SB 153 Alabama Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Children First Trust Fund, appropriations from for fiscal year ending September 30, 2027, use of allocation pursuant to Section 41-15B-2.2, Code of Alabama 1975 and this act, tobacco settlement revenues deposited in fund within 30 days of receipt

SB 153 appropriates $36.6 million from Alabama's Children First Trust Fund and $43.8 million from other tobacco settlement funds for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2027. The funds will be distributed quarterly to child and family services agencies, including the Alabama Department of Human Resources ($8.85M) and Alabama Medicaid Agency ($1.39M), based on tobacco settlement revenues received within 30 days. The bill requires written notifications of allocations by the State Director of Finance, conditions funding on actual tobacco revenue receipt, and transfers a portion of the fund to the State General Fund for the State Board of Education. Unused funds remain in the Children First Trust Fund rather than reverting to the general budget.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

House Passage

Apr 2026

Signed into Law

Apr 2026

Introduced Jan 14, 2026 Signed Apr 9, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Enrolled · 5 edits · Apr 9, 2026

MODERATE

The bill transitioned from a draft introduction to its final enrolled version, confirming the appropriation of $36.6 million from the Children First Trust Fund and $43.8 million from other tobacco funds for fiscal year 2027. The text was reorganized to clearly list specific funding amounts for various state agencies and established strict rules requiring quarterly disbursements only after tobacco revenues are available, preventing funds from reverting to the general fund at year-end.

Scope change

The scope of funding remains the same, but the enrolled version clarifies the specific breakdown of funds for each agency and adds procedural requirements for the Department of Early Childhood Education regarding investment plans.

TECHNICAL

Removed draft markings, page headers, and redundant text to finalize the bill for signature.

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement that the Department of Early Childhood Education must certify an approved investment plan before the Executive Budget Office can allot funds.

Clarified that if tobacco revenues are not available at the start of a quarter, agencies will receive equal quarterly allotments for the quarters when funds do become available.

FISCAL

Explicitly listed the specific dollar amounts allocated to each agency (e.g., $8.8 million for Human Resources, $4.3 million for the Multiple Needs Children's Fund) to ensure transparency.

TIMELINE

Specified that any remaining funds in the Children First Trust Fund at the end of the fiscal year must stay in the fund and cannot be transferred back to the State General Fund.

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, 2026

Lower · Passed

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 1141

lower

Mar 31, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported Out of Committee Second House

lower

Mar 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

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

lower

Mar 11, 2026

Upper · Passed

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 828

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported Out of Committee House of Origin

upper

Jan 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

Pending Committee Action in House of Origin (Finance and Taxation General Fund)

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors