HB 169 Alabama House · 2026 Regular Session

Department of Archives and History; composition of board and method of filling board vacancies further provided for, retroactive effect

HB 169 changes the governing board of Alabama's Department of Archives and History from 12 to 17 members. It establishes new appointment rules requiring one member per congressional district and nine at-large members, with specific start dates for terms (2025-2030). The bill requires appointing authorities to consider racial, gender, geographic, and economic diversity when filling seats and applies these changes retroactively to current board members. The department's core functions and operations remain unaffected by this structural change.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Apr 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Apr 9, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Engrossed · 3 edits · Mar 31, 2026

MINOR

The bill was engrossed with significant substantive changes to the Department of Archives and History's Board of Trustees. The most critical change is the removal of a retroactive effective date provision that was present in the introduced version, meaning the new board composition rules will only apply prospectively. Additionally, the bill was updated to reflect the current legislative session year (2026) instead of the future date (2026) listed in the introduced version's metadata, and the act title was shortened by removing the explicit mention of retroactive effect.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains focused on amending Code of Alabama 1975 Sections 41-6-3 and 41-6-4 to define the Board of Trustees' composition and vacancy filling procedures, but the operational timeline for these changes has been altered by removing retroactive application.

TIMELINE

The provision stating the bill would provide for retroactive effect was removed from the act title and synopsis, changing the effective date of the new board composition rules from the past to the future.

TECHNICAL

The bill's metadata and page headers were updated to reflect the 'Engrossed' status and the current legislative session year (2026) instead of the introduced version's placeholder dates.

REQUIREMENT

The text of the act title was revised to remove the explicit reference to retroactive effect, aligning the title with the removed substantive provision.

Floor votes

How they voted

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

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported Out of Committee Second House

upper

Apr 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

Pending Committee Action in Second House (County and Municipal Government)

upper

Mar 31, 2026

Lower · Passed

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass as Amended - Adopted Roll Call 1106

lower

Mar 31, 2026

Lower · Passed

Motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 1105

lower

Mar 31, 2026

Introduced

Collins 1st Amendment Offered

lower

Mar 31, 2026

Lower · Passed

Motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 1104

lower

Mar 31, 2026

Introduced

State Government Engrossed Substitute Offered (State Government)

lower

Feb 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported Out of Committee House of Origin (State Government)

lower

Jan 13, 2026

Lower · Passed

Pending Committee Action in House of Origin (State Government)

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors