SB115 • 2026

Competitive bidding; repairs of vehicles under $15,000 for certain awarding authorities exempt

Enacted

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

Sponsor: Coleman-Madison
Last action: 2026-02-17
Official status: Enacted
Effective date: 2026-10-01

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide additional details about how the exemption can be used by the authority itself or through formal policies adopted by them beyond what is stated in the bill text.

Exemption from Competitive Bidding for Vehicle Repairs

This law allows certain local government bodies to repair vehicles under $15,000 without following competitive bidding rules if they get price estimates from at least two vendors.

What This Bill Does

Adds a new section to the Alabama Code that lets awarding authorities choose not to follow competitive bidding for vehicle repairs under specific conditions.
Defines 'awarding authority' as county commissions, city governments, and utility boards like waterworks or sewer boards.
Requires awarding authorities to get price estimates from at least two different vendors before repairing vehicles costing less than $15,000 with a weight of 12,000 pounds or less.

Who It Names or Affects

Local government bodies such as county commissions and city governments.
Utility boards like waterworks and sewer boards.

Terms To Know

awarding authority: A local governing body or utility board that can make decisions about purchasing repairs for vehicles.
competitive bidding: The process of inviting multiple vendors to bid on a contract and choosing the lowest bidder.

Limits and Unknowns

This law only applies to vehicle repairs under $15,000 with a weight limit.
It requires awarding authorities to get price estimates from at least two different vendors before making decisions.

Bill History

2026-02-17 Senate
Enacted
2026-02-10 House
Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 347 (Yeas 98, Nays 3)
2026-02-10 House
Third Reading in Second House (Yeas 100, Nays 2)
2026-02-10 House
Signature Requested
2026-02-10 Senate
Delivered to Governor
2026-02-10 Senate
Enrolled
2026-02-10 Senate
Ready to Enroll
2026-01-29 House
Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar
2026-01-28 House
Reported Out of Committee Second House
2026-01-22 House
Pending Committee Action in Second House
2026-01-22 House
Read for the first time and referred to the House Committee on County and Municipal Government
2026-01-21 Senate
Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 79 (Yeas 29, Nays 0)
2026-01-21 Senate
Third Reading in House of Origin (Yeas 29, Nays 0)
2026-01-20 Senate
Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar
2026-01-20 Senate
Reported Out of Committee House of Origin
2026-01-13 Senate
Pending Committee Action in House of Origin
2026-01-13 Senate
Read for the first time and referred to the Senate Committee on County and Municipal Government

Official Summary Text

This act adds Section 41-16-52.1 to the Code of Alabama 1975, to provide that the repair of vehicles under certain conditions by local governing bodies and their instrumentalities is exempt from competitive bidding requirements.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

SB115 ENROLLED
Page 0
SB115
SLZ2D55-2
By Senators Coleman-Madison, Smitherman, Elliott, Albritton
RFD: County and Municipal Government
First Read: 13-Jan-26
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SB115 Enrolled
Page 1
First Read: 13-Jan-26
Enrolled, An Act,
Relating to competitive bidding; adding Section
41-16-52.1 to the Code of Alabama 1975, to exempt certain
awarding authorities from competitive bidding requirements for
repairs of vehicles under certain circumstances.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Section 41-16-52.1 is added to the Code of
Alabama 1975, to read as follows:
§41-16-52.1
(a) For purposes of this section, the term "awarding
authority" means any county commission, governing body of a
municipality, or an instrumentality of a county or
municipality, including a waterworks board, a sewer board, a
gas board, and other like utility boards and commissions.
(b) All expenditures of funds, made by or on the behalf
of any awarding authority, for repair parts and the repair of
vehicles shall be made at the option of the awarding authority
without regard to this article when the following conditions
are met:
(1) The vehicle has a gross vehicle weight rating of
12,000 pounds or less.
(2) The incident of repair does not involve more than
fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
(3) The awarding authority solicits and documents price
estimates from at least two different vendors prior to
awarding the contract.
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SB115 Enrolled
Page 2
awarding the contract.
(c) The exemption provided under this section shall
apply to each vehicle repaired, and the exempted expenditure
shall not be aggregated with the expenditures of any other
incidents of repair.
(d)(1) The option provided by subsection (b) may be
exercised by the awarding authority by specific reference to
this section on any purchase orders and purchase commitments
executed by the awarding authority.
(2) The option shall not be exercised by any employee,
agent, or servant unless done so after having received
official prior approval of the respective awarding authority
or unless exercised pursuant to a formal policy adopted by the
awarding authority setting out conditions and restrictions
under which the option shall be exercised.
Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2026.
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SB115 Enrolled
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1, 2026.
________________________________________________
President and Presiding Officer of the Senate
________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Representatives
SB115
Senate 21-Jan-26
I hereby certify that the within Act originated in and passed
the Senate.
Patrick Harris,
Secretary.
House of Representatives
Passed: 10-Feb-26
By: Senator Coleman-Madison
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