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SB279 ENROLLED
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SB279
4UFVAR3-3
By Senator Chambliss
RFD: County and Municipal Government
First Read: 10-Feb-26
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SB279 Enrolled
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First Read: 10-Feb-26
Enrolled, An Act,
Relating to general contracting; to amend Section
34-8-7, Code of Alabama 1975, to provide additional services
to the list of exemptions to the requirements of the general
contracting law.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Section 34-8-7, Code of Alabama 1975, is
amended to read as follows:
"§34-8-7
(a) The following shall be exempted from this chapter:
(1) The practice of general contracting, as defined in
Section 34-8-1, by an authorized representative of the United
States Government, the State of Alabama, or an incorporated
town, city, or county in this state, which is under the
supervision of a licensed architect or engineer, provided any
work contracted out by the authorized representative shall
comply with the definition in this chapter for general
contractor.
(2) The construction or repair of any residence or
private dwelling or any residential swimming pool .
(3) A person, firm, or corporation constructing a
building or other improvements on his, her, or its own
property, provided that any of the work contracted out
complies with the definition in this chapter for general
contractor. A municipal governing body or municipal regulatory
body may not enact any ordinance or law restricting or
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body may not enact any ordinance or law restricting or
altering this exemption. Any municipal ordinance or regulation
that conflicts with this exemption is repealed effective June
11, 2015.
(4) The installation, repair, maintenance, or removal
of facilities, equipment, or systems used in or substantially
related to the generation, transmission, or distribution of
electric power, natural gas, or telecommunications in an
emergency by a utility regulated by the Public Service
Commission, or any entity engaged in the generation,
transmission, or distribution of electric power, natural gas,
or telecommunications, or any of their respective general
contractors or subcontractors, provided the work is performed
under the supervision of a licensed architect or engineer. For
purposes of this subdivision, the term "emergency" is defined
as a situation whereby service to the consumer has been
interrupted or may be interrupted if work to remedy the
emergency is not performed and completed within 60 days, and
such other situations that are determined to be an emergency
in the discretion of the board.
(5) The repair, maintenance, replacement,
reinstallation, or removal of facilities, equipment, or
systems used in or substantially related to the generation,
transmission, or distribution of electric power, natural gas,
or telecommunications on a routine, regular, or recurring
basis by a utility regulated by the Public Service Commission
or any entity engaged in the generation, transmission, or
distribution of electric power, natural gas, or
telecommunications or any of their respective general
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telecommunications or any of their respective general
contractors or subcontractors, provided the work is performed
under the supervision of a licensed architect or engineer.
(6) Routine or regular maintenance, repair,
replacement, reinstallation, or removal of equipment,
specialized technological processes, or equipment facility
systems as determined by the board with regard to scope,
frequency, and specialty of the work to be performed.
(7) Routine landscape maintenance work that includes
cutting grass; trimming, replacing, and removal of bushes,
shrubs, and similar items; the placement and removal of pine
straw, mulch, bark, and similar ground covers; and pressure
washing services and other routine ground maintenance.
(8) The provision of temporary labor by a labor broker
or other temporary labor provider that provides workers to a
general contractor to perform work under the supervision and
control of that general contractor. For the purposes of
licensing, temporary workers are deemed to fall under the
license of the general contractor to whom they are provided.
This exemption does not allow labor brokers or other temporary
labor providers to act as subcontractors or to assume a scope
of work for a project as a subcontractor.
(9) Routine or regular maintenance, repair, or removal
of the following, as determined by the board with regard to
scope, frequency, and specialty of the work to be performed:
a. Existing security and access control systems.
b. Existing lighting and filter systems.
c. Existing plumbing, air conditioning, and electrical
systems.
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systems.
d. Existing paint on painted surfaces.
(10) Routine cleaning, waste disposal, and janitorial
services, including the cleaning, stripping, and waxing of
floors.
(b) The exemptions provided in subsection (a) shall
exclude a swimming pool contractor. Provided, however, a
person, firm, or corporation constructing a swimming pool on
his, her, or its own property shall be exempted from this
chapter.
(c)(b) A subcontractor, as defined in Section
34-8-1(c), is subject to and shall comply with this chapter as
specified for a general contractor except as follows:
(1) A subcontractor shall pay one-half of the fees
required in this chapter for a general contractor.
(2) No bid limits shall be established for a
subcontractor.
(3) A subcontractor shall submit with license
application and renewals a statement of financial condition as
prescribed by the board.
(4) A subcontractor shall furnish three references from
any combination of the following: Licensed general
contractors, registered professional engineers, or registered
architects, or qualified person, as declared by the board, for
whom they have worked. If a subcontractor has only been
employed by one company, the subcontractor shall provide the
following: Three or more jobs he or she has worked on, the
amounts of the contracts, the time period of the contracts,
the location of the contracts, and a statement of experience.
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the location of the contracts, and a statement of experience.
(5) A subcontractor is not required to be licensed at
the time a project is bid, but must be licensed with the board
prior to beginning work on the project.
(6) A general contractor license and license number
issued by the board to subcontractors shall denote
subcontractor status.
(7) A subcontractor is not required to sit for any
examination before being licensed."
Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2026.
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1, 2026.
________________________________________________
President and Presiding Officer of the Senate
________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Representatives
SB279
Senate 25-Feb-26
I hereby certify that the within Act originated in and passed
the Senate, as amended.
Patrick Harris,
Secretary.
House of Representatives
Passed: 02-Apr-26
By: Senator Chambliss
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