Senate Bill 272 Alabama 2026 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Arthur OrrSenator

Republican

Session

2026 Regular Session

Title

Open Records; use of public records relating to schools for certain solicitation purposes prohibited; redaction of certain information relating to financial transactions required

Summary

SB272 would restrict the use of public school records for solicitations by requiring redaction of financial data, banning sale or use of name and address lists for solicitation, and allowing civil penalties for violations when records are requested from local boards of education.

What This Bill Does

When records about public contracts for goods or services are requested from a local board of education, the custodian must redact financial identifiers and other information that could be used to start a financial transaction. The bill also prohibits selling or offering for sale any list of names and addresses from those records for the purpose of soliciting those individuals or entities. Violators can face civil penalties up to 500 dollars per violation, enforceable by the Attorney General. Requesters may be required to sign a written certification that they do not intend to use the data for solicitation, and the State Board of Education may provide guidance and model certification forms; the act is effective immediately.

Who It Affects

• Local boards of education and their public-record custodians must redact sensitive financial data and follow the new rules and potential certification requirements when handling records requests.
• Individuals or entities whose names and addresses appear in those public records are protected from solicitation and sale of their information, and cannot be targeted or have their data used to solicit them.

Key Provisions

• Redact account numbers, tax identification numbers, routing numbers, employee identification numbers, sensitive personal identifying information, and similar data that could be used to initiate a financial transaction from records relating to public contracts for goods or services requested from a local board of education.
• Prohibit knowingly selling or offering for sale any list of names and addresses contained in or derived from those records for the purpose of soliciting those individuals or entities.
• Impose civil penalties up to $500 per violation, payable to the state, with enforcement by the Attorney General.
• Allow, and in some cases require, a written certification from the requester that they will not use the data to solicit or sell to listed individuals or reside at listed addresses; may also prohibit distributing the data to others for such purposes.
• Protect public officers acting in good faith from liability for providing access to records in compliance with the act.
• Authorize the State Board of Education to adopt rules and provide guidance, including a model certification form, to implement the section.
• Take effect immediately.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 19, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Government Administration