires articulated reasons for approval or denial; sets October 1, 2026 effective date.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 12, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Incarceration