HB420 • 2026

Crimes and offenses; discharging a firearm into an occupied school bus or building, penalty increased

Crime Education Firearms

Enacted

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

Sponsor: Butler (M)
Last action: 2026-04-17
Official status: Enacted
Effective date: 2026-10-01

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide information about penalties for firing guns on school property outside of discharging into an occupied bus or building, nor does it specify if age limits are removed for all types of offenses related to firearms near schools.

Increasing Penalties for Firing a Gun Near Schools

This law changes the penalty for shooting or discharging a firearm into an occupied school bus or building from a Class B felony to a Class A felony and removes age restrictions.

What This Bill Does

Changes the penalty for shooting or discharging a firearm into an occupied school bus or school building from a Class B felony to a Class A felony.

Who It Names or Affects

People who break the law by shooting or discharging a firearm into an occupied school bus or building will face stricter punishments.
Schools, students, and staff are protected from gun violence in their buildings and on buses.

Terms To Know

Felony: A serious crime that can lead to a long prison sentence.
Class A felony: The most severe type of felony, often resulting in the longest possible sentences.

Limits and Unknowns

This law does not change other existing laws about firing guns near schools.
It only affects penalties for specific actions and does not address all types of gun-related crimes.

Amendments

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

U9V9KGG-1

R 752

Adopted

Plain English: U9V9KGG-1 02/18/2026 GED (H) HSE 2026-763 House Judiciary Reported Substitute for HB420 Page 1 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT Relating to crimes and offenses; to amend Section 13A-11-61.1, Code of Alabama 1975, to revise the penalties for discharging a firearm into an occupied school bus or school building.

U9V9KGG-1 02/18/2026 GED (H) HSE 2026-763 House Judiciary Reported Substitute for HB420 Page 1 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT Relating to crimes and offenses; to amend Section 13A-11-61.1, Code of Alabama 1975, to revise the penalties for discharging a firearm into an occupied school bus or school building.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA: Section 1.
Section 13A-11-61.1, Code of Alabama 1975, is amended to read as follows: "§13A-11-61.1 (a) No person shall shoot or discharge a firearm into an occupied or unoccupied school bus or school building.
(1) A person who shoots or discharges a firearm into an occupied school bus or school building shall be guilty of a Class B Class A felony.

This amendment summary is using official source text because generated interpretation was skipped for this run.

Bill History

2026-04-17 House
Enacted
2026-04-09 House
Delivered to Governor
2026-04-09 Senate
Signature Requested
2026-04-09 House
Enrolled
2026-04-09 House
Ready to Enroll
2026-04-08 Senate
Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 1274 (Yeas 30, Nays 0)
2026-03-19 Senate
Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar
2026-03-18 Senate
Reported Out of Committee Second House
2026-03-05 House
Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass as Amended - Adopted Roll Call 753 (Yeas 98, Nays 0)
2026-03-05 House
Motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 752 (Yeas 100, Nays 0)
2026-03-05 House
Third Reading in House of Origin (Yeas 99, Nays 0)
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 Judiciary
2026-03-05 House
Engrossed
2026-03-05 House
Judiciary Engrossed Substitute Offered
2026-02-19 House
Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar
2026-02-18 House
Reported Out of Committee House of Origin
2026-02-10 House
Pending Committee Action in House of Origin
2026-02-10 House
Read for the first time and referred to the House Committee on Judiciary

Official Summary Text

This act amends Section 13A-11-61.1, Code of Alabama 1975, to: (1) increase the penalty for discharging a firearm into an occupied school bus or school building from a Class B felony to a Class A felony; and (2) remove the limitation that an individual under 19 years of age may not be in violation of this crime.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB420 ENROLLED
Page 0
HB420
U9V9KGG-3
By Representatives Butler, Robertson, Bedsole
RFD: Judiciary
First Read: 10-Feb-26
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HB420 Enrolled
Page 1
First Read: 10-Feb-26
Enrolled, An Act,
Relating to crimes and offenses; to amend Section
13A-11-61.1, Code of Alabama 1975, to revise the penalties for
discharging a firearm into an occupied school bus or school
building.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Section 13A-11-61.1, Code of Alabama 1975,
is amended to read as follows:
"§13A-11-61.1
(a) No person shall shoot or discharge a firearm into
an occupied or unoccupied school bus or school building.
(1) A person who shoots or discharges a firearm into an
occupied school bus or school building shall be guilty of a
Class B Class A felony.
(2) A person who shoots or discharges a firearm into an
unoccupied school bus or school building shall be guilty of a
Class C felony.
(b) No person shall shoot or discharge a firearm on
school property.
(1) A person who shoots or discharges a firearm on
school property during school hours or during school
activities after school hours , shall be guilty of a Class B
felony.
(2) In circumstances other than those provided in
subdivision (1), a person who shoots or discharges a firearm
on school property shall be guilty of a Class C felony.
(c) A person shall not be in violation of this section
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HB420 Enrolled
Page 2
(c) A person shall not be in violation of this section
if the person is justified in using physical force pursuant to
Section 13A-3-23.
(d) A person shall not be in violation of this section
if he or she is engaging in an organized competition or school
system sanctioned system-sanctioned event involving the use of
a firearm or participating in or practicing for a performance
by an organized group under 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3) which uses
firearms as part of the performance or is on land leased from
a school system.
(e) For the purposes of this section, "school property"
does not include sixteenth section land or school lands,
pursuant to Section 16-20-1, held in trust for the benefit of
a school district, that do not have any school buildings , and
that is are not actively used for the purpose of providing
educational or recreational activities to students.
(f) A person shall not be in violation of this section
if he or she is under 19 years of age.
(g)(f) This section shall not be construed to repeal
other criminal laws. Whenever conduct prescribed by any
provision of this section is also prescribed by any other
provision of law, the provision which carries the more serious
penalty shall be applied."
Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2026.
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HB420 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-Mar-26.
John Treadwell
Clerk
Senate 08-Apr-26 Passed
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