Read the full stored bill text
HB307 ENROLLED
Page 0
HB307
4UFNBI3-3
By Representatives Rehm, Starnes, Oliver, Treadaway, Wood (R),
Brown, Marques, Smith, Paschal, Ross, Gidley, Butler,
Lipscomb, Sellers, Lamb, Moore (P), Wilcox, Hurst, Lee,
Blackshear
RFD: Military and Veterans' Affairs
First Read: 21-Jan-26
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
HB307 Enrolled
Page 1
First Read: 21-Jan-26
Enrolled, An Act,
Relating to military spouse hiring preference; to amend
Section 36-26-15, Code of Alabama 1975, to provide spouses of
active duty service members with additional points on ratings
for state employment; to authorize political subdivisions and
private employers to give preference to veterans and the
spouses of veterans and active duty service members when
considering these individuals for employment; and to make
nonsubstantive, technical revisions to update the existing
code language to current style.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Section 36-26-15, Code of Alabama 1975, is
amended to read as follows:
"§36-26-15
(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms
have the following meanings:
(1) ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE MEMBER. An individual who is on
active duty as a member of the National Guard or a reserve or
active component of the Armed Forces of the United States.
(2) VETERAN. An individual who has ever served in the
National Guard or a reserve or active component of the Armed
Forces of the United States and been honorably discharged.
(b)(1) The director shall conduct tests to establish
employment registers for the various classes of positions in
the classified service. The tests shall take into
consideration elements of character, reputation, education,
aptitude, experience, knowledge, skill, personality, physical
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
HB307 Enrolled
Page 2
aptitude, experience, knowledge, skill, personality, physical
fitness , and other pertinent matters and may be written or
oral or any other demonstration of fitness as the director may
determine. For a promotion test, the qualifications shall
include the requirement that an applicant be employed in a
position in such within a class and for such a length of time,
as the director shall specify, subject to the rules.
(2) Public notice of the time, place , and general scope
of every test shall be given. The director, with the approval
of the board, shall determine the qualifications for admission
to any test. Admission to tests shall be open to all persons
individuals who appear to possess the required qualifications
and may be lawfully appointed to a position in the class for
which a list is to be established , and no . No fee shall may be
charged therefor for admission to a test . The director may ,
however, reject the application of any person individual for
admission to a test or may , strike the name of any person
individual from a list , or refuse to certify the name of any
person individual on a list for a position if he or she finds
that such person lacks the individual:
a. Lacks any of the required qualifications or is
physically unfit to perform effectively the duties of the
position in which he or she seeks employment ;
b. or is Is addicted to the habitual excessive use of
drugs or intoxicating liquor or has ;
c. Has been convicted of a crime involving moral
turpitude or is guilty of any notoriously disgraceful conduct
or;
d. has Has been dismissed from the public service for
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
HB307 Enrolled
Page 3
d. has Has been dismissed from the public service for
delinquency ; or
e. has Has made a false statement of a material fact
or practiced or attempted to practice any fraud or deception
in his or her application or test or in attempting to secure
appointment.
(b)(c)(1) All persons who have been honorably
discharged from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or
Coast Guard who have ever served in the armed forces of the
United States at any time A veteran, and the spouse of a
veteran, shall have five points added to any earned ratings in
examination for entrance to the classified service.
(2) The spouse of an active duty service member shall
have five points added to any earned ratings.
(3) All persons who have ever served in the armed
forces of the United States at any time who have been
honorably discharged and A veteran who established establishes
by official records of the United States the present existence
of that he or she has a service-connected disability and
because of the disability are is entitled to pension,
compensation , or disability allowance under existing laws and
widows of such persons who shall have died in line of duty
during any such period and widows of such persons who shall
have been honorably discharged from the Army, Navy, Air Force,
Marine Corps or Coast Guard and wives of such persons who
shall have been honorably discharged from the Army, Navy, Air
Force, Marine Corps or Coast Guard who, because of
service-connected disability are not themselves qualified but
whose wives are qualified, , and the spouse of such a veteran,
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
HB307 Enrolled
Page 4
whose wives are qualified, , and the spouse of such a veteran,
shall have 10 points added to any earned ratings.
(4) The surviving spouse of an active duty service
member who died in the line of duty shall have 10 points added
to any earned ratings.
(d)(1) In entering upon registers the names of
preference claimants name of an individual entitled to five
additional points , they will the individual shall take the
place to which their ratings entitle them his or her rating
entitles him or her on the register with nonveterans (, the
earned ratings augmented by the five points to which they are
he or she is entitled ), and will shall be certified when their
ratings are his or her rating is reached.
