67 The Alabama Lawyer 296 (2006). Legislative Wrao-Up-Really Productive Legislature.

• Author: BY ROBERT L. McCURLEY, JR.

The Alabama Lawyer

2006.

67 The Alabama Lawyer 296 (2006).

Legislative Wrao-Up-Really Productive Legislature

Really Productive LegislatureBY ROBERT L. McCURLEY, JR. In the May 2006 "Legislative Wrap-Up" article, it was mentioned that the legislature was two-thirds of the way over and that 68 bills had already been signed into law. If the legislature had stopped that day, it would have been called productive. Now that the legislature has completed its work of considering the 1,431 bills, 365 of them found their way into law or 25 percent of the bills introduced passed. This is compared to the 2005 legislative session when only six bills of statewide concern.

There was something passed for everyone. For the more affluent there was the Trust Code. For the less affluent there was the rising of state income tax exemptions and for everyone there was the Residential Landlord/Tenant Act and Election Law Revision.

Copies of all acts discussed may be obtained from alisdb.legislature.state.al.us/acas/ACASLogin.asp.

A few of the acts that are of most interest to lawyers are as follows:

General Interest

HB. 11 (Act 2006-529): Amends the guardianship law to provide that when an estate does not have sufficient assets to provide reasonable compensation to the guardian ad litem, court representative or physician, or to cover court costs, the court may tax the costs to the petitioner.

HB. 31 (Act 2006-114): Amends various sections of Title 40 of the Code of Alabama to conform Alabama law to federal income tax rules for the taxation of trusts, estates and their beneficiaries. This applies also to entities taxed as a financial institution and business trust. It further allows the Alabama Department of Revenue to promulgate rules interpreting the act. This is effective for all taxable years after January 1, 2005.

HB. 49 (Act 2006-216) - the Uniform Trust Code): This act is a default provision for trusts where the trust instrument is silent or incomplete. Alabama, as most states, has not had a statutory trust code and has relied on case law to interpret the trust powers. This act will become effective January 1, 2007.

HB. 59 (Act 2006-525): Raises attorneys' annual business license fees from $250 to $300. Effective October 2006.

HB. 68 (Act 2006-104): Amends Section 6-5-332, the Good Samaritan Act, to add protection for a licensed engineer, architect, surveyor, contractor, subcontractor, or those working under the direct supervision of them in connection with a community emergency response team or FEMA.

HB. 73 (Act 2006-533): Amends Section 12-15-10 to provide that a municipality is responsible for the expenses of maintenance for the care of juveniles placed in a facility used by the county for housing juveniles as a result of a violation of a city ordinance.

HB. 77 (Act 2006-238): Amends Code Section 5-19-33 to provide that an additional account maintenance fee of $3 may be charged each month for credit transactions, loans or credit sales and will not be considered as a finance charge.

HB. 95 (Act 2006-611): Prohibits a state agency from placing or otherwise revealing a person's Social Security number in a document available for public inspection.

HB. 152 (Act 2006-213): Provides the designation of "flood vehicle" to be on the motor vehicle's title for disclosure to a prospective purchaser when the motor...