Senate Bill 132 Alabama 2026 Session

Updated Feb 12, 2026

Summary

Primary Sponsor: Shay ShelnuttSenator
Republican
Session: 2026 Regular Session
Title: Class 8 municipalities; to authorize certain municipalities to opt out of county personnel board
Summary: Authorizes certain Class 8 Alabama municipalities to opt out of county personnel boards, create their own civil service system, and adopt anti-discrimination policies, with retroactive effect and repeal of a prior opt-out law.
What This Bill Does
If passed, eligible Class 8 municipalities (population 25,000+ per the last census and with boundaries in two counties) may opt out of the county personnel board after six months’ notice. They can choose to opt back in after at least 10 years, using a separate ordinance. If they opt out, the municipality must establish its own municipal civil service system, protect vested rights of employees previously under the county board, and enact an anti-discrimination policy consistent with state and federal law.

Who It Affects
Eligible Class 8 municipalities (population 25,000+ and spanning two counties) that choose to opt out and establish a municipal civil service system; their governing bodies would decide when to opt out or back in.
Employees and appointees who were subject to the county civil service system in those municipalities; their vested rights would be preserved under the new municipal civil service system and protected from diminution.

Key Provisions
Eligibility criteria: Class 8 municipality with population of 25,000+ and a corporate limit lying in two counties.
Opt-out mechanism: the municipality may opt out of the county personnel board six months after the ordinance takes effect.
Opt-back-in: the municipality may opt back into the county personnel board after at least 10 years, by ordinance.
Civil service system: a opting-out municipality must create its own municipal civil service system and protect vested rights of existing county-system appointees.
Anti-discrimination: prohibits discrimination and requires adoption of a policy that complies with federal/state law, including explicit protections related to political, religious, racial, gender, and other prohibited grounds.
Retroactive/curative intent: the act is intended to be retroactive and curative, and actions under prior related law are ratified and validated.
Repeal of prior law: repeals Section 11-43-5.2 (which authorized some Class 8 municipalities to opt out).
Effective date: immediate.

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