(2) The name of a veteran an individual with military
preference with the an augmented rating is shall be entered
ahead of the name of a nonveteran an individual without
military preference when their ratings are the same.
(3) The names of persons name of an individual entitled
to a 10-point preference , however, will shall be placed ahead
of all others on the a register with the same rating (ahead of
veterans , including individuals entitled to a five-point
preference and nonveterans) , individuals without military
preference, and shall be then be certified in the order of
their augmented ratings.
(e) An appointing officer who passes over a an eligible
veteran eligible and selects a nonveteran with the same or
lower rating shall file with the director the reasons for so
doing, which reasons will which shall become a part of the
veteran's record but will may not be made available to anyone
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
HB307 Enrolled
Page 5
veteran's record but will may not be made available to anyone
other than the veteran himself, except in the discretion of
the appointing officer.
(f) When reductions are being made in any part of the
classified service, persons individuals entitled to military
preference in appointment shall be the last to be discharged
or, dropped , or reduced in rank or salary if their record is
good or if their efficiency rating is equal to that of any
employee in competition with them who is retained in the
service in their department.
(c)(g) The board shall, in establishing and
administering standards of personnel qualifications, pay
plans, and tests both for current and future personnel now in
place as well as that later employed , shall cooperate with and
avail itself fully of the advice and assistance of the
appointing authorities involved and of the federal government
in those departments administered in whole or in part with
federal funds."
Section 2. (a) For purposes of this section, the
following terms have the following meanings:
(1) ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE MEMBER. An individual that is
on active duty as a member of the National Guard or a reserve
or active component of the Armed Forces of the United States.
(2) ELIGIBLE VETERAN. An individual who has ever served
in the National Guard or a reserve or active component of the
Armed Forces of the United States and been honorably
discharged.
(b) A county, municipality, or other political
subdivision of the state may grant a preference in hiring and
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
HB307 Enrolled
Page 6
subdivision of the state may grant a preference in hiring and
promotion to any of the following individuals:
(1) An eligible veteran;
(2) The spouse of an eligible veteran;
(3) The spouse of an active duty service member; and
(4) The surviving spouse of a deceased eligible
veteran.
(c) A political subdivision that grants preference in
hiring or promotion pursuant to subsection (b) may adopt an
ordinance providing for the implementation of the preference.
Section 3. (a) For purposes of this section, the
following terms have the following meanings:
(1) ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE MEMBER. An individual that is
on active duty as a member of the National Guard or a reserve
or active component of the Armed Forces of the United States.
(2) PRIVATE EMPLOYER. A sole proprietorship,
corporation, partnership, association, limited liability
corporation, or any other entity with one or more employees.
(3) VETERAN. An individual who has ever served in the
National Guard or a reserve or active component of the Armed
Forces of the United States and been honorably discharged.
(b) A private employer may adopt a voluntary veterans'
preference employment policy. Such a policy shall be in
writing and applied uniformly to the hiring and promotion
decisions of the employer.
(c) A private employer may offer a voluntary veterans'
preference employment policy to all of the following:
(1) A veteran who submits to the employer a copy of the
veteran's Department of Defense Form 214 or its successor form
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
HB307 Enrolled
Page 7
veteran's Department of Defense Form 214 or its successor form
or record.
(2) The spouse of a veteran who submits to the
employer:
a. A copy of the veteran's Department of Defense Form
214 or its successor form or record; and
b. Proof of marriage to the veteran.
(3)a. A spouse of an active duty service member who
submits to the employer proof of the service member's active
status and proof of marriage to the service member.
b. Preference provided to a spouse of an active duty
service member is limited to the time during which the service
member remains on active duty and up to 180 days after the
service member's discharge or separation from service.
(d)(1) A private employer that implements a voluntary
veterans' preference employment policy shall notify the
Alabama Department of Workforce of the policy. The department
shall use the information to maintain a registry of the
private employers that have a voluntary veterans' preference
employment policy in the state, and shall make the registry
available on the department's website.
(2) The department shall establish and maintain a page
on the department's website through which this information may
be submitted to the department.
(e) A voluntary veterans' preference employment policy
shall not be considered a violation of any state or local law.
Section 4. This act shall become effective on January
1, 2027.
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
HB307 Enrolled
Page 8
1, 2027.
________________________________________________
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 03-Mar-26.
John Treadwell
Clerk
Senate 09-Apr-26 Passed
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228