HB273 • 2026

Municipal employees; eligible to receive grant funds paid through municipal treasury in certain circumstances

Labor

Passed Legislature

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

Sponsor: Datcher
Last action: 2026-03-10
Official status: Read Second Time in Second House
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official text contains a typo regarding the effective date section number (labeled as b)(d) instead of c), but clearly states October 1, 2026.

Allowing Municipal First Responders to Receive Certain Grant Funds

This law changes Alabama rules so that municipal first responders can receive community development block grant money even if it goes through the city treasury, as long as they do not decide who gets the funds and everyone else is treated fairly.

What This Bill Does

Amends Section 11-43-12 of the Code of Alabama to create a new exception for first responders.
Allows municipal employees who are first responders to accept community development block grant funds that flow through the city treasury if certain conditions are met.
Requires that any benefit given to the first responder must be similar and in a like manner to other recipients of the grant program.
Prohibits the first responder from playing any decision-making role in eligibility for receiving funds from the grant program.

Who It Names or Affects

Municipal employees who work as first responders
City treasuries that manage community development block grants

Terms To Know

First responder: A municipal employee eligible for the exception in this law.
Community development block grant: Grant funds that flow through the municipal treasury to recipients.

Limits and Unknowns

This exception does not apply to public officials as defined in Section 36-25-1 or their family members.
The law only applies if the first responder receives benefits in a way that is similar and in a like manner to other recipients of the grant.

Amendments

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

6Y5DB31-1

R 762

Adopted

Plain English: This amendment allows municipal employees to receive community development block grant funds that pass through the city treasury, as long as they do not decide who gets the money and everyone else is treated equally.

Municipal employees can now accept specific federal grants even if the money goes through their employer's bank account.
Employees must receive benefits in the same way other people get them to qualify for this exception.
The employee cannot have any power or role in deciding who is eligible for these grant funds.
Elected officials like mayors and council members are still banned from receiving these grants.

This rule only applies to 'community development block grants' and does not cover other types of contracts or business deals with the city.
The text contains some confusing editing marks where old words were crossed out, but the final meaning is clear.

RBR8QYY-1

R 763

Adopted

Plain English: This amendment allows first responders employed by a municipality to receive grant funds through the municipal treasury if they do not make decisions about who gets those funds.

First responders working for a city or town can now be eligible to get grant money paid directly through their employer's office.
The benefit given to the first responder must be similar in nature to other benefits provided under this law.
A first responder cannot receive these funds if they have any role in deciding who gets them.

The amendment text is incomplete and cuts off mid-sentence, so the full list of conditions or exceptions may be missing.
It references specific legal definitions for 'public official' that are not included in this document.
Because parts of the original bill were replaced with fragments, it is unclear exactly how these new rules fit into the rest of the law.

Bill History

2026-03-10 Senate
Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar
2026-03-10 Senate
Reported Out of Committee Second House
2026-03-05 House
Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass as Amended - Adopted Roll Call 764 (Yeas 83, Nays 15)
2026-03-05 House
Motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 763 (Yeas 96, Nays 0)
2026-03-05 House
Motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 762 (Yeas 92, Nays 5)
2026-03-05 House
Third Reading in House of Origin (Yeas 84, Nays 7)
2026-03-05 Senate
Pending Committee Action in Second House
2026-03-05 Senate
Read for the first time and referred to the Senate Committee on County and Municipal Government
2026-03-05 House
Engrossed
2026-03-05 House
Jones 1st Amendment Offered
2026-03-05 House
County and Municipal Government Engrossed Substitute Offered
2026-01-21 House
Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar
2026-01-21 House
Reported Out of Committee House of Origin
2026-01-15 House
Pending Committee Action in House of Origin
2026-01-15 House
Read for the first time and referred to the House Committee on County and Municipal Government

Official Summary Text

Municipal employees; eligible to receive grant funds paid through municipal treasury in certain circumstances

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB273 ENGROSSED
Page 0
HB273
6Y5DB31-2
By Representative Datcher
RFD: County and Municipal Government
First Read: 15-Jan-26
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HB273 Engrossed
Page 1
First Read: 15-Jan-26
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to municipal employees; to amend Section
11-43-12, Code of Alabama 1975, to provide that a municipal
employee may be the recipient of a grant program, even though
funds flow through the municipal treasury, if certain
conditions are met.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Section 11-43-12, Code of Alabama 1975, is
amended to read as follows:
"§11-43-12
(a) No alderman or officer or employee of the
municipality shall be have, directly or indirectly ,
interested a financial interest in any work, business , or
contract, the expense, price , or consideration of which is
paid from the treasury, nor shall any member of the council or
officer of the municipality be surety for any person having a
contract, work , or business with such the municipality for the
performance of which a surety may be required.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), a first responder
employed by the municipality, if otherwise qualified, is not
prohibited from accepting or receiving funds from a community
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HB273 Engrossed
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prohibited from accepting or receiving funds from a community
development block grant where the funds flow through the
municipal treasury, provided:
(1) The benefit to the first responder is similar and
in a like manner to other recipients of the grant program; and
(2) The first responder does not play any
decision-making role in eligibility for receiving funds from
the grant program.
(c) The exception in subsection (b) is not available to
any public official, as defined in Section 36-25-1, or any
family member of the public official, as defined in Section
36-25-1.
(b)(d) Any person individual who violates any of the
provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor
and, on conviction thereof , shall be fined not less than
$50.00 fifty dollars ($50) nor more than $1,000.00 one thousand
dollars ($1,000) , and may also be sentenced to hard labor for
the county for not more than six months."
Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2026.
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HB273 Engrossed
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1, 2026.
House of Representatives
Read for the first time and referred
to the House of Representatives
committee on County and Municipal
Government
................15-Jan-26
Read for the second time and placed
on the calendar:
1 amendment
................21-Jan-26
Read for the third time and passed
as amended
Yeas 83
Nays 15
Abs 7
................5-Mar-26
John Treadwell
Clerk
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