SB 291 Summary

• Creates Circuit Judgeship Number 8 in the Twenty-third Judicial Circuit (Madison County), Circuit Judgeship Number 4 in the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit (Autauga, Chilton, and Elmore Counties), and Circuit Judgeship Number 6 in the Twenty-eighth Judicial Circuit (Baldwin County), effective October 1, 2021.

• Provides that new judges shall have full jurisdiction and authority equivalent to other circuit judges and shall be compensated according to Chapter 10A of Title 12, Code of Alabama 1975, with no salary supplements for judges appointed after October 1, 2001.

• Terminates Circuit Judgeships in Place 16 and Place 21 of the 10th Judicial Circuit effective January 16, 2023, or earlier if vacated.

• Directs the Judicial Resources Allocation Commission to reallocate the first vacant circuit judgeship after enactment, prohibits reallocation of the second vacancy, and allows reallocation of subsequent vacancies under existing law.

• Repeals Section 12-9A-5 of the Code of Alabama 1975 relating to the Judicial Weighted Caseload Study.