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SB132 • 2026

Class 8 municipalities; to authorize certain municipalities to opt out of county personnel board

Class 8 municipalities; to authorize certain municipalities to opt out of county personnel board

Labor
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Shelnutt
Last action
2026-04-07
Official status
Indefinitely Postponed in House of Origin
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill's status is currently indefinitely postponed, which means it may not become law despite passing both chambers.

Class 8 Municipalities Opt-Out from County Personnel Board

This bill allows certain Class 8 municipalities to opt out of county personnel board jurisdiction and create their own civil service system after six months notice, with conditions.

What This Bill Does

  • Allows a Class 8 municipality with at least 25,000 residents in two counties to leave the county's personnel board after six months notice.
  • Requires these municipalities to set up their own civil service system if they opt out of the county’s personnel board.
  • Ensures that employees and appointees keep all their rights when a municipality opts out of the county personnel board.
  • Prohibits discrimination against employees based on race, gender, religion, or political affiliation in any new municipal systems.
  • Repeals an older law about opting out from county personnel boards.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Class 8 municipalities with at least 25,000 residents that are spread across two counties.
  • County personnel board employees and appointees in these specific municipalities.

Terms To Know

Class 8 municipality
A type of city or town with a certain population range as defined by Alabama law.
County personnel board
An organization that manages the hiring, firing, and other employment issues for county workers.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if a municipality opts back into the county personnel board after leaving.
  • It is unclear how many municipalities will actually choose to opt out of the county personnel boards.
  • This bill has been indefinitely postponed, so it may not become law.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-07 Senate

    Currently Indefinitely Postponed

  2. 2026-01-29 Senate

    Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar

  3. 2026-01-28 Senate

    Reported Out of Committee House of Origin

  4. 2026-01-13 Senate

    Pending Committee Action in House of Origin

  5. 2026-01-13 Senate

    Read for the first time and referred to the Senate Committee on County and Municipal Government

Official Summary Text

Class 8 municipalities; to authorize certain municipalities to opt out of county personnel board

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
SB132 INTRODUCED
Page 0
SB132
G3HQD2C-1
By Senator Shelnutt (N & P)
RFD: County and Municipal Government
First Read: 13-Jan-26
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G3HQD2C-1 01/12/2026 PMG (L)ma 2026-174
Page 1
First Read: 13-Jan-26
SYNOPSIS:
Under existing law, each county with a
population of 400,000 or more shall have a county
personnel board for all employees and appointees
holding positions in the classified service of the
county and each municipality with a population of 5,000
or more.
This bill would authorize a Class 8 municipality
with a population of 25,000 or more according to the
last decennial census and that has a corporate limit
lying in two counties to opt out of the county
personnel board's jurisdiction after six months notice,
and to opt back in to the jurisdiction of the county
personnel board not less than 10 years thereafter at
the sole discretion of the municipality.
This bill would require a municipality that opts
out of a county personnel board's jurisdiction to
create its own municipal civil service system and
continue all vested rights and interests of employees
and appointees who were subject to the county personnel
board.
This bill would prohibit a municipality subject
to this act from engaging in discrimination which is in
violation of federal or state law and would require the
municipality to adopt a certain antidiscrimination
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SB132 INTRODUCED
Page 2
municipality to adopt a certain antidiscrimination
policy.
This bill would provide and confirm that the act
is intended to be retroactive and curative.
This bill would also repeal a law that
authorizes certain Class 8 municipalities to opt out of
a county personnel board.
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to county personnel boards; to add Section
11-43-5.3 to the Code of Alabama 1975, to authorize certain
municipalities to opt out from the jurisdiction of a county
personnel board and to require a municipality that opts out
from the jurisdiction of a county personnel board to create a
civil service system and continue the rights of employees and
officials vested or vesting in the county personnel board; to
repeal Section 11-43-5.2, Code of Alabama 1975, which
authorizes certain Class 8 municipalities to opt out of a
county personnel board; and to provide and confirm that the
act is retroactive and curative.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Section 11-43-5.3 is added to the Code of
Alabama 1975, to read as follows:
§11-43-5.3
(a) This section shall apply to any Class 8
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SB132 INTRODUCED
Page 3
(a) This section shall apply to any Class 8
municipality with a corporate limit lying in two counties,
which has a population equal to or greater than 25,000
according to the last decennial census and which was subject,
on January 1, 2023, to a county personnel board.
(b)(1) The governing body of a municipality, by
ordinance, may opt out from the jurisdiction of a county
personnel board, effective six months after the effective date
of the ordinance. A copy of the ordinance shall be transmitted
to the county personnel board following its passage by the
municipal governing body.
(2) Not less than 10 years after a municipality opts
out from the county personnel board's jurisdiction as provided
in subdivision (1), the municipality, by ordinance, may opt
back in to a county personnel board's jurisdiction, effective
six months after the effective date of the ordinance. A copy
of the ordinance shall be transmitted to the county personnel
board following its passage by the governing body.
(c) Any municipality that opts out from the county
personnel board's jurisdiction as provided in subdivision
(b)(1) shall create its own municipal civil service system
which shall ensure that the vested or vesting rights of any
existing appointees of the county civil service system are
protected and not otherwise altered or diminished, except as
otherwise provided for by law.
(d)(1) Any municipality exercising its rights under
this section may not engage in any type or form of
discrimination that is prohibited by federal or state law.
(2) Any municipality that elects to opt out as provided
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SB132 INTRODUCED
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(2) Any municipality that elects to opt out as provided
in this section shall enact a policy that explicitly prohibits
the appointment, promotion, demotion, or dismissal of an
employee from any position which in any way favors or
discriminates against the employee because of his or her
political or religious opinions or affiliations or because of
his or her race or gender or for any other reason that is
prohibited by state or federal law.
Section 2. It is the intent of the Legislature that
this act be construed as retroactive and curative, and the
actions of any municipality that opted out from the county
personnel board's jurisdiction and created its own municipal
civil service system pursuant to Act 2023-460 of the 2023
Regular Session are hereby ratified, validated, approved, and
confirmed.
Section 3. Section 11-43-5.2, Code of Alabama 1975,
created by Act 2023-460 of the 2023 Regular Session and which
authorizes certain Class 8 municipalities to opt out of a
county personnel board and create its own municipal civil
service system, is repealed.
Section 4. This act shall become effective immediately.
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