# Alabama HB612: Covington County; sheriff authorized to sell certain abandoned, unclaimed, or stolen property and firearms, auction and disposition of funds provided, constitutional amendment Alabama HB612, Covington County; sheriff authorized to sell certain abandoned, unclaimed, or stolen property and firearms, auction and disposition of funds provided, constitutional amendment, is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Matthew Hammett (Republican); status adopted, last action 2026-03-31 (Enacted) (as of 2026-10-16). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/AL-HB612-2026rs - As of: 2026-10-16 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Alabama HB612 - State: Alabama - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: Covington County; sheriff authorized to sell certain abandoned, unclaimed, or stolen property and firearms, auction and disposition of funds provided, constitutional amendment - Status: adopted - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2026-03-11 - Last action: 2026-03-31, Enacted - Sponsor: Matthew Hammett (Republican) - Cosponsors: 0 - Subjects: Covington County - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 6 (264 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 4 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Public records for recovered Covington County property: benefit, low. The Covington County sheriff must keep permanent records of recovered abandoned or stolen property. Records must include each item's description, recovery date, identifying numbers, and recovery location. The public can inspect these records at all reasonable times. The sheriff must store recovered… - Unclaimed Covington guns face sale or destruction: cost, low. The Covington County sheriff must keep permanent records of recovered abandoned or stolen firearms not covered by general disposal law. Records include the description, recovery date, identifying numbers if any, and recovery location. Unless another law controls, the sheriff can sell or destroy the… - Covington owners can claim perishable sale money: mixed, low. The Covington County sheriff can immediately sell perishable abandoned or stolen property without notice after reasonable efforts to find its owner fail. The sheriff must seek the best possible price and hold sale money in a separate account for six months. During that period, owners can demand the… - Covington owners face deadlines before property auctions: mixed, low. The Covington County sheriff can hold public or online auctions at least every six months for property unclaimed during the preceding six months. Firearms and unauthorized sound or audiovisual recordings are excluded. Notice must run in a county newspaper once weekly for two consecutive weeks, star… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Matthew Hammett (Republican), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-31 | Senate | Chambliss Local Certification Resolution - Adopted Roll Call 973 | pass | 30 | 0 | | | 2026-03-31 | Senate | Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 972 | pass | 30 | 0 | | | 2026-03-31 | Senate | Third Reading in Second House | pass | 30 | 0 | | | 2026-03-17 | House | LocalCertificationResolutionAdopted | pass | 45 | 0 | 58 | | 2026-03-17 | House | Third Reading in House of Origin | pass | 61 | 0 | 41 | | 2026-03-17 | House | Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 933 | pass | 68 | 0 | 37 | ## Actions (20) - 2026-03-31: Third Reading in Second House (Senate) - 2026-03-31: Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 972 (Senate) - 2026-03-31: Chambliss Local Certification Resolution - Adopted Roll Call 973 (Senate) - 2026-03-31: Ready to Enroll (House) - 2026-03-31: Enrolled (House) - 2026-03-31: Signature Requested (Senate) - 2026-03-31: Delivered to Governor (House) - 2026-03-31: Sent to Secretary of State (House) - 2026-03-31: Enacted (House) - 2026-03-19: Reported Out of Committee Second House (Senate) - 2026-03-19: Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar (Senate) - 2026-03-17: Third Reading in House of Origin (House) - 2026-03-17: Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 933 (House) - 2026-03-17: LocalCertificationResolutionAdopted (House) - 2026-03-17: Read for the first time and referred to the Senate Committee on Local Legislation (Senate) - 2026-03-17: Pending Committee Action in Second House (Senate) - 2026-03-12: Reported Out of Committee House of Origin (House) - 2026-03-12: Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar (House) - 2026-03-11: Read for the first time and referred to the House Committee on Local Legislation (House) - 2026-03-11: Pending Committee Action in House of Origin (House) ## Bill text - As Introduced: [PDF](https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/files/pdf/SearchableInstruments/2026RS/HB612-int.pdf) - Enrolled: [PDF](https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/files/pdf/SearchableInstruments/2026RS/HB612-enr.pdf) ## Related bills - HB67: Voter Information; limit cost of reproducing voter registration list; crime for misuse of personal voter information; created (enacted) - SB154: State employees, cost-of-living increase for fiscal year beginning October 1, 2026 (enacted) - SB165: Elections; municipal elections, to set qualification fee amounts, to require indigent candidates to submit documentation for fee exemption (enacted) - HB317: Firefighter distinctive license plate; fire chaplains included, penalty for violations provided for (enacted) - SB272: Open Records; use of public records relating to schools for certain solicitation purposes prohibited; redaction of certain information relating to financial tr… (enacted) - SB190: Sales Tax; to exempt Precision Ocular (enacted) ## Sources - [As Introduced (PDF)](https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/files/pdf/SearchableInstruments/2026RS/HB612-int.pdf) - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/files/pdf/SearchableInstruments/2026RS/HB612-enr.pdf) ## Related - [HB67: Voter Information; limit cost of reproducing voter registration list; crime for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/AL-HB67-2026rs) - [SB154: State employees, cost-of-living increase for fiscal year beginning October 1, 2…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/AL-SB154-2026rs) - [SB165: Elections; municipal elections, to set qualification fee amounts, to require in…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/AL-SB165-2026rs) - [HB317: Firefighter distinctive license plate; fire chaplains included, penalty for vio…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/AL-HB317-2026rs) - [SB272: Open Records; use of public records relating to schools for certain solicitatio…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/AL-SB272-2026rs) - [SB190: Sales Tax; to exempt Precision Ocular](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/AL-SB190-2026rs) - [Alabama bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/alabama/bills) - [Alabama state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/alabama) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/AL-HB612-2026rs (as of 2026-10-16).