This amendment recreates the Alabama Commission on the Evaluation of Services as a legislative department, establishes a new committee to oversee it, and defines how state agencies must be evaluated.
Alabama2026Enacted
SB317
Recreating Alabama's Program Evaluation Group
Last scannedAug 24, 2026, 9:06 AM
In one sentence
This law recreates the Alabama Commission on the Evaluation of Services as part of the legislature, sets up a new committee to oversee it, and requires state agencies to submit evaluation plans for new or expanded programs.
What it does
- Recreates the Alabama Commission on the Evaluation of Services as a legislative department.
- Creates the Legislative Committee on the Evaluation of Services to supervise the commission's work.
- Establishes the Alabama Commission on the Evaluation of Services Fund in the State Treasury, funded through state appropriations and grants from other sources.
- Requires agencies to submit evaluation plans for new programs or major expansions before data is analyzed.
- Allows the Legislature to require evaluations of specific proposed or existing programs or policies through budget acts or the Joint Legislative Committee on Finance and Budget.
- Repeals the previous law that created the old version of this commission.
Who it affects
- The Alabama Commission on the Evaluation of Services and its director.
- State agencies that receive appropriations from the state.
- The Legislative Committee on the Evaluation of Services.
- The Legislative Services Agency, which must identify new or expanded programs for review.
Limits and unknowns
- The commission can only spend money appropriated by the Legislature.
- Specific rules for evaluation reports and schedules depend on standards to be developed and published by the commission.
- The law does not specify which programs will be evaluated first, leaving those choices to future decisions.
Plain language
Terms to know
- Causal Impact Evaluation
- A rigorous evaluation that uses experimental or quasi-experimental methods to determine whether a program caused observed outcomes, isolating the program's effects from other factors.
- Evaluation Plan
- A written document describing how an agency will assess a program's implementation, outputs, and outcomes, including data sources, indicators, and methods to be used.
- Logic Model
- A visual or narrative representation showing the logical relationships between a program's resources, activities, outputs, and intended outcomes.
- Major Expansion
- An increase in a program's appropriation of 25 percent or more compared to the prior fiscal year, or an expansion that significantly changes the target population, service delivery method, or geographic scope.
Official record
Sources
Official summary
This act adds Chapter 2B to Title 29, Code of Alabama 1975, to: (1) recreate the Alabama Commission on the Evaluation of Services as a legislative department; (2) substantially revise the provisions governing the operation and providing the duties of the commission, including the preparation and publication of program evaluations; (3) establish the Legislative Committee on the Evaluation of Services as a continuing legislative committee to supervise the commission; (4) create the Alabama Commission on the Evaluation of Services Fund in the State Treasury from which the commission is to operate, to be funded through appropriations from the Legislature; (5) authorize the Legislature to require the commission to evaluate a specific proposed or existing program or policy or line item through an appropriations act or the Joint Legislative Committee on Finance and Budget; (6) require the Legislative Services Agency to identify after certain legislative sessions each new or expanded program for which an agency received an appropriation and notify the commission; (7) require each state agency to prepare and submit to the commission an evaluation plan for each such new or expanded program; and (8) provide for the appointment of a director of the commission. This act also repeals Chapter 2A of Title 29 of the Code of Alabama 1975, which established and provided for the previous commission.
Official activity
Bill history
- EnactedSenate
- Orr Motion to Concur In and Adopt House Amendment - Adopted Roll Call 1130 (Yeas 29, Nays 0)Senate
- Signature RequestedHouse
- Delivered to GovernorSenate
- EnrolledSenate
- Ready to EnrollSenate
- Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass as Amended - Adopted Roll Call 1149 (Yeas 102, Nays 0)House
- Motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 1148 (Yeas 103, Nays 0)House
- Third Reading in Second House (Yeas 103, Nays 0)House
- State Government 1st Substitute OfferedHouse
- Read for the Second Time and placed on the CalendarHouse
- Reported Out of Committee Second HouseHouse
- State Government 1st SubstituteHouse
- Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 640 (Yeas 30, Nays 0)Senate
- Third Reading in House of Origin (Yeas 30, Nays 0)Senate
- Pending Committee Action in Second HouseHouse
- Read for the first time and referred to the House Committee on State GovernmentHouse
- Read for the Second Time and placed on the CalendarSenate
- Reported Out of Committee House of OriginSenate
- Pending Committee Action in House of OriginSenate
Changes
Amendments
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