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HB268 • 2026

Government Administration, authorizes the State 911 board to monitor the responsiveness of local 911 districts, with conditions under which the State 911 board may assume control of a district

Government Administration, authorizes the State 911 board to monitor the responsiveness of local 911 districts, with conditions under which the State 911 board may assume control of a district

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Ingram
Last action
2026-04-08
Official status
Enacted
Effective date
2026-10-01

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not specify how much funding will be provided or what specific actions local districts must take based on the reports.

Government Administration, authorizes the State 911 board to monitor local districts

This law allows the State 911 Board to establish a system for monitoring and auditing local communication districts' readiness in handling 911 calls.

What This Bill Does

  • Establishes a data collection system by the State 911 Board to monitor how well local communication districts handle 911 calls.
  • Requires the State 911 Board to conduct an audit of a district if requested by the Attorney General due to performance complaints.
  • Submits public reports on audits that evaluate the readiness and operational deficiencies of districts, along with remediation plans.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Local communication districts responsible for handling 911 calls
  • The State 911 Board which oversees these districts

Terms To Know

readiness
How well a district can quickly and effectively handle 911 calls and dispatch emergency services.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The law does not specify the funding source for these tasks.
  • It is unclear what specific actions local districts must take based on remediation plans.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

U9H59GG-1

R 400

Adopted

Plain English: U9H59GG-1 01/28/2026 JC (L)lg 2025-2743 SUB HB268 COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT SUBSTITUTE TO HB268 OFFERED BY REPRESENTATIVE INGRAM Page 1 SYNOPSIS: Under existing law, 911 calls in the State of Alabama are handled by public safety answering centers that are directly supervised by local communication districts, which in turn are under the authority of the state 911 Board.

  • U9H59GG-1 01/28/2026 JC (L)lg 2025-2743 SUB HB268 COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT SUBSTITUTE TO HB268 OFFERED BY REPRESENTATIVE INGRAM Page 1 SYNOPSIS: Under existing law, 911 calls in the State of Alabama are handled by public safety answering centers that are directly supervised by local communication districts, which in turn are under the authority of the state 911 Board.
  • This bill would authorize the 911 Board to monitor the dispatch readiness of local communication districts based upon nationally recognized best practices.
  • This bill would provide that the Attorney General, based upon information received that a local district's emergency response is deficient, may request the 911 Board to audit the district's performance.
  • This bill would require the 911 Board to approve and submit a formal report on its audit findings to the Attorney General.
  • This amendment summary is using official source text because generated interpretation was skipped for this run.
L5495WY-1

R 401

Adopted

Plain English: L5495WY-1 : 2/11/2026 : JC 1ST UNDERWOOD AMENDMENT TO HB268 OFFERED BY REPRESENTATIVE UNDERWOOD Page 1 Replace lines 8 through 9 on page 1 with the following: districts.

  • L5495WY-1 : 2/11/2026 : JC 1ST UNDERWOOD AMENDMENT TO HB268 OFFERED BY REPRESENTATIVE UNDERWOOD Page 1 Replace lines 8 through 9 on page 1 with the following: districts.
  • Replace line 65 on page 3 with the following: (3) Time to process emergency calls in accordance 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
  • This amendment summary is using official source text because generated interpretation was skipped for this run.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-08 House

    Enacted

  2. 2026-04-01 Senate

    Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 1040 (Yeas 34, Nays 0)

  3. 2026-04-01 Senate

    Third Reading in Second House (Yeas 34, Nays 0)

  4. 2026-04-01 Senate

    Signature Requested

  5. 2026-04-01 House

    Delivered to Governor

  6. 2026-04-01 House

    Enrolled

  7. 2026-04-01 House

    Ready to Enroll

  8. 2026-04-01 House

    Ready to Enroll

  9. 2026-02-17 Senate

    Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar

  10. 2026-02-17 Senate

    Reported Out of Committee Second House

  11. 2026-02-12 House

    Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass as Amended - Adopted Roll Call 402 (Yeas 100, Nays 0)

  12. 2026-02-12 House

    Motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 401 (Yeas 93, Nays 0)

  13. 2026-02-12 House

    Motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 400 (Yeas 95, Nays 0)

  14. 2026-02-12 House

    Third Reading in House of Origin (Yeas 97, Nays 1)

  15. 2026-02-12 Senate

    Pending Committee Action in Second House

  16. 2026-02-12 Senate

    Read for the first time and referred to the Senate Committee on County and Municipal Government

  17. 2026-02-12 House

    Engrossed

  18. 2026-02-12 House

    Underwood 1st Amendment Offered

  19. 2026-02-12 House

    County and Municipal Government 1st Substitute Offered

  20. 2026-01-29 House

    Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar

  21. 2026-01-28 House

    Reported Out of Committee House of Origin

  22. 2026-01-28 House

    County and Municipal Government 1st Substitute

  23. 2026-01-15 House

    Pending Committee Action in House of Origin

  24. 2026-01-15 House

    Read for the first time and referred to the House Committee on County and Municipal Government

