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Read. Follow. Verify.Alabama Establishes Statewide Background Check Service and Rap Back Program
Last action · March 17, 2026: Motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 967Sponsor: Bryan Brinyark
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What This Bill Would Do
The Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency is authorized to establish the Alabama Background Check Service and the Alabama Program, setting background check fees up to $30 and annual rap back fees up to $12, effective October 1, 2026.
Employers, licensing boards, housing authorities, and volunteers across Alabama face new standardized procedures, record fees up to $30, and express consent rules when conducting noncriminal background checks.
- The Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency serves as the state's primary law enforcement umbrella organization coordinating public safety and criminal justice information services. context
- Rap back systems allow authorized agencies to receive automated updates when individuals with fingerprints on file experience subsequent arrests or convictions. context
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.
Employers and Housing Authorities
Public or private employers and rental property lessors are authorized to use the new background check service and must maintain express written permission from subjects.
Law Enforcement Officers
Officers are authorized to use approved biometric identification devices to identify individuals in situations where they have legal authority to take action.
Minors under 18
Background checks on individuals under 18 years of age require parental consent before being processed.
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 is the maximum fee for a background check under the new service?
What is the Alabama Rap Back Program?
Are background checks allowed for minors?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.
Procedural history
11 actions- Mar 17, 2026HouseMotion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 967
- Mar 17, 2026HouseBrinyark 1st Substitute Offered
- Feb 3, 2026HouseCarried Over to the Call of the Chair
- Feb 3, 2026HouseMotion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 234
- Feb 3, 2026HouseJudiciary Engrossed Substitute Offered
- Feb 3, 2026HouseThird Reading in House of Origin
Show 5 earlier actions
- Jan 14, 2026HouseRead for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar
- Jan 14, 2026HouseCommitteeReported Out of Committee House of Origin
- Jan 14, 2026HouseReported Out Committee House of Origin-- Committee Amendment
- Jan 13, 2026HouseCommitteePending Committee Action in House of Origin
- Jan 13, 2026HouseIntroducedRead for the first time and referred to the House 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.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Centralization of Background Checks
The bill replaces older statutory provisions regarding criminal history dissemination with a unified background check service and ongoing rap back monitoring under the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency.
Connected Entities
Sources
alison.legislature.state.al.us
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance80How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy25Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz35Current news / social attention level
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