HB80 Summary

• Creates the Alabama Private Investigation Board to regulate and license private investigators, with seven members appointed by the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, Attorney General, and Alabama Private Investigators Association for four-year terms.

• Requires private investigators to obtain a state license, pass a criminal background check, be at least 19 years old, have no felony convictions or crimes of moral turpitude, and pass an examination administered twice annually by the board.

• Establishes the Alabama Private Investigation Board Fund within the State Treasury, funded by application and license fees, with all collected funds appropriated for board operations in fiscal years 2012 and 2013.

• Authorizes the board to suspend, revoke, or refuse licenses for violations of the act, fraud, misrepresentation, felony convictions, or misdemeanors reflecting unfavorably on fitness, with civil penalties up to $2,000 per violation.

• Requires continuing professional education of eight hours per calendar year for licensees and creates exemptions for attorneys, law enforcement employees, CPAs, consumer reporting agencies, and certain digital forensics professionals.

• Board automatically terminates October 1, 2015 and every four years thereafter unless continued by legislative action; act becomes effective the first day of the third month following passage.