HB355 • 2026

Houston County; temporary judge of probate service period extended, compensation of temporary probate judge revised

Labor

Enacted

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

Sponsor: Lee
Last action: 2026-02-25
Official status: Enacted
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official text excerpt shows '90180 days' and '$50)($100)' without clear strikethrough formatting, making the exact original numbers ambiguous in this plain-text version.

Houston County Temporary Probate Judge Terms and Pay

This law extends the service period for temporary probate judges in Houston County from 90 to 180 days, increases their pay per hearing from $50 to $100, and clarifies that court employees who are lawyers can serve without extra compensation.

What This Bill Does

Extends the maximum service period for a single appointment of a temporary judge of probate in Houston County from 90 days to 180 days.
Increases payment for non-employee temporary judges of probate from $50 per hearing to $100 per hearing, paid from the discretionary fund of the Judge of Probate.
Allows qualified employees of the court who are licensed lawyers in Alabama to be appointed as temporary judges without receiving extra compensation under this rule.
Maintains a limit that a temporary judge cannot preside over hearings on more than 200 days during any fiscal year.

Who It Names or Affects

The Judge of Probate for Houston County
Temporary judges appointed to serve in the Houston County probate court
Qualified employees of the Houston County probate court who are licensed lawyers

Terms To Know

Probate Court: A court that handles legal matters about wills, estates, and guardianships.
Temporary Judge of Probate: A person appointed for a short time to help the main judge handle cases when there are too many or they are very complex.

Limits and Unknowns

This law only applies to Houston County and does not change rules for other counties.
The official text contains conflicting numbers (90180 days) that likely indicate a change from 90 to 180, but the exact formatting in this excerpt is unclear.

Bill History

2026-02-25 House
Enacted
2026-02-19 Senate
Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 455 (Yeas 25, Nays 0)
2026-02-19 Senate
Third Reading in Second House (Yeas 25, Nays 0)
2026-02-19 House
Delivered to Governor
2026-02-19 Senate
Signature Requested
2026-02-19 House
Enrolled
2026-02-19 House
Ready to Enroll
2026-02-17 Senate
Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar
2026-02-17 Senate
Reported Out of Committee Second House
2026-02-05 House
Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 274 (Yeas 17, Nays 0)
2026-02-05 House
Third Reading in House of Origin (Yeas 55, Nays 0)
2026-02-05 Senate
Pending Committee Action in Second House
2026-02-05 Senate
Read for the first time and referred to the Senate Committee on Local Legislation
2026-02-03 House
Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar
2026-02-03 House
Reported Out of Committee House of Origin
2026-01-29 House
Pending Committee Action in House of Origin
2026-01-29 House
Read for the first time and referred to the House Committee on Local Legislation

Official Summary Text

Houston County; temporary judge of probate service period extended, compensation of temporary probate judge revised

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB355 ENROLLED
Page 0
HB355
V7JCDPL-2
By Representatives Lee, Clouse, Rehm, Sorrells (N & P)
RFD: Local Legislation
First Read: 29-Jan-26
1
2
3
4
5
HB355 Enrolled
Page 1
First Read: 29-Jan-26
Enrolled, An Act,
Relating to Houston County; to amend Section
45-35-83.83, Code of Alabama 1975; to extend the length of
time a temporary judge of probate may serve; and to revise the
compensation of a temporary judge of probate.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Section 45-35-83.83, Code of Alabama 1975,
is amended to read as follows:
"§45-35-83.83
(a) The Judge of Probate of Houston County may appoint
from the qualified electors of Houston County one or more
temporary judges of probate to serve contemporaneously with
him or her when the elected judge of probate finds that the
temporary appointments are necessary due to calendar
congestion, complexity of issues, the prospects of an unduly
long trial, or caseload management.
(b) No temporary appointment shall be for a term longer
than 90180 days.
(c) A temporary judge of probate may be appointed for
as many successive 90180-day periods or fractions thereof as
might be necessary, but a temporary judge of probate shall not
servepreside over hearings on more than 200 days during any
fiscal year.
(d) Any qualified employee of the court who is licensed
to practice law in the state is eligible for an appointment as
a temporary judge of probate.
(e) All temporary judges of probate shall have the
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
HB355 Enrolled
Page 2
(e) All temporary judges of probate shall have the
jurisdiction and authority and shall discharge the duties of
the judge or probate, and the judgments, orders, and decrees
made or rendered by any temporary judge of probate shall be
entered on the records of the probate court and shall have the
force and effect and be subject to revision or appeal or other
revisory remedy of judgments, orders, and decrees of the
probate court or of the judge of probate.
(f) Neither the regularly elected judge of probate, nor
the surety on his or her bond, shall be responsible for any of
the acts, failures to act, reports, or decisions made by any
temporary judge of probate, or any of the acts or failures to
act of any employee in the probate court during the tenure of
the temporary judge of probate.
(g) Compensation for temporary judges of probate shall
be fiftyone hundred dollars ($50)($100) per hearing to be paid
from the discretionary fund of the judge of probate, unless
the temporary judge of probate is an employee of the court, in
which case the employee shall not receive any compensation
under the pay plan established by the rules of the Houston
County Personnel Board.
Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2026.
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
HB355 Enrolled
Page 3
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 05-Feb-26.
John Treadwell
Clerk
Senate 19-Feb-26 Passed
51
52
53
54
55
56
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