SB 298 — Relating to outdoor recreation; to provide for the development of a strategic trail network; to provide for grants for qualified donations of donated property; to create the Sweet Trails Alabama Project Fund and the Sweet Trails Alabama Acquisition Fund and provide for the use of monies in the funds; and to further provide for the liability of property owners for recreational use of certain property and abutting property.
Last action — Enacted as 2023-545
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✓Introduced
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✓In Committee
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✓Passed Senate
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✓Passed House
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✓To Executive
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6Enacted
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced May 04, 2023. Enacted.
Odds of enactment
High chanceBased on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high chance of becoming law.
Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.
A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.
Prognosis
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Enacted
Current position in the legislative process.
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1 sponsor
1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.
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Single-party support
Sponsorship is currently within one party (1 R).
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Cleared a recorded vote
Passed 3 recorded votes so far.
Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.
Summary
Outdoor recreation, created the Sweet Trails Alabama Project Fund, provided parameters for the adoption of a master plan for greenway trails, and created a tax credit for certain landowners
Bill Text
What changed in the latest version
255 added · 253 removedPlain-language change summary
In the latest version of SB 298, the title and introductory text have been adjusted for clarity. The earlier version referred to the bill as "engrossed," while the updated version is labeled "enrolled." Additionally, certain line numbering has been changed for consistency. These updates are important because they help ensure that the bill is clearly defined and properly documented as it moves through the legislative process.
SB298 ENGROSSEDENROLLED WFT29E-2WFT29E-3 By Senators Jones, Gudger, Elliott, Scofield, Sessions, Butler, Weaver, Livingston, Barfoot, Bell, Shelnutt, Kelley, Beasley, Price, Figures, Stewart, Hovey, Allen, Reed, Smitherman, Hatcher, Coleman-Madison, Singleton, Chesteen, Melson, Waggoner, Roberts, Coleman RFD:
04-May-23 2023 Regular Session Page 0 SB298 EngrossedEnrolled 2Enrolled, 4An AAct, BILL3 TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT 9 Relating to outdoor recreation;
Page 1 SB298 Engrossed (6) DONATED PROPERTY.
The most recent estimated value Page 1 SB298 Enrolled of the donated property as determined by the local county tax assessing official pursuant to Article 1 of Chapter 7 of Title 40, Code of Alabama 1975.
(1) Develop, in coordination with state, public, and private entities, a master plan for a network of greenway trails throughout the state that shall be known as the Sweet Page 2 SB298 Engrossed Trails Alabama Project.
(c) Any master plan approved by the council shall Page 2 SB298 Enrolled consider all of the following goals:
Page 3 SB298 Engrossed (1) Connect all 67 counties and all key locations throughout the state.
(3) Foster interconnectivity between urban and rural Page 3 SB298 Enrolled areas.
95 (6) Create opportunities for tourism and economic development.
(8) Promote conservation through education and public 95 awareness.
The program's design shall showcase Page 4 SB298 Engrossed the diversity and beauty of the state.
Routes should be as direct as Page 4 SB298 Enrolled possible while connecting as many communities as possible.
Page 5 SB298 Engrossed (5) Capacity to minimize road crossings and avoid long distances adjacent to heavy-use roadways.
Page 5 SB298 Enrolled Section 3.
This subsection Page 6 SB298 Engrossed shall only apply to sections of a greenway trail that benefited from grant money from the project fund pursuant to this act.
(d) When carrying out any activities required by Section 2(a), the developer shall be exempt from the Page 6 SB298 Enrolled requirements of subsection (b).
Any eligible donor Page 7 SB298 Engrossed who elects not to apply for a grant pursuant to this section is free to enter into any other arrangement available to the eligible donor under law or contract in lieu of a grant pursuant to this section.
(b)(1) An eligible donor shall be eligible to apply for Page 7 SB298 Enrolled a grant for each qualified donation under this act.
The state, or any subdivision of the state, shall not use the powers of eminent domain provided in Title 18 of the Code of Alabama 1975, to execute any provision of Page 8 SB298 Engrossed this act.
Page 98 SB298 EngrossedEnrolled Senate________________________________________________ ReadPresident forand thePresiding firstOfficer timeof andthe referredSenate ................04-May-23________________________________________________ toSpeaker of the SenateHouse committeeof onRepresentatives FinanceSB298 andSenate Taxation18-May-23 EducationI Readhereby forcertify that the secondwithin timeAct andoriginated placedin ................11-May-23and onpassed the calendar:Senate, as amended.
