SB 48 Alabama Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Boards of Registrars; qualifications of registrars revised; salary increased; status of employment further provided for

SB 48 increases the daily pay for election registrars from $80 to $115 per day. It also clarifies that boards of registrars must be treated equally with other state and county employment positions. The bill directly affects local election officials responsible for voter registration and election administration. Key provisions include the salary adjustment and a specific requirement for equal treatment in employment status. These changes aim to standardize compensation and employment classification for election registrars.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Feb 2025

Senate Passage

Feb 2025

House Passage

Feb 2025

Signed into Law

Mar 2025

Introduced Feb 4, 2025 Signed Mar 4, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Engrossed → Enrolled · 6 edits · Mar 4, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was finalized from its Engrossed version to the Enrolled version, incorporating substantive policy updates to the Alabama registrar system. Key changes include expanding diversity considerations for appointments, increasing registrar salaries, and clarifying funding responsibilities between the state and counties.

Scope change

The bill now explicitly excludes counties with populations of 600,000 or more from certain appointment and travel mileage provisions, and clarifies that local laws in those counties remain in effect.

ELIGIBILITY

Added a requirement that registrars must reside in the specific county they serve, and added a new subsection (c) exempting large counties from the standard appointment process.

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement for registrars to possess minimum computer and map reading skills necessary to function in the office.

FISCAL

Increased the daily salary for registrars from $80 to $115 and clarified that the state will reimburse counties for travel expenses based on written requests.

ENFORCEMENT

Strengthened the directive for state and county officials to ensure registrars are treated as state employees for Social Security purposes, including authority to amend federal agreements if necessary.

TIMELINE

Updated the date for considering diversity in appointments from October 1, 2025, to October 1, 2026.

TECHNICAL

Corrected several grammatical errors and formatting inconsistencies found in the Engrossed 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

Amendments

Feb 25, 2025

Lower · Passed

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 216

lower

Feb 19, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported Out of Committee Second House

lower

Feb 13, 2025

Lower · Passed

Pending Committee Action in Second House (Ways and Means General Fund)

lower

Feb 13, 2025

Upper · Passed

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass as Amended - Adopted Roll Call 103

upper

Feb 13, 2025

Upper · Passed

Singleton motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 102

upper

Feb 13, 2025

Upper · Passed

Singleton motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 101

upper

Feb 13, 2025

Introduced

State Governmental Affairs 2nd Amendment Offered (State Governmental Affairs)

upper

Feb 13, 2025

Introduced

State Governmental Affairs 1st Amendment Offered (State Governmental Affairs)

upper

Feb 12, 2025

Upper · Passed

Reported Out of Committee House of Origin

upper

Feb 12, 2025

Introduced

State Governmental Affairs 2nd Amendment (State Governmental Affairs)

upper

Feb 12, 2025

Introduced

State Governmental Affairs 1st Amendment (State Governmental Affairs)

upper

Feb 4, 2025

Upper · Passed

Pending Committee Action in House of Origin (State Governmental Affairs)

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors