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SB227 ENGROSSED
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SB227
BYR3S44-2
By Senator Elliott
RFD: County and Municipal Government
First Read: 29-Jan-26
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First Read: 29-Jan-26
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To establish the Office of Occupational and
Professional Licensing within the Alabama Department of
Workforce; to add Chapter 2A to Title 25, Code of Alabama
1975; to provide for the leadership, support, and oversight of
certain occupational and professional licensing boards; to
provide for an executive director, deputy directors, and the
employment of staff for the boards; to provide uniform
standards for fees; to continue existing licenses and rules
until amended or repealed by the office; and to amend Section
41-20-5, Code of Alabama 1975, to provide for the transfer of
an agency to the office by the Sunset Committee pursuant to a
recommendation for modification.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Chapter 2A is added to Title 25 of the Code
of Alabama 1975, to read as follows:
CHAPTER 2A. OFFICE OF OCCUPATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL
LICENSING.
§25-2A-1
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms
have the following meanings:
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have the following meanings:
(1) BOARD. A board, commission, or other entity
established for the primary purpose of licensing and
regulating a specific occupation or profession that is subject
to oversight and administration by the Office of Occupational
and Professional Licensing of the Alabama Department of
Workforce.
(2) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. The individual appointed by the
Secretary of Workforce to serve as the executive director of
the office.
(3) FUND. The Occupational and Professional Licensing
Fund created by this chapter.
(4) LICENSE. The certificate or license issued to an
individual that certifies he or she is qualified to perform a
particular occupation or profession. The term includes a
certificate of registration, temporary license, or similar
formal grant of permission.
(5) OFFICE. The Office of Occupational and Professional
Licensing within the Alabama Department of Workforce,
responsible for the oversight and administration of certain
occupational and professional licensing boards.
§25-2A-2
(a) There is created within the Alabama Department of
Workforce the Office of Occupational and Professional
Licensing. The mission of the office is to protect the health,
safety, and welfare of the public by licensing qualified
individuals and entities and enforcing standards of
professional conduct for professions and occupations.
(b)(1) The Secretary of Workforce shall appoint and
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(b)(1) The Secretary of Workforce shall appoint and
shall set the qualifications for an executive director and
shall appoint deputy directors, as needed, who shall act in
the absence of the executive director and who shall perform
other functions of the executive director as the executive
director may direct. The executive director and deputy
directors shall serve in the exempt service. The compensation
of the executive director and deputy directors shall be fixed
by the Secretary of Workforce, and they shall hold office at
the pleasure of the Secretary of Workforce.
(2) The executive director may employ additional
personnel, including administrative law judges, attorneys, and
investigators, as necessary to carry out this chapter and to
provide leadership, support, and oversight required for each
board to exercise its powers and fulfill its duties. Except as
otherwise provided in this chapter, all personnel shall be
subject to the state Merit System Act.
(c) An individual hired to conduct investigations for
the boards shall meet standards established by the executive
director.
§25-2A-3
(a) The executive director, with the approval of the
Secretary of Workforce, may enter into and terminate contracts
on behalf of the office or any board, subject to the State
Procurement Law, Article 5 of Chapter 4 of Title 41, as
necessary to implement this chapter.
(b) The rights, privileges, entitlements, or duties of
parties to contracts, leases, agreements, or other
transactions entered into by a board on or before the date a
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transactions entered into by a board on or before the date a
board becomes subject to this chapter, shall continue to exist
and shall not be impaired or diminished by reason of the board
being subject to this chapter. After the date a board becomes
subject to this chapter, no existing agreement or contract
between a board and a third party may be renewed or otherwise
amended unless the agreement or contract complies with this
chapter.
§25-2A-4
On the date a board becomes subject to this chapter,
all the rights, duties, assets, employees, records,
liabilities, property, real or personal, and all other effects
existing in the name of each board shall be transferred to,
and under the jurisdiction of, the office. By resolution, a
board may transfer its rights, duties, assets, employees,
records, liabilities, property, or other effects to the office
before the date specified by this chapter if approved by the
Secretary of Workforce or the executive director.
§25-2A-5
(a) The Occupational and Professional Licensing Fund is
created within the State Treasury. The office shall collect,
on behalf of each board, all funds the board is entitled to
receive. Collected funds shall be deposited into the fund and
shall be used to implement this chapter and perform required
board functions. The executive director shall allocate and
disburse funds budgeted and allotted pursuant to the Budget
Management Act and Article 4 of Chapter 4 of Title 41.
(b) For purposes of this section, required board
functions include the maintenance of existing board programs
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functions include the maintenance of existing board programs
that benefit an occupation or profession including, but not
limited to, grant, wellness, and training programs, if the
executive director determines that maintenance of the program
will not require a material increase in any fee collected by
the office.
§25-2A-6
(a) The executive director shall possess all powers
necessary and proper to provide administrative support and
oversight to each board, including all of the following:
(1) To serve as the custodian of all board records.
(2) To receive and process all license applications.
(3) By rule, to set all administrative fees including,
but not limited to application, license, renewal, examination,
and wellness program fees and set the dates, times, and
locations of license examinations.
(4) To schedule the time and place for all hearings.
(5) To issue all licenses.
(6) To conduct investigations on behalf of each board
and issue subpoenas when authorized.
(7) To collect all fees, fines, and other monies due
each board and deposit all monies collected into the fund.
(8) To implement and enforce the rules and
administrative decisions of each board.
(b) All board orders shall be signed and attested to by
the executive director, or his or her designee, in the name of
the applicable board, with the seal of that board attached.
Any notice or legal process necessary to be served upon a
board may be served upon the executive director.
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board may be served upon the executive director.
(c) Any document, material, or other information in the
possession or control of the office that is obtained by or
disclosed in the course of an application, examination, or
investigation is confidential, privileged, and not subject to
subpoena or discovery.
§25-2A-7
(a) Each board member shall be paid a per diem amount
of one hundred dollars ($100) for each day spent attending a
board meeting or other official function of the board and
shall be reimbursed for travel expenses at the same rate and
under the same circumstances as a state employee is paid for
each day he or she attends to business of the board. A board
member's request for per diem or reimbursement of travel
expenses is subject to approval by the executive director.
(b) Board meetings and hearings shall be held in the
City of Montgomery, at a site determined by the executive
director, or at a different site upon request of the chair and
approval by the executive director.
(c) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to alter
the requirements of the Open Meetings Act, Chapter 25A, Title
36.
§25-2A-8
(a) The executive director shall adopt rules pursuant
to the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act, as necessary,
relating to administrative fees and to the administration of
examinations of applicants for licensing by each board
pursuant to Section 25-2A-6. The rules may provide for the
setting of fees, dates, times, and locations of examinations,
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setting of fees, dates, times, and locations of examinations,
and other similar matters related to the administration of an
examination.
(b) Nothing in this chapter shall preclude a board from
adopting rules to establish examination standards including,
but not limited to, criteria, grading procedures, passing
score requirements, and other matters pertaining to
substantive material included on an examination.
(c) A board, by rule, may establish examination
standards developed in agreement or in conjunction with a
national association of state boards, or other related
national association, for the administration of a nationally
recognized uniform examination.
(d) Rules adopted by a board before the date of
transfer to the office, that are under the jurisdiction of the
executive director, shall continue in effect until the
executive director expressly amends, repeals, or adopts new
rules pursuant to the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act.
§25-2A-9
(a) The executive director, by rule, may establish
administrative fees necessary for the operation of a board
including, but not limited to, an application fee, original
license fee, license renewal fee, inspection fee, permit fee,
wellness program fee, and late penalty fee. Each fee shall be
reasonable and shall be determined in a manner that the total
amount of fees charged by the board shall approximate the
total of the direct and indirect costs to the state of the
operations of the board. Fees may be refunded as determined by
the executive director.
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the executive director.
(b) The executive director, by rule, shall determine
the term, expiration, renewal period, and late penalty dates
for each license issued by a board through the office.
§25-2A-10
(a) The executive director, on behalf of each board,
may issue or deny a temporary license to an applicant who
otherwise satisfies all of the qualifications and criteria
required for the issuance of a license.
(1) If a temporary license is issued to an applicant by
the executive director, that decision shall be reviewed by the
applicable board at the next meeting of the board, during
which time the board may decide to grant or deny a full
license to the temporary licensee.
(2) If the executive director denies issuing a
temporary license to an applicant, that decision shall be
reviewed by the applicable board at the next meeting of the
board, during which time the board may decide to grant or deny
a full license to the applicant.
(b) The executive director, on behalf of each board,
may temporarily renew a license pursuant to criteria
established by the board for the renewal of a license. A
temporary renewal issued by the executive director shall be
reviewed by the applicable board at the next meeting of the
board, during which time the board may decide to grant or deny
the license renewal.
§25-2A-11
Each board remains subject to the Alabama
Administrative Procedure Act. Any rule adopted, amended, or
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Administrative Procedure Act. Any rule adopted, amended, or
repealed by a board, as authorized by this chapter, shall be
approved by the executive director before certification
pursuant to Section 41-22-6. An emergency rule shall be
approved before filing pursuant to Section 41-22-5.
§25-2A-12
(a) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to
invalidate, override, or amend the Military Family Jobs
Opportunity Act, Section 31-1-6, or any licensing compact
entered into by this state or any board.
(b) The provisions of this chapter are cumulative and
supplemental and shall be construed in pari materia with other
laws relating to the boards placed under the oversight of the
office pursuant to this chapter. Those laws or parts of laws
in direct conflict or inconsistent with this chapter are
superseded to the extent of the conflict or inconsistency.
§25-2A-13
(a) Each board shall continue to be subject to the
Alabama Sunset Law in the same manner and schedule as provided
by law.
(b) Commencing with the 2030 Regular Session of the
Alabama Legislature, and every fourth regular session
thereafter, the Secretary of Workforce, through the executive
director of the office, shall submit to the cochairs of the
Alabama Sunset Committee, a report recommending the
continuation, consolidation, or termination of those boards
regulated by this chapter.
Section 2. Section 41-20-5 of the Code of Alabama 1975,
is amended to read as follows:
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is amended to read as follows:
"§41-20-5
(a) Legislative committee review of the enumerated
agencies shall begin in the year prior to the scheduled
regular legislative session next preceding the date upon which
the enumerated agencies are scheduled to terminate pursuant to
Section 41-20-3, and shall conclude with a recommendation for
continuation, modification , or termination on or before the
first legislative day immediately following said the review.
(b) A recommendation for modification may include the
transfer of oversight and administration of an enumerated or
nonenumerated agency to the Office of Occupational and
Professional Licensing of the Alabama Department of Workforce.
Before a recommendation for transfer to the office is
submitted to the Legislature, the Sunset Committee shall: (i)
provide written notice of any issues to the enumerated or
nonenumerated agency; and (ii) provide an additional 60
calendar days for the agency to correct those issues after
notice is received. "
Section 3. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2026.
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1, 2026.
Senate
Read for the first time and referred
to the Senate committee on County
and Municipal Government
................29-Jan-26
Read for the second time and placed
on the calendar:
0 amendments
................05-Feb-26
Read for the third time and passed
as amended
Yeas 28
Nays 4
Abstains 0
................24-Feb-26
Patrick Harris,
Secretary.
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