SB172 Summary: Alabama Private Investigation Regulatory Act

• Creates the Alabama Private Investigation Board to regulate and license private investigators, with nine members appointed by the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, Attorney General, Alabama State Bar Association, and Alabama Private Investigators Association.

• Requires private investigators to obtain a license from the board; establishes minimum qualifications including age 21, no felony convictions, no crimes of moral turpitude, and passage of a board-administered examination twice annually.

• Establishes the Alabama Private Investigation Board Fund to receive application fees, license fees, penalties, and fines, with appropriations available for fiscal years 2013 and 2014.

• Provides disciplinary authority allowing the board to suspend, revoke, or refuse licenses for violations of the act, fraud, misrepresentation, felony convictions, or Class A misdemeanors that reflect unfavorably on fitness; civil penalties up to $2,000 per violation.

• Board automatically terminates October 1, 2016, and every four years thereafter unless reauthorized; act becomes effective the first day of the third month following passage.