House Bill 293 Alabama 2026 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Juandalynn GivanRepresentative

Democrat

Session

2026 Regular Session

Title

Crimes and offenses; harassment and harassing communications, further provided

Summary

HB293 would make harassment and harassing communications against public officials a Class B misdemeanor and clarify the definitions of harassment.

What This Bill Does

HB293 defines harassment as either touching someone or directing abusive or obscene language or gestures with the intent to harass, annoy, or alarm, and it also covers threats made to carry out the threat. It defines harassing communications as any form of written, electronic, or spoken communication intended to harass or alarm, including phone calls with no legitimate purpose and lewd or obscene language, with an exception for legitimate business communications. The bill designates harassment and harassing communications as Class C misdemeanors in general, but makes the offenses Class B misdemeanors if the victim is a public official. The act would take effect on October 1, 2026.

Who It Affects

• Public officials who are harassed or subject to harassing communications would face Class B misdemeanor penalties when targeted.
• People who commit harassment or harassing communications toward non-public-official targets would face Class C misdemeanor penalties, with legitimate business communications exempt.

Key Provisions

• Provision 1: Rewrites Section 13A-11-8 to define harassment as touching a person or directing abusive or obscene language or gestures, and adds threats intended to be carried out; harassment is a Class C misdemeanor.
• Provision 2: Rewrites Harassing Communications to cover various forms of communication intended to harass or alarm (including calls with no legitimate purpose and lewd/obscene language), retains a Class C misdemeanor, but increases the penalty to Class B if the victim is a public official, and excludes legitimate business communications.

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

Subjects

Crimes & Offenses