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Read. Follow. Verify.Alabama Establishes Background Check Service and Biometric Data Collection Mandates
Last action · April 8, 2026: EnactedSponsor: Lance Bell
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What This Bill Does
Alabama law requires arresting and detaining agencies to collect and establishes the Alabama Background Check Service and Alabama Program managed by the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency, effective October 1, 2026.
Employers, housing authorities, and licensing boards gain a centralized state system to run background checks, while individuals face new consent requirements, fee schedules up to thirty dollars per check, and criminal penalties for misusing reports.
- The Alabama Justice Information Commission and the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency oversee state criminal justice data systems and information sharing. context
- Rap back programs allow law enforcement and authorized entities to receive automated notifications of subsequent criminal history events for enrolled individuals. context
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Arrested and detained individuals
Must submit biometric identifiers upon arrest or detention, which are subject to removal if charges are dropped within 30 days.
Employers and housing providers
Gain access to the Alabama Background Check Service to screen applicants, subject to consent and record retention rules.
Law enforcement agencies
Required to collect and submit specified biometric identifiers to ALEA and adhere to new commission rules.
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
Who is eligible to request a noncriminal background check through the new service?
What happens to biometric data if an arrested individual is released without charges?
What are the penalties for misusing a background check report?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Current status: Became law.
Procedural history
28 actions- Apr 8, 2026SenateEnrolledEnacted
- Apr 1, 2026HouseSignature Requested
- Apr 1, 2026SenateEnrolledDelivered to Governor
- Apr 1, 2026SenateEnrolled
- Apr 1, 2026SenateReady to Enroll
- Apr 1, 2026SenateGivhan Motion to Concur In and Adopt House Amendment to SB118
Show 22 earlier actions
- Mar 17, 2026HouseFloorMotion to Read a Third Time and Pass as Amended - Adopted Roll Call 970
- Mar 17, 2026HouseMotion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 969
- Mar 17, 2026HouseJudiciary 1st Substitute Offered
- Mar 17, 2026HouseThird Reading in Second House
- Feb 19, 2026HouseRead for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar
- Feb 18, 2026HouseCommitteeReported Out of Committee Second House
- Feb 18, 2026HouseJudiciary 1st Substitute
- Feb 3, 2026HouseCommitteePending Committee Action in Second House
- Feb 3, 2026HouseIntroducedRead for the first time and referred to the House Committee on Judiciary
- Feb 3, 2026SenateEngrossed
- Feb 3, 2026SenateFloorMotion to Read a Third Time and Pass as Amended - Adopted Roll Call 231
- Feb 3, 2026SenateFigures motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 230
- Feb 3, 2026SenateFigures 1st Amendment Offered
- Jan 20, 2026SenateCarried Over
- Jan 20, 2026SenateBell motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 56
- Jan 20, 2026SenateVeterans, Military Affairs and Public Safety 1st Amendment Offered
- Jan 20, 2026SenateThird Reading in House of Origin
- Jan 14, 2026SenateRead for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar
- Jan 14, 2026SenateCommitteeReported Out of Committee House of Origin
- Jan 14, 2026SenateVeterans, Military Affairs and Public Safety 1st Amendment
- Jan 13, 2026SenateCommitteePending Committee Action in House of Origin
- Jan 13, 2026SenateIntroducedRead for the first time and referred to the Senate Committee on Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Safety
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.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Centralized Background Checks and Biometric Tracking
The legislation transitions Alabama toward unified state-level noncriminal background screening and continuous rap back monitoring managed by ALEA.
Connected Entities
Sources
alison.legislature.state.al.us
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance85How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz35Current news / social attention level
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