HB 479 Alabama House · 2026 Regular Session

Coosa County; probate judge, sheriff, and revenue commissioner, salary and expense account provided for

HB 479 sets new salary standards for three Coosa County elected officials: the probate judge, sheriff, and revenue commissioner. Beginning October 1, 2026, the probate judge will receive 70% of a district court judge’s salary (based on service years), while the sheriff and revenue commissioner will receive 60% starting in 2027, replacing prior payment methods. The bill repeals the existing compensation law (Section 45-19-11) and requires these salaries to increase alongside district court judge salary adjustments. It directly affects Coosa County’s elected county officials by standardizing their pay based on state judicial salaries.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

House Passage

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Mar 2026

Introduced Feb 19, 2026 Signed Mar 13, 2026

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What changed between versions

Introduced → Enrolled · 5 edits · Mar 13, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was finalized as an enrolled act, changing its status from introduced to enacted. The text was reorganized to consolidate provisions for the Judge of Probate, Sheriff, and Revenue Commissioner into a single, continuous document, removing redundant page headers and merging split sections. Substantively, the Sheriff's and Revenue Commissioner's compensation plans were updated to include a transition period where an expense allowance is paid in addition to salary before fully converting to a base salary in subsequent terms.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on Coosa County officials, but the structure was unified to improve clarity and remove formatting inconsistencies found in the introduced version.

TECHNICAL

The bill title and page headers were updated from 'Introduced' to 'Enrolled', and line numbers were adjusted to reflect a continuous text flow rather than separate pages.

Redundant text regarding the Judge of Probate's waiver of other compensation was removed as it was duplicated in the new consolidated structure.

REQUIREMENT

The Judge of Probate section was reorganized to explicitly state that the new salary is in lieu of all other compensation and must be paid from the county general fund.

FISCAL

New provisions were added for the Sheriff and Revenue Commissioner to establish an 'expense allowance' alongside their base salary starting in 2026, which is treated as salary for retirement purposes.

TIMELINE

The timeline for the Sheriff and Revenue Commissioner was clarified to show a two-stage transition: an expense allowance is added in 2026, and the allowance converts to base salary in 2027.

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

Mar 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 673

upper

Feb 26, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported Out of Committee Second House

upper

Feb 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

Pending Committee Action in Second House (Local Legislation )

upper

Feb 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 587

lower

Feb 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported Out of Committee House of Origin

lower

Feb 19, 2026

Lower · Passed

Pending Committee Action in House of Origin (Local Legislation)

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors