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SB114 • 2026

Criminal procedure; out-of-state warrants, arrest authorized for crime punishable by more than one year, arrest by out-of-state officers authorized

Criminal procedure; out-of-state warrants, arrest authorized for crime punishable by more than one year, arrest by out-of-state officers authorized

Crime
Enacted

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

Sponsor
Bell
Last action
2026-02-03
Official status
Enacted
Effective date
2026-01-30

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not provide information on the effectiveness of the bill's provisions.

Criminal Procedure Changes for Out-of-State Arrests

This law allows arrests without a warrant and by out-of-state officers in Alabama under specific conditions.

What This Bill Does

  • Allows an officer or private citizen to arrest someone without a warrant if they believe the person is charged with a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment in another state.
  • Adds new rules that let law enforcement officers from other states make arrests in Alabama for crimes believed to have been committed in their own state, as long as those crimes are felonies or punishable by over a year in prison.
  • Requires arrested individuals to be taken before a judge quickly after being arrested without a warrant.
  • Gives out-of-state officers the power to arrest someone in Alabama if they are pursuing them for a felony committed in their own state, under specific conditions.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Law enforcement officers from other states who want to make arrests in Alabama.
  • People charged with crimes in another state and believed to be in Alabama.
  • Alabama judges who will hear cases involving out-of-state warrants or arrests.

Terms To Know

Felony
A serious crime that can result in a prison sentence of more than one year.
Fresh Pursuit
The act of chasing someone suspected of committing a felony, even if the chase is not immediate but happens without unreasonable delay.

Limits and Unknowns

  • Does not specify how long an out-of-state officer has to pursue someone before losing their right to arrest them.
  • Does not explain what happens if there's a dispute about whether a crime qualifies as a felony under this law.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-03 Senate

    Enacted

  2. 2026-01-29 Senate

    Delivered to Governor

  3. 2026-01-29 House

    Signature Requested

  4. 2026-01-29 Senate

    Enrolled

  5. 2026-01-29 Senate

    Ready to Enroll

  6. 2026-01-27 House

    Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 200 (Yeas 103, Nays 0)

  7. 2026-01-27 House

    Third Reading in Second House (Yeas 100, Nays 1)

  8. 2026-01-21 House

    Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar

  9. 2026-01-21 House

    Reported Out of Committee Second House

  10. 2026-01-15 Senate

    Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 18 (Yeas 35, Nays 0)

  11. 2026-01-15 Senate

    Third Reading in House of Origin (Yeas 35, Nays 0)

  12. 2026-01-15 House

    Pending Committee Action in Second House

  13. 2026-01-15 House

    Read for the first time and referred to the House Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security

  14. 2026-01-14 Senate

    Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar

  15. 2026-01-14 Senate

    Reported Out of Committee House of Origin

  16. 2026-01-13 Senate

    Pending Committee Action in House of Origin

  17. 2026-01-13 Senate

    Read for the first time and referred to the Senate Committee on Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Safety

Official Summary Text

This act amends Section 15-9-41, Code of Alabama 1975, to add crimes punishable as a felony and by imprisonment for more than a year to those crimes for which an individual, if charged within another state, may be arrested without a warrant in this state; and (2) adds Section 15-9-50 to the Code of Alabama 1975, to authorize and provide procedures for an officer of another state to arrest an individual in this state who is believed to have committed a felony in the other state.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
SB114 ENROLLED
Page 0
SB114
XD3U9ZZ-2
By Senator Bell
RFD: Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Safety
First Read: 13-Jan-26
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SB114 Enrolled
Page 1
First Read: 13-Jan-26
Enrolled, An Act,
Relating to criminal procedure; to amend Section
15-9-41, Code of Alabama 1975; to further provide for the
conditions under which an individual may be arrested without a
warrant; and to add Section 15-9-50 to the Code of Alabama
1975, to authorize arrests by out-of-state law enforcement
officers in certain circumstances.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Section 15-9-41, Code of Alabama 1975, is
amended to read as follows:
"§15-9-41
(a) The arrest of a person may be lawfully made also by
an officer or a private citizen An officer or private citizen,
without a warrant , may lawfully arrest an individual upon
reasonable information that the accused individual stands
charged in the courts of another state with any of the
following:
(1) a A crime punishable by death or life .
(2) A crime punishable by imprisonment in the courts of
another state for a term exceeding one year.
(3) Any crime otherwise punishable as a felony .
(b) When so arrested Following an arrest pursuant to
subsection (a) , the accused arrestee must be taken receive a
hearing before a district or circuit court judge with all
practicable speed and. A complaint must be made against him or
her under oath setting forth the ground for the arrest as in
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SB114 Enrolled
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her under oath setting forth the ground for the arrest as in
Section 15-9-40 ,. and thereafter Thereafter, his or her answer
shall be heard as if he or she had been arrested on a
warrant."
Section 2. Section 15-9-50 is added to the Code of
Alabama 1975, to read as follows:
§15-9-50
(a) For the purposes of this section, the following
terms have the following meanings:
(1) ARRESTING OFFICER. An officer, employee, or agent
of any state or of any political subdivision of a state who is
required by law to: (i) maintain public order; (ii) make
arrests for offenses, whether that duty extends to all
offenses or is limited to specific offenses; and (iii)
investigate the commission or suspected commission of
offenses.
(2) FELONY. Any of the following crimes committed in
any state:
a. A crime punishable by death.
b. A crime punishable by imprisonment for a term
exceeding one year.
c. Any crime otherwise punishable as a felony.
(3) FRESH PURSUIT. a. The term includes, but is not
limited to, all of the following:
1. The term as defined by the common law.
2. The pursuit of an individual who has committed a
felony or who is reasonably suspected of having committed a
felony.
3. The pursuit of an individual suspected of having
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3. The pursuit of an individual suspected of having
committed a supposed felony, though no felony has actually
been committed, if there is reasonable ground for believing
that a felony has been committed.
b. The term does not necessarily imply instant pursuit,
but pursuit without unreasonable delay.
(4) POWER TO ARREST. The legal authority to arrest and
hold an individual in custody that is equivalent in scope to
an Alabama law enforcement officer's authority to arrest and
hold in custody an individual believed to have committed a
felony in this state.
(b) Any arresting officer of another state, while
engaged in fresh pursuit of an individual believed to have
committed a felony in that state, shall have the power to
arrest that individual in this state.
(c) Subsection (b) shall not be construed to make any
arrest in this state unlawful that would otherwise be lawful.
(d)(1) If an arrest is made in this state pursuant to
subsection (b), the arresting officer, without unnecessary
delay, shall take the individual before a district or circuit
judge for the county in which the arrest was made. The judge
shall conduct a hearing to determine the lawfulness of the
arrest.
(2)a. If the judge determines that the arrest was
lawful, he or she shall commit the individual to custody for a
reasonable time to await the issuance of an extradition
warrant or admit the individual to bail for the same purpose.
b. If the judge determines that the arrest was not
lawful, he or she shall discharge the individual.
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lawful, he or she shall discharge the individual.
Section 3. This act shall become effective immediately.85
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Section 3. This act shall become effective immediately.
________________________________________________
President and Presiding Officer of the Senate
________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Representatives
SB114
Senate 15-Jan-26
I hereby certify that the within Act originated in and passed
the Senate.
Patrick Harris,
Secretary.
House of Representatives
Passed: 27-Jan-26
By: Senator Bell
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