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HB143 • 2026

Crimes and offenses; motor vehicle accidents, penalties for violations and restitution, revised

Crimes and offenses; motor vehicle accidents, penalties for violations and restitution, revised

Crime
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Wilcox
Last action
2026-01-13
Official status
Pending Committee Action in House of Origin
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Crimes and Offenses; Motor Vehicle Accidents, Penalties Revised

This bill revises the penalties for motor vehicle accidents involving death or serious injury from a Class C felony to higher classes of felonies based on the severity of harm.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes criminally negligent homicide caused by drivers or operators of vehicles or vessels from a Class C felony to a Class B felony if it involves violating certain traffic laws.
  • Updates penalties for violations involving motor vehicle accidents: physical injury results in a Class C felony, serious physical injury leads to a Class B felony, and death is punished as a Class A felony.
  • Defines individuals who suffer damage or loss due to criminal conduct related to motor vehicle accidents as victims eligible for restitution.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Drivers and operators of vehicles involved in fatal or serious injury accidents.
  • Victims suffering damage or loss from such accidents.

Terms To Know

Criminally Negligent Homicide
Causing someone's death through criminal negligence.
Felony
A serious crime that is punishable by more than one year in prison or a fine of over $1,000.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify the exact penalties for violations involving only property damage.
  • It remains unclear how this act will be enforced and its impact on reducing motor vehicle accidents is uncertain.

Bill History

  1. 2026-01-13 House

    Pending Committee Action in House of Origin

  2. 2026-01-13 House

    Read for the first time and referred to the House Committee on Judiciary

Official Summary Text

Crimes and offenses; motor vehicle accidents, penalties for violations and restitution, revised

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
HB143 INTRODUCED
Page 0
HB143
6YCQ731-1
By Representative Wilcox
RFD: Judiciary
First Read: 13-Jan-26
PFD: 09-Jan-26
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6YCQ731-1 01/08/2026 THR (L)THR 2025-3450
Page 1
PFD: 09-Jan-26
SYNOPSIS:
Under existing law, criminally negligent
homicide caused by the driver or operator of a vehicle
or vessel is a Class C felony.
This bill would provide that criminally
negligent homicide caused by the driver or operator of
a vehicle or vessel is a Class B felony.
Under existing law, a violation of the legal
requirements for individuals involved in a motor
vehicle accident involving death or personal injury are
punished for a Class C felony.
This bill would provide that a violation of the
legal requirements for individuals involved in a motor
vehicle accident shall be punished for a Class C felony
if the violation involves a physical injury, for a
Class B felony if the violation involves a serious
physical injury, and for a Class A felony if the
violation involves a death.
This bill would also provide that any individual
who suffers any damage or loss in connection with
criminal conduct that results in a conviction for a
violation of the legal requirements for individuals
involved in a motor vehicle accident shall be
considered a victim for the purposes of restitution.
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HB143 INTRODUCED
Page 2
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to crimes and offenses; to amend Sections
13A-6-4 and 32-10-6, Code of Alabama 1975; to further provide
for the criminal penalties for violations related to motor
vehicle accidents; and to further provide for restitution.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as
The Devinee and John Wesley Safe Streets Act.
Section 2. Sections 13A-6-4 and 32-10-6, Code of
Alabama 1975, are amended to read as follows:
"§13A-6-4
(a) A person commits the crime of criminally negligent
homicide if he or she causes the death of another person by
criminal negligence.
(b) The jury may consider statutes and ordinances
regulating the actor's conduct in determining whether the
actor is culpably negligent under subsection (a).
(c) Criminally negligent homicide is a Class A
misdemeanor, except in cases in which the criminally negligent
homicide is caused by the driver or operator of a vehicle or
vessel who is driving or operating the vehicle or vessel in
violation of Section 32-5A-191 or 32-5A-191.3; in these cases,
criminally negligent homicide is a Class C B felony."
"§32-10-6
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HB143 INTRODUCED
Page 3
"§32-10-6
(a) Every person convicted of violating Sections
32-10-1 through 32-10-5 or any of the provisions thereof, when
such violation involved only damage to property, shall be
punished the same as prescribed by law for as follows:
(1) For a violation involving only damage to property,
a Class A misdemeanor ; provided, however, that every person
convicted of violating such sections, or any provisions
thereof, when such .
(2) For a violation involved death or personal
involving physical injury, shall be punished the same as
prescribed by law for a Class C felony.
(3) For a violation involving serious physical injury,
a Class B felony.
(4) For a violation involving death, a Class A felony.
(b) Any individual who suffers any damage or loss in
connection with criminal conduct that results in a conviction
for any violation of Sections 32-10-1 through 32-10-5 shall be
considered a victim for the purposes of Article 4A of Chapter
18 of Title 15 of the Code of Alabama 1975. "
Section 3. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2026.
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