House Bill 227 Alabama 2026 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Jim HillRepresentative

Republican

Session

2026 Regular Session

Title

Administrative Office of Courts, creation of judicial education nonprofit

Summary

HB227 would authorize the Administrative Office of Courts to create a nonprofit to fund and oversee judicial education, with funds potentially held outside the state treasury and a temporary sales/use tax exemption for the Judicial College Education Fund.

What This Bill Does

It authorizes the Administrative Office of Courts and its Administrative Director to form and use a nonprofit (501(c)(3)) to develop, implement, manage, and fund judicial education plans, conferences, and programs, and to accept nonpublic funds for this purpose. The nonprofit may hold nonpublic funds outside the State Treasury, subject to annual audits by a certified independent accounting entity, and large nonpublic contributions (over $2,500 from a single source in a fiscal year) must be publicly disclosed in the audit. The act also allows transferring state funds to the nonprofit to support judicial education, and places the nonprofit under the AOC with staff provided by the AOC. It provides a sales and use tax exemption for the Alabama Judicial College Education Fund (with local exemptions possible) from September 1, 2026 through August 31, 2031, and states the act is remedial/curative with an effective date of May 1, 2026.

Who It Affects

• Administrative Office of Courts and judicial personnel (justices, judges, circuit clerks, and court-supportive personnel) who would participate in, sponsor, or benefit from funded judicial education and related expenses, and who would interact with the new nonprofit for education programs and funding.
• The Alabama Judicial College Education Fund and local governments (counties and municipalities) that may be affected by tax exemptions and the broader management of funds dedicated to judicial education.

Key Provisions

• Authorize the Administrative Office of Courts and the Administrative Director of Courts to create and use a nonprofit entity (as defined by 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3)) to develop, implement, manage, and fund judicial education plans, conferences, and programs, and to collect nonpublic funds to support this purpose.
• Allow the nonprofit to hold nonpublic funds outside the State Treasury, provided the funds are audited annually by a certified, independent accounting entity.
• Require transparency for substantial nonpublic funding: any money over $2,500 from a single nonpublic source in a fiscal year must be publicly available as part of the entity’s audit obligations; conference registration fees are not considered outside funds for this purpose.
• Permit transfers of state funds to the nonprofit to support judicial education, and designate that the nonprofit be housed at the Administrative Office of Courts and staffed with AOC employees.
• Exempt the Alabama Judicial College Education Fund from state sales and use taxes; counties and municipalities may grant exemptions as allowed by law; the exemption runs from September 1, 2026 to August 31, 2031.
• The act is remedial and curative, actions by the AOC to conform with the act are ratified and confirmed, and the act becomes effective May 1, 2026.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 17, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Courts & Judges