HB 138 Alabama House · 2026 Regular Session

Retired state employees; certain supplemental work authorized

HB 138 allows retirees from Alabama's Employees' or Teachers' Retirement Systems to work full-time as school bus drivers without losing their pension benefits, provided they meet specific conditions. Retirees must earn below an annual income limit (adjusted yearly for inflation) and have drawn retirement benefits for 12 consecutive months (with an exception for those retiring before January 1, 2026). The bill also sets an expiration date of December 31, 2030, for this provision. It directly affects retired state employees seeking to return to full-time bus driving roles.

Issues: ✓ Education

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Mar 2026

Introduced Jan 9, 2026 Signed Mar 26, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Enrolled · 4 edits · Mar 26, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was finalized as an enrolled act with updated metadata and a revised title. The core policy regarding retired state employees returning to work remains largely the same, but the text was significantly reorganized to clarify rules for elected officials and to expand the list of eligible law enforcement roles for retired officers.

Scope change

The bill's scope was clarified to explicitly cover both the Employees' Retirement System and the Teachers' Retirement System in the title and main provisions. Additionally, the list of eligible positions for retired law enforcement officers was expanded to include municipal police officers and sheriff's deputies.

TECHNICAL

The bill title was updated from 'Relating to... bus drivers' to a broader 'Relating to retired state employees' to better reflect the full scope of the law, and the bill status changed from 'Introduced' to 'Enrolled'.

REQUIREMENT

The rules for elected officials were restructured to explicitly prohibit them from receiving both pension benefits and salary, with a specific exception allowing local elected superintendents of education to do so if their pay stays under the annual limit.

The requirements for correctional officers were tightened; the text now requires that retired individuals must meet 'both' of the specified criteria (law enforcement classification and certification) rather than just one.

DEFINITION

The list of eligible positions for retired law enforcement officers was expanded to include 'municipal police officer' and 'sheriff's deputy' in addition to school resource officers and correctional officers.

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

Mar 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

Paschal Concur In and Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 888

lower

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass as Amended - Adopted Roll Call 728

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Elliott motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 727

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Introduced

Elliott 1st Substitute Offered

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Elliott motion to Table - Adopted Voice Vote

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Introduced

Finance and Taxation Education 1st Substitute Offered (Finance and Taxation Education)

upper

Feb 11, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported Out of Committee Second House

upper

Jan 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Pending Committee Action in Second House (Finance and Taxation Education)

upper

Jan 22, 2026

Lower · Passed

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 143

lower

Jan 20, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported Out of Committee House of Origin

lower

Jan 13, 2026

Lower · Passed

Pending Committee Action in House of Origin (Ways and Means Education)

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors