HB 314 Alabama House · 2025 Regular Session

Sheriff, to authorize use of credit card or debit card

HB 314 authorizes the Houston County Sheriff's Office to use credit or debit cards for purchasing physical items or services, directly affecting the sheriff's office operations. The bill requires the sheriff to establish written policies including spending limits per purchase and monthly totals, secure card access procedures, and mandatory monthly bill reviews to prevent unauthorized charges. It mandates paying bills in full to avoid fees and directs any rewards earned to the sheriff's discretionary fund. The measure does not change existing funding limits or allow the sheriff to create new debt. (Effective June 1, 2025)

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

House Passage

Mar 2025

Senate Passage

Apr 2025

Signed into Law

Apr 2025

Introduced Feb 20, 2025 Signed Apr 11, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Enrolled · 3 edits · Apr 11, 2025

MINOR

HB 314 was converted from an introduced bill to an enrolled, enacted law. The main substantive change is the addition of detailed requirements for the Houston County Sheriff's Office credit/debit card policy, including specific financial limits, record-keeping procedures, and criteria for selecting card providers. The bill also added a new consideration regarding late payment penalties when selecting card providers.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains the same (authorizing Houston County Sheriff's Office to use credit/debit cards), but the requirements for how the program must be managed were expanded with new procedural safeguards.

REQUIREMENT

Added specific policy requirements including monetary limits on individual purchases and monthly totals, procedures for sole access to card information, record-keeping and audit procedures, monthly bill review requirements, and timely payment obligations.

Added new consideration for card provider selection regarding interest rates, service charges, finance charges, and late fees that would be assessed if bills are not paid on time.

TECHNICAL

Removed draft document identifiers and introductory text that was present in the introduced version but not needed in the final enrolled version.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 1, 2025

Upper · Passed

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 463

upper

Mar 20, 2025

Upper · Passed

Reported Out of Committee Second House

upper

Mar 4, 2025

Upper · Passed

Pending Committee Action in Second House (Local Legislation )

upper

Mar 4, 2025

Lower · Passed

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 301

lower

Feb 27, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported Out of Committee House of Origin

lower

Feb 20, 2025

Lower · Passed

Pending Committee Action in House of Origin (Local Legislation)

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors