HB563 Summary

• Amends Section 13A-6-65 of the Alabama Code to expand the crime of sexual misconduct to include "sexual contact" in addition to the existing "sexual intercourse" and "deviate sexual intercourse" provisions.

• Defines sexual misconduct to cover sexual contact with another person without consent under circumstances other than those covered by Sections 13A-6-66, 13A-6-67, and 13A-6-69.1, or when consent is obtained through fraud or artifice.

• Maintains sexual misconduct as a Class A misdemeanor offense.

• Becomes effective on the first day of the third month following passage and gubernatorial approval or the date it otherwise becomes law.

• Includes constitutional savings clause exempting the bill from Amendment 621 requirements because it defines a new crime or amends the definition of an existing crime.