HB179 Summary

• Increases the number of executive level employees the Alabama State Port Authority director may appoint from 9 to 11 individuals with board approval.

• Exempts commercial terms of contracts entered into with port authority customers from state open records and confidentiality laws, whether contracts were made before or after the bill's effective date.

• Exempts customer-specific information reports regarding cargo volume, shipping prices, and other commercially sensitive information from state confidentiality disclosure requirements.

• Carves out exceptions to the exemption: the existence of contracts must still be disclosed, financing instrument terms must be disclosed, and base rents or lease payments for real property must be disclosed.

• Requires the authority to provide copies of exempted contracts upon request with commercial terms redacted, and becomes effective immediately upon passage and approval.