The University of Alabama School of Law
The University of Alabama School of Law
The Legislative Services Agency is an entity that provides non-partisan professional services support to the Alabama Legislature. Its mission is to serve the State of Alabama by supporting the legislature with expert, non-partisan fiscal analysis, legal advice, and bill drafting. The page includes links to information on the Fiscal Division, the Law Institute, the Legal Division, and various other documents.
Users can also use the "Legislative Services Agency" to:
The Fiscal Dashboard exists for the purpose of providing independent, accurate and objective fiscal information to members of the Alabama House of Representatives and the Alabama Senate. Their home page includes links to the Budget Spreadsheets, Fiscal Health and Appropriation Act Summaries.
Fiscal Health is a page where users can find information on the State General Fund and the Education Trust Fund. The page provides information on the Budget Conditions, Monthly Highlights and Revenue Sources for each fund.
Users can find Budget Spreadsheets for both the Education Trust Fund and the State General Fund, from the initial Governor's Recommendation, all the way through to when the budget was enacted.
The Appropriation Act Summaries is a handy page that has a quick breakdown of the Education Trust Fund and the State General Fund, providing several easy to follow graphs.
The purpose of the Law Institute is to clarify and simplify the laws of Alabama, to revise laws that are out-of-date, and to fill in gaps in the law where there exists legal confusion. It includes:
The Institute receives its projects from members of the Legislature, state government, or from the Bar. Members of the Institute may also initiate a study themselves when revisions are needed.
Users can also find information such as the "Director's Report," the "Annual Report," and a list of the members of the Institute Council.
To access information about the Law Institute or its services, users can select the "Legislative Services Agency" text box or the "Legislative Services Agency" tab, and then select the "Law Institute" tab.
Users can use the Projects page to find active committees and projects they're working on, as well as a list of completed projects and plan to present to the legislature. They also provide a list of the publications that are put out by the Law Institute, such as the Annual Report to the Alabama Legislature and Institute Membership, the Alabama Government Manual, the Alabama Election Handbook, and more.
They provide legal counsel for both the Senate and House Judiciary Committees. This counsel has also been provided to the House Committees on the Constitution, Campaigns & Elections, Health, Commerce and Small Business, County and Municipal Government and to the Senate Committees on Transportation and Banking. Users can use the Institute Services page to find information on the Legislative Internship Program, which was established to assist students with getting experience and Legislators with efficient and cost-effective legal research, information about when previous training conferences for legislators, probate judges, sheriffs, license commissioners, district attorneys, examiners of public accounts, and elections conferences were held, and links to the Alabama Election Handbook.
The Legal Division is the principal bill drafting and legal research office serving the Legislature of the State of Alabama. It is also charged with overseeing the Administrative Rules Process. They offer a manual that guides individuals in how to draft a bill that facilitates the intent of the author, makes statutory construction easier, and makes the law understandable to the persons whose lives are governed by it. They also provide access to various publications, such as a Local Laws Index, Indexes to the Acts, and Summaries of Acts.
To access any of this information, users can simply select the "Legislative Services Agency" text box or the "Legislative Services Agency" tab, then the "Legal Division" tab.