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HB277 • 2026

Seafood; oyster aquaculture, licensees authorized to serve oysters at facility

Seafood; oyster aquaculture, licensees authorized to serve oysters at facility

Enacted

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

Sponsor
Wilcox
Last action
2026-03-17
Official status
Enacted
Effective date
2026-10-01

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and text do not provide specific details on consumer safety measures beyond existing health board regulations.

Oyster Aquaculture Licensees Can Serve Oysters

This law allows oyster aquaculture license holders to harvest, shuck, and serve oysters at their facility for sampling purposes.

What This Bill Does

  • Allows oyster aquaculture license holders to provide free samples of oysters for tasting and testing quality.
  • Requires the harvest of oysters to follow existing restrictions.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Oyster aquaculture license holders
  • Consumers who want to sample oysters

Terms To Know

product tasting
Providing free samples of oysters for people to taste and test quality.

Limits and Unknowns

  • Requires license holders to follow existing harvest restrictions.
  • Does not change other laws or rules that might restrict harvesting in unsafe waters.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-17 House

    Enacted

  2. 2026-03-10 Senate

    Signature Requested

  3. 2026-03-10 House

    Delivered to Governor

  4. 2026-03-05 Senate

    Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 717 (Yeas 28, Nays 0)

  5. 2026-03-05 Senate

    Third Reading in Second House (Yeas 28, Nays 0)

  6. 2026-03-05 House

    Enrolled

  7. 2026-03-05 House

    Ready to Enroll

  8. 2026-02-12 Senate

    Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar

  9. 2026-02-11 Senate

    Reported Out of Committee Second House

  10. 2026-01-27 House

    Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 178 (Yeas 102, Nays 0)

  11. 2026-01-27 House

    Third Reading in House of Origin (Yeas 102, Nays 0)

  12. 2026-01-27 Senate

    Pending Committee Action in Second House

  13. 2026-01-27 Senate

    Read for the first time and referred to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry

  14. 2026-01-21 House

    Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar

  15. 2026-01-21 House

    Reported Out of Committee House of Origin

  16. 2026-01-15 House

    Pending Committee Action in House of Origin

  17. 2026-01-15 House

    Read for the first time and referred to the House Committee on Ports, Waterways and Intermodal Transit

Official Summary Text

This act authorizes oyster aquaculture licensees to harvest, shuck, and serve oysters from the aquaculture facility at no cost for sampling to determine the qualities of the oyster, except as provided by laws and rules to the contrary authorizing the State Board of Health to close oyster harvesting in unsafe waters.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HB277 ENROLLED
Page 0
HB277
ZQ995KR-2
By Representatives Wilcox, Brown, Simpson
RFD: Ports, Waterways and Intermodal Transit
First Read: 15-Jan-26
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HB277 Enrolled
Page 1
First Read: 15-Jan-26
Enrolled, An Act,
Relating to serving oysters; to authorize oyster
aquaculture licensees to harvest and serve oysters from the
aquaculture facility for product tasting.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. (a) For purposes of this section, the term
"product tasting" means providing oysters at no cost to the
consumer for sampling to determine the qualities of the
oysters such as taste and texture.
(b) Notwithstanding any law or rule to the contrary,
including a permit or licensure requirement, an oyster
aquaculture licensee may harvest, shuck, and serve oysters
from the aquaculture facility for product tasting.
(c) Subsection (b) shall not be construed to exempt the
harvest of oysters from any harvest restrictions levied
pursuant to Section 9-12-126, Code of Alabama 1975.
Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2026.
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HB277 Enrolled
Page 2
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 27-Jan-26.
John Treadwell
Clerk
Senate 05-Mar-26 Passed
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