Official Summary Text

This act adds Section 11-98-4.3 to the Code of Alabama 1975, to: (1) require the state 911 Board to establish a data collection system to monitor the readiness of local communication districts in handling 911 calls and dispatching emergency responders; (2) require the 911 Board, in response to a complaint forwarded by the Attorney General, to conduct a performance audit of a communication district, including on-site investigations of call centers; and (3) require the 911 Board to submit a public report on the audit to the Attorney General that evaluates the district’s readiness, identifies operational deficiencies, and includes a remediation plan for the district to remedy operating deficiencies under the supervision of the 911 Board.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
HB268 ENROLLED
Page 0
HB268
U9H59GG-3
By Representative Ingram
RFD: County and Municipal Government
First Read: 15-Jan-26
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HB268 Enrolled
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First Read: 15-Jan-26
Enrolled, An Act,
Relating to 911 service; to add Section 11-98-4.3 to
the Code of Alabama 1975, to authorize the 911 Board to
institute a system to measure the emergency response
performance of local communication districts; to require, upon
request by the Attorney General, the 911 Board to audit local
communication districts and to submit a report on audit
findings to the Attorney General to be made public; and to
provide for a remediation plan by which to improve the
district's emergency response performance.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Section 11-98-4.3 is added to the Code of
Alabama 1975, to read as follows:
§11-98-4.3
(a) For the purposes of this section, the term
"readiness" refers to the capability of a district, including
a public safety answering point, to expedite the answering,
receiving, and transferring of 911 calls and texts to
efficiently dispatch the appropriate emergency service
provider as soon as possible to a correct location where
property or life may be in jeopardy.
(b) The 911 Board shall establish a system that is
based upon best practices as adopted by nationally recognized
associations such as the National Emergency Number Association
and the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials
to measure the readiness of district public safety services
through the collection of data related to a district's
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HB268 Enrolled
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through the collection of data related to a district's
answering, receiving, transferring, and dispatching functions
relating to 911 calls, including voice, text messages, photos,
and videos.
(c) The 911 Board may collect data including, but not
limited to, all of the following for each district in the
state:
(1) 911 call volume.
(2) Time to answer 911 calls.
(3) Time to process emergency calls in accordance with
Section 11-98-11.
(4) Number of answered emergency calls versus
unanswered emergency calls.
(5) Number of dropped calls.
(6) Number of calls reporting a crime.
(d) Compliance by the 911 Board with this section may
be funded as an advisory service pursuant to Section
11-98-5.2(b)(7)b. or from any outside source of funding
received by the 911 Board.
(e)(1) The Attorney General, based upon a complaint
received concerning the performance of a local communication
district, may refer the matter to the 911 Board, which shall
conduct a performance audit to review and evaluate the
readiness of the district.
(2) A performance audit of a district by the 911 Board
may include any of the following:
a. Interviewing any individual who may have knowledge
concerning district performance, including members of the
district board of commissioners, the director of the PSAP,
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district board of commissioners, the director of the PSAP,
public safety telecommunicators, heads of local emergency
service providers, first responders, and residents who have
submitted a complaint.
b. On-site inspection of a PSAP, PSAP equipment or
technical functionality, and monitoring PSAP operations in
real time.
(3)a. Upon completion of a performance audit or no
later than 60 days from commencement of the audit, the 911
Board shall approve and submit a formal written report to the
Attorney General which contains: (i) an evaluation of the
district's readiness; and (ii) findings of specific
operational deficiencies confirmed or disclosed by the audit.
b. If operational deficiencies are confirmed, the audit
report required under paragraph a. shall include a remediation
plan which prescribes measures to bring the district to an
acceptable level of readiness, including, but not limited to,
any of the following:
1. Training requirements for public safety
telecommunicators.
2. Hiring additional public safety telecommunicators.
3. Upgrade of technology, including replacement or
acquisition of PSAP communications hardware or software.
4. Amendment of PSAP operating protocols, scripts, and
recordkeeping.
c. The audit report shall be made public and may be
posted on the website of the Attorney General or the 911
Board.
(4) Pursuant to the performance audit, the 911 Board is
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(4) Pursuant to the performance audit, the 911 Board is
authorized to supervise the implementation of a remediation
plan in the district.
(f) The 911 Board shall adopt rules in accordance with
the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act which are necessary
to implement the system described in this section.
Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2026.
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1, 2026.
________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Representatives
________________________________________________
President and Presiding Officer of the Senate
House of Representatives
I hereby certify that the within Act originated in and
was passed by the House 12-Feb-26.
John Treadwell
Clerk
Senate 01-Apr-26 Passed
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