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HB612 ENROLLED
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HB612
DGE57HH-2
By Representative Hammett (Constitutional Amendment)
RFD: Local Legislation
First Read: 11-Mar-26
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First Read: 11-Mar-26
Enrolled, An Act,
To propose an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama
of 2022, relating to Covington County, to authorize the
sheriff to sell abandoned, stolen, and unclaimed personal
property and firearms, and to provide for the auctions and the
disposition of the proceeds.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. The following amendment to the Constitution
of Alabama of 2022, is proposed:
PROPOSED AMENDMENT
(a) The Sheriff of Covington County shall keep and
maintain a permanent record of all abandoned and stolen
personal property recovered by the sheriff's office. These
records shall state the description of the property, the date
of recovery of the property, the serial or other identifying
number of the property, and the place of recovery of the
property. The records shall be open to the public at all
reasonable times.
(b) All abandoned or stolen property recovered by the
sheriff's office shall be stored in a suitable place to
protect the property from deterioration.
(c) If the abandoned or stolen personal property is of
a perishable nature and reasonable attempts to locate and
identify the owner of the property are not successful, the
property may be sold at once without notice. The sheriff shall
attempt to obtain the best possible price for the property.
The proceeds of a sale shall be held in a separate account for
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The proceeds of a sale shall be held in a separate account for
a period of six months for the owner. During this period, the
proceeds shall be paid to the owner upon demand, less any cost
of recovery, storage, maintenance, and sale. If the proceeds
are not claimed within six months, after deducting and paying
all expenses incurred in the recovery, storage, maintenance,
and sale of the property, the net funds shall be paid to the
office of the Sheriff of Covington County.
(d) The sheriff shall keep and maintain a permanent
record of all abandoned or stolen firearms that are not
subject to disposition by general law. The records shall state
the description of the firearm, the date of recovery of the
firearm, the serial or other identifying number, if any, of
the firearm, and the place of recovery of the firearm.
"Firearm" as used in this subpart shall have the same meaning
as defined in Section 13A-8-1.
(e) Unless otherwise provided by law, the sheriff may
sell or destroy these firearms if the owner of the firearm
does not claim the firearm within six months of the date the
sheriff obtained it.
(f) The sheriff may sell the firearms only to gun
dealers who have a current federal firearms license on the
date of sale. A firearm shall be sold to the gun dealer
submitting the highest sealed bid. All sales shall be on a
cash basis. The proceeds of the sale, after deducting and
paying all expenses incurred in the recovery, maintenance, and
sale of the firearm, shall be paid to the office of the
Sheriff of Covington County.
(g) The sheriff may establish a procedure to destroy
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(g) The sheriff may establish a procedure to destroy
firearms and may expend necessary sheriff's office funds for
that purpose.
(h) At least every six months, the sheriff may sell at
public auction or through an Internet auction provider, to the
highest bidder for cash, all abandoned or stolen personal
property, other than firearms and unauthorized sound or
audiovisual recordings, which has been recovered by the
sheriff and has remained unclaimed by the rightful owner
during the preceding six-month period.
(i) Prior to the sale, notice shall be given by
publication in a newspaper of general circulation in Covington
County once a week for two successive weeks or by posting in a
conspicuous place at the Covington County Courthouse for a
period of not less than 20 days. The notice shall contain the
place, date, and time of each auction and a description of
each item of personal property to be sold at the auction. If
publication of notice is made in the newspaper, the first
notice shall run not less than 20 days prior to the auction.
(j) The owner of any abandoned or stolen personal
property recovered by the Covington County Sheriff's Office,
including firearms, may claim the property at any time prior
to its sale by submitting sufficient proof of ownership as
determined by the sheriff and by paying any reasonable
expenses incurred in the recovery of the property, its
maintenance, storage, and a pro rata share of the costs, if
any, of publication of notice of the sale of the property.
(k) If property is sold at public auction, as provided
in this subpart, a notation in the storage record book shall
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in this subpart, a notation in the storage record book shall
be made of the sale and of the amount received for the
property. The person making the sale may reject any and all
bids if the amount bid is unreasonably low and may continue
the sale, from time to time, if no bidders are present.
(l) The proceeds from the sale of property at an
auction conducted under the authority of this subpart, after
deducting and paying all expenses incurred in the recovery,
storage, maintenance, and sale of property, shall be collected
by the sheriff and deposited into any bank located in
Covington County into a fund designated as the sheriff's fund.
The fund shall be drawn upon by the sheriff and used
exclusively for purposes of law enforcement in the discharge
of the sheriff's office at the discretion of the sheriff.
Upon ratification of this constitutional amendment, the
Code Commissioner shall number and place this amendment as
appropriate in the constitution omitting this instructional
paragraph and may make the following nonsubstantive revisions:
change capitalization, hierarchy, spelling, and punctuation
for purposes of style and uniformity; correct manifest
grammatical, clerical, and typographical errors; revise
internal or external citations and cross-references; harmonize
language; and translate effective dates.
END PROPOSED AMENDMENT
Section 2. An election upon the proposed amendment
shall be held in accordance with Sections 284, 284.01, and 285
of the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, and the election laws
of this state. The appropriate election official shall assign
a ballot number for the proposed constitutional amendment on
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a ballot number for the proposed constitutional amendment on
the election ballot and shall set forth the following
description of the substance or subject matter of the proposed
constitutional amendment:
"Relating to Covington County, proposing an amendment
to the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, to authorize the
sheriff to sell abandoned, stolen, and unclaimed personal
property and firearms, and to provide for the auctions and the
disposition of the proceeds.
Proposed by Act ____."
This description shall be followed by the following
language:
"Yes( ) No( )."
Section 3. The proposed amendment shall become valid as
part of the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, when approved by
a majority of the qualified electors voting thereon.
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a majority of the qualified electors voting thereon.
________________________________________________
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 17-Mar-26.
John Treadwell
Clerk
Senate 31-Mar-26 Passed
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