0 amendments Read for the third time and passed ................18-May-23 as amended Yeas 30 Nays 0 Abstains 0 Patrick Harris, Secretary.
PageHouse 10of Representatives Passed:
06-Jun-23 By:
Senator Jones Page 9
Amendments
2 amendmentsClick Show changes on an amendment above to see how it modifies the bill.
Action History
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Enrolled
Sponsors
- Andrew Jones · Primary
Sponsorship breakdown
Export CSV (upgrade) →1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 139 not signed on
Sponsors (1)
Co-sponsors (0)
None.
Not signed on (139)
139 members have not signed on to this bill.
Show all 139 →"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.
Votes
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| R | 70 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| D | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 101 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| % of votes cast | 99% | 0% | 0% | 1% |
How each member voted (102)
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 21 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| D | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Unaffiliated | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 29 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| % of votes cast | 85% | 0% | 0% | 15% |
How each member voted (34)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Greg J. Reed | — | Yea |
| Bobby D. Singleton | D | Yea |
| Kirk Hatcher | D | Yea |
| Linda Coleman-Madison | D | Yea |
| Merika Coleman | D | Yea |
| Robert Stewart | D | Yea |
| Rodger M. Smitherman | D | Not Voting |
| Vivian Davis Figures | D | Yea |
| William M. Beasley | D | Yea |
| Andrew Jones | R | Yea |
| April Weaver | R | Yea |
| Arthur Orr | R | Yea |
| Chris Elliott | R | Yea |
| Clyde Chambliss | R | Yea |
| Dan Roberts | R | Not Voting |
| David Sessions | R | Yea |
| Donnie Chesteen | R | Yea |
| Garlan Gudger | R | Yea |
| Gerald H. Allen | R | Not Voting |
| Greg Albritton | R | Yea |
| J. T. 'Jabo' Waggoner | R | Yea |
| Jack W. Williams | R | Not Voting |
| Jay Hovey | R | Yea |
| Josh Carnley | R | Yea |
| Keith Kelley | R | Yea |
| Lance Bell | R | Yea |
| Larry Stutts | R | Yea |
| Randy Price | R | Yea |
| Sam Givhan | R | Not Voting |
| Shay Shelnutt | R | Yea |
| Steve Livingston | R | Yea |
| Tim Melson | R | Yea |
| Tom Butler | R | Yea |
| Will Barfoot | R | Yea |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 23 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| D | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unaffiliated | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 32 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| % of votes cast | 94% | 0% | 0% | 6% |
How each member voted (34)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Greg J. Reed | — | Yea |
| Bobby D. Singleton | D | Yea |
| Kirk Hatcher | D | Yea |
| Linda Coleman-Madison | D | Yea |
| Merika Coleman | D | Yea |
| Robert Stewart | D | Yea |
| Rodger M. Smitherman | D | Yea |
| Vivian Davis Figures | D | Yea |
| William M. Beasley | D | Yea |
| Andrew Jones | R | Yea |
| April Weaver | R | Yea |
| Arthur Orr | R | Yea |
| Chris Elliott | R | Yea |
| Clyde Chambliss | R | Yea |
| Dan Roberts | R | Not Voting |
| David Sessions | R | Yea |
| Donnie Chesteen | R | Yea |
| Garlan Gudger | R | Yea |
| Gerald H. Allen | R | Not Voting |
| Greg Albritton | R | Yea |
| J. T. 'Jabo' Waggoner | R | Yea |
| Jack W. Williams | R | Yea |
| Jay Hovey | R | Yea |
| Josh Carnley | R | Yea |
| Keith Kelley | R | Yea |
| Lance Bell | R | Yea |
| Larry Stutts | R | Yea |
| Randy Price | R | Yea |
| Sam Givhan | R | Yea |
| Shay Shelnutt | R | Yea |
| Steve Livingston | R | Yea |
| Tim Melson | R | Yea |
| Tom Butler | R | Yea |
| Will Barfoot | R | Yea |
Subjects
Frequently asked questions
- What does SB 298 do?
- Outdoor recreation, created the Sweet Trails Alabama Project Fund, provided parameters for the adoption of a master plan for greenway trails, and created a tax credit for certain landowners
- Who sponsors SB 298?
- SB 298 is sponsored by Andrew Jones (R).
- What is the current status of SB 298?
- This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced May 04, 2023. Enacted.
- Where can I track SB 298?
- Track SB 298 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.
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