AL HB339

Requires all Alabama institutions of higher education receiving state appropriations or state-funded student awards to mandate ethics training for board of trustees and board of directors members, administered or approved by the Alabama Ethics Commission.

Current board members must complete ethics training within six months of the bill's effective date; newly appointed members must complete training within 120 days of appointment.

Board members may satisfy the requirement by attending an in-person training program approved by the Alabama Ethics Commission or by completing an online educational review of Alabama Ethics Law on the commission's website.

Each board shall adopt a code of ethics resolution by June 1, 2016 requiring members to complete an annual ethics compliance form disclosing business relationships with other board members, financial interests in the institution, and intent to comply with board standards.

Ethics compliance forms must be signed and attested to by board members as true to the best of their knowledge, with signatures permitted to be electronic; notarization requirement applies to paper signatures.