HB 717 Summary

• State Ethics Commission shall provide mandatory ethics training programs on State Ethics Law for legislators, constitutional officers, cabinet members, executive staff, municipal mayors, council members, county commissioners, and lobbyists.

• Legislators must attend training at the beginning of each quadrennium and within 3 months of any changes to Chapter 25, Title 36 of Alabama Code; special election legislators must complete training within 3 months of taking office.

• Executive branch officials must complete training within 30 days of the Governor taking office; municipal and county officials have 120 days from the effective date or from taking office.

• Lobbyists must attend training within 90 days of registering and complete additional training only if ethics law changes; training sessions held 4 times annually.

• Training curriculum includes review of current law, discussion of actual cases and advisory opinions, and question-and-answer periods; attendance mandatory except for catastrophic illness; act does not prevent prosecution prior to training completion.