Back to Alabama

SB28 • 2026

Retired state employees; work as law enforcement officer or assistant district attorney authorized

Retired state employees; work as law enforcement officer or assistant district attorney authorized

Crime Education Healthcare Labor
Passed Legislature

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

Sponsor
Elliott
Last action
2026-02-19
Official status
Read Second Time in Second House
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill text provided ends abruptly in section (6)(e), so future adjustments after October 1, 2031 are confirmed but subsequent details may be incomplete.

SB28: Rules for Retired State Employees Working in Law Enforcement and Legal Jobs

This law allows certain retired state employees with at least 25 years of service to work as specific law enforcement officers, assistant district attorneys, firemedics, or bus drivers without losing their pension benefits if they meet pay limits.

What This Bill Does

  • Allows retirees with at least 25 years of service and proper certification to work as school resource officers, correctional officers, campus police, sheriff's deputies, or municipal police officers while keeping their retirement allowance.
  • Sets a yearly pay limit of $52,000 for these law enforcement, legal, and firemedic jobs starting in 2016 with future adjustments based on inflation.
  • Increases the required years of service from 25 to 30 gradually between October 2027 and October 2031.
  • Permits retired firefighters with specific certifications as a firefighter and emergency medical services personnel to work as firemedics without losing their pension if they earn less than $52,000 per year.
  • Allows retirees who are licensed lawyers in Alabama to work as assistant district attorneys while receiving retirement benefits under the same pay and service rules.
  • Authorizes retirees to work full-time as bus drivers after drawing benefits for 12 consecutive months or immediately if they retired on or before January 1, 2026.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Retired members of the Employees' Retirement System and Teachers' Retirement System.
  • Former law enforcement officers, state policemen, correctional officers, firefighters with EMS certification, and licensed attorneys who meet specific service year requirements.
  • Employers such as schools, prisons, universities, sheriff's offices, municipal police departments, district attorney offices, and bus transit agencies.

Terms To Know

Employees' Retirement System
The state pension plan for most Alabama government workers other than teachers.
Teachers' Retirement System
The state pension plan specifically for public school educators in Alabama.
Suspension of retirement allowance
A temporary stop to receiving monthly pension payments, which this law prevents under certain conditions.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The specific dollar amount for the general earning limit in subsection (a) starts at $30,000 and adjusts annually based on inflation.
  • The exact effective date of the new service year requirements depends on future dates listed from October 2027 through October 2031.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

2J7JHKS-1

Ways and Means General Fund

Reported Out of Committee Second House

Plain English: This amendment allows retired state employees who were previously law enforcement officers, correctional officers, or firefighters to work in similar public safety jobs while still receiving their pension payments.

  • Retired police and security workers can now work as school resource officers, prison guards, campus police, sheriff's deputies, city police, state troopers, or other law enforcement roles without losing their retirement pay.
  • The amendment sets a yearly income limit of $52,000 for these specific public safety jobs; if they earn more than this amount, the rules may change.
  • Retired firefighters and emergency medical staff with proper certifications can work as firemedics while keeping their pension benefits.
  • The official text provided is cut off at the end of Page 5, so it does not show if there are income limits for firefighter jobs or other final details.
  • Workers must have specific state certifications and must have held certain job titles before they retired to qualify.
3P7IIEE-1

R 24 • Elliott

Adopted

Plain English: This amendment allows retired state employees to work as full-time bus drivers without losing their pension, even if they haven't been receiving benefits for a year yet.

  • Retired workers can now drive buses full time while keeping their retirement pay, provided their salary stays under $52,000 per year.
  • The rule requiring retirees to wait 12 months before working again is waived for anyone who retired on or before January 1, 2026.
  • The amendment text provided contains formatting errors and incomplete sentences that make the exact legal numbering unclear.
  • It is not fully clear from this snippet how the change affects retirees who started receiving benefits after January 1, 2026.
9JFATMB-1

R 321 • Orr

Adopted

Plain English: This amendment allows retired state employees and teachers with at least 25 years of service to work as law enforcement officers or assistant district attorneys without losing their retirement benefits, but it gradually increases the required years of service from 25 to 30 between 2027 and 2031.

  • Retired teachers with at least 25 years of service are now allowed to work as law enforcement officers or assistant district attorneys if they have the proper license.
  • The minimum number of years of service needed to keep retirement benefits while working will increase by one year each October starting in 2027 until it reaches 30 years in 2031.
  • Retired employees from both the Employees' Retirement System and Teachers' Retirement System are included under these new rules.
  • The amendment text contains formatting errors, such as 'meets any all of the', which makes it unclear if there were other specific requirements removed or changed.
  • Some line numbers in the official text appear to be cut off or incomplete, so the full context of every change cannot be confirmed.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-19 House

    Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar

  2. 2026-02-18 House

    Reported Out of Committee Second House

  3. 2026-02-12 House

    Pending Committee Action in Second House

  4. 2026-02-12 House

    Read for the first time and referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means General Fund

  5. 2026-02-11 Senate

    Engrossed

  6. 2026-02-10 Senate

    Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass as Amended - Adopted Roll Call 322 (Yeas 32, Nays 0)

  7. 2026-02-10 Senate

    Orr motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 321 (Yeas 32, Nays 0)

  8. 2026-02-10 Senate

    Orr 1st Amendment Offered

  9. 2026-01-15 Senate

    Elliott motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 24 (Yeas 35, Nays 0)

  10. 2026-01-15 Senate

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

  11. 2026-01-15 Senate

    Carried Over

  12. 2026-01-15 Senate

    County and Municipal Government 1st Amendment Offered

  13. 2026-01-14 Senate

    Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar

  14. 2026-01-14 Senate

    Reported Out of Committee House of Origin

  15. 2026-01-14 Senate

    County and Municipal Government 1st Amendment

  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 County and Municipal Government

Official Summary Text

Retired state employees; work as law enforcement officer or assistant district attorney authorized

