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SB 49ALABAMASession 2026rsState Billin committee

High Impact

Alabama bans law enforcement officers from using tasers on restrained individuals and establishes Class C felony penalties

Original title: Crimes and offenses; use of taser prohibited on restrained individual, penalties for violations

Last action · January 13, 2026: Pending Committee Action in House of OriginSponsor: Merika Coleman

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

Law

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What This Bill Would Do

Law enforcement officers in Alabama are prohibited from using a on any individual who is restrained or otherwise unable to resist, effective October 1, 2026. Violations of this prohibition are classified as a .

Why it matters

Law enforcement officers face felony criminal liability for using s on handcuffed or restrained people, changing the legal standard for use of force during detentions and arrests.

Who It Would Affect

Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

law enforcement officers

Law enforcement officers face criminal penalties as a Class C felony if they use a taser on a restrained individual.

Directly affected

restrained individuals

Individuals who are restrained or unable to resist are protected from being targeted with a taser by law enforcement officers.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

What constitutes a restrained individual under this bill?

An individual who is restrained or otherwise unable to resist, including someone placed in handcuffs, body cuffs, or any other restraining device.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

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Where This Stands

Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.

Procedural history

2 actions

Jan 13, 2026SenateCommittee
Pending Committee Action in House of Origin
Jan 13, 2026SenateIntroduced
Read for the first time and referred to the Senate Committee on Judiciary

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

Lobbying Activity

No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift95% confidence

Criminalization of Taser Use on Restrained Persons

The bill overrides existing use-of-force frameworks in Section 13A-3-27 to explicitly establish a Class C felony for taser deployment on restrained suspects.

Senator Coleman

Connected Entities

Legislature of Alabama, Senator Coleman, Judiciary

OrganizationLegislature of Alabama“Legislative body enacting the bill”Map →

PersonSenator Coleman“Sponsor of Senate Bill 49”Map →

OrganizationJudiciary“Committee to which the bill was referred”Map →

Sources

Open source document

alison.legislature.state.al.us

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance75
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy65
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment10
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz40
Current news / social attention level

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