SB 221 Summary

• Amends Section 15-22-36.1 of the Alabama Code to clarify that payment requirements for voting rights restoration apply only to convictions that caused disenfranchisement, not all court-ordered payments.

• Specifies that applicants must pay all fines, court costs, fees, and victim restitution only for convictions involving moral turpitude that resulted in loss of voting rights, excluding felonies without moral turpitude and misdemeanors.

• Maintains existing Board of Pardons and Paroles procedures for issuing Certificates of Eligibility to Register to Vote, including a 45-day review timeline and board member objection process.

• Preserves existing prohibitions on voting rights restoration for convictions of specified serious crimes including murder, rape, sodomy, sexual abuse, incest, and treason.

• Requires preclearance from the U.S. Justice Department under the federal Voting Rights Act before the act becomes operative and becomes effective immediately upon passage and gubernatorial approval.