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
SB28 ENGROSSED
Page 0
SB28
W1JSNE9-2
By Senator Elliott
RFD: County and Municipal Government
First Read: 13-Jan-26
PFD: 04-Dec-25
1
2
3
4
5
6
SB28 Engrossed
Page 1
PFD: 04-Dec-25
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to retired state employees; to amend Section
36-27-8.2, as last amended by Act 2025-409, Code of Alabama
1975, to further provide for employment authorized for certain
retired state employees.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Section 36-27-8.2, as last amended by Act
2025-409, 2025 Regular Session, Code of Alabama 1975, is
amended to read as follows:
"§36-27-8.2
(a) Any individual who is retired under the Employees'
Retirement System may perform duties in any capacity,
including as an independent contractor, with any employer
participating in the Employees' Retirement System or the
Teachers' Retirement System without suspension of his or her
retirement allowance provided that: (i) the individual is not
employed in a permanent full-time capacity; and (ii) the
individual's compensation from the employer in calendar year
2016 does not exceed thirty thousand dollars ($30,000).
Beginning in calendar year 2017, and each calendar year
thereafter, the annual earning limit shall be increased by the
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
SB28 Engrossed
Page 2
thereafter, the annual earning limit shall be increased by the
same percentage increase as the increase in the Consumer Price
Index for all urban consumers as published by the U.S.
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Any increase
in the annual earning limit shall be rounded to the next
lowest multiple of one thousand dollars ($1,000) with any
amount in excess of the one thousand dollar ($1,000) multiple
considered in determining the increase for the following year.
Each adjustment shall be based on the increase in the index
for the preceding 12-month period ending on September 30 and
the increase shall be effective for the following calendar
year.
(b) Any individual serving as an elected official who
has retired from the Employees' Retirement System may serve
for his or her full compensation in an elected public office
with the state, a county, or an incorporated municipality
without suspension of retirement benefits; provided, that
under no circumstances shall such an individual participate in
or accrue additional benefits under the Teachers' Retirement
System or the Employees' Retirement System for that service,
and provided that under no circumstances shall an individual
whose retirement is based upon service as an elected official
continue in or return to the office and receive both pension
benefits and salary. Any provision of this subsection to the
contrary notwithstanding, a retiree serving as a local elected
superintendent of education shall not receive both pension
benefits and salary unless his or her compensation as a local
elected superintendent of education does not exceed the annual
earning limits provided in subsection (a).
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
SB28 Engrossed
Page 3
earning limits provided in subsection (a).
(c) The responsibility for compliance with this section
is placed upon the employing authority, and each retiree
performing duties under this section shall certify to the
employer any information required in order to carry out this
section. The retiree shall provide written notice of the
postretirement employment under this section to the Employees'
Retirement System and employing authority within 30 days after
the date the retiree knows or should know that he or she will
be performing duties on a full-time or permanent basis or will
earn an amount in excess of the annual earning limit under
this section.
(d)(1) Any individual who is retired under the
Employees' Retirement System or the Teachers' Retirement
System with a minimum of 25 years of service on the effective
date of this act , has the applicable Alabama Peace Officers'
Standards and Training certification, and was classified as
either a law enforcement officer, as defined in Section
36-27-59, or a state policeman, as defined in Section 36-27-1,
prior to retirement, may perform duties as any of the
following a school resource officer, as defined in Section
16-1-44.1, a correctional officer with the Department of
Corrections, or a police officer at any state college or
university pursuant to Section 16-22-1 without suspension of
his or her retirement allowance, provided that the
compensation earned does not exceed fifty-two thousand dollars
($52,000) per year :
a. A school resource officer, as defined in Section
16-1-44.1.
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
SB28 Engrossed
Page 4
16-1-44.1.
b. A correctional officer with the Department of
Corrections.
c. A police officer at any state college or university
pursuant to Section 16-22-1.
d. A sheriff's deputy.
e. A municipal police officer .
(2) Any individual who is retired under the Employees'
Retirement System, has the applicable Alabama Peace Officers'
Standards and Training certification, and meets any all of the
following criteria may perform duties as a correctional
officer with the Department of Corrections without suspension
of his or her retirement allowance, provided that the
compensation earned does not exceed fifty-two thousand dollars
($52,000) per year:
a. Was classified as a law enforcement officer, as
defined in Section 36-27-59, prior to retirement Is retired
under the Employees' Retirement System with a minimum of 25
years of service on the effective date of this act .
b. Was classified as a state policeman, as defined in
Section 36-27-1, prior to retirement Has the applicable Alabama
Peace Officers' Standards and Training Certification .
c. Was classified as a correctional officer, as defined
in Section 36-27-59, prior to retirement, and retired pursuant
to Section 36-27-16(a)(1)c.
(3) The minimum number of years of service required to
qualify to perform duties without suspension of retirement
benefits under subdivisions (d)(1) and (2) shall be adjusted
as follows:
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
SB28 Engrossed
Page 5
as follows:
a. A minimum of 26 years of service on October 1, 2027.
b. A minimum of 27 years of service on October 1, 2028.
c. A minimum of 28 years of service on October 1, 2029.
d. A minimum of 29 years of service on October 1, 2030.
e. A minimum of 30 years of service on October 1, 2031,
and each year thereafter.
(3)(4) Any individual who is retired under the
Employees' Retirement System, who has both the applicable
Alabama Firefighters' Personnel Standards and Education
Commission certification and the applicable State Board of
Health certification as a firefighter and an emergency medical
services personnel, as defined in Section 36-27-59, prior to
retirement, may perform duties as a firemedic without
suspension of his or her retirement allowance provided that
the compensation earned does not exceed fifty-two thousand
dollars ($52,000) per year, commensurate with the work
actually performed.
(5) Any individual who is retired under the Employees'
Retirement System or Teachers' Retirement System with a
minimum of 25 years of service and is licensed to practice law
in this state may perform duties as an assistant district
attorney without suspension of his or her retirement
allowance, provided the compensation does not exceed fifty-two
thousand dollars ($52,000) per year.
(5)a. Any individual who is retired under the
Employee's Retirement System or Teachers' Retirement System
may perform duties as a permanent full-time bus driver without
suspension of his or her retirement allowance, provided the
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
SB28 Engrossed
Page 6
suspension of his or her retirement allowance, provided the
compensation does not exceed the earnings limit established in
subsection (a) and the individual has drawn his or her
retirement benefit for 12 consecutive months.
b. Notwithstanding paragraph a., an individual who
retired under the Employees' Retirement System or the
Teachers' Retirement System on or before January 1, 2026, may
be hired and perform duties as a full-time bus driver even if
he or she has not drawn his or her retirement benefit for 12
consecutive months, provided all other conditions of this
subsection are met.
(6) The minimum number of years of service required to
qualify to perform duties without suspension of retirement
benefits under subdivision (d)(5) shall be adjusted as
follows:
a. A minimum of 26 years of service on October 1, 2027.
b. A minimum of 27 years of service on October 1, 2028.
c. A minimum of 28 years of service on October 1, 2029.
d. A minimum of 29 years of service on October 1, 2030.
e. A minimum of 30 years of service on October 1, 2031,
and each year thereafter.
(4) (7) This subsection shall have retroactive
application to January 1, 2023, and no No individual may be
employed pursuant to this subsection after December 31,
20302032."
Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2026.
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
SB28 Engrossed
Page 7
1, 2026.
Senate
Read for the first time and referred
to the Senate committee on County
and Municipal Government
................13-Jan-26
Read for the second time and placed
on the calendar:
1 amendment
................14-Jan-26
Read for the third time and passed
as amended
Yeas 32
Nays 0
Abstains 0
................10-Feb-26
Patrick Harris,
Secretary.
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187