The Alabama House is scheduled to vote on a bill Tuesday that would expand the Contract Review Committee's authority to protect taxpayer funds. Senate Bill 40 (SB40) by State Sen. Sam Givhan (R-Huntsville) adds only 10 words to the current law but would give the legislature a third option for contracts under review.
"Right now, the Contract Review Committee is limited in what they can do. They can approve a contract, or they can delay it for 45 days," Givhan explained to the House State Government Committee last month. "What my bill would do would be allowing contract review to continue to do either one of those, but they would have a third option, which would be to recommend the governor not sign it."
Givhan explained to the committee why their hands are tied under the current law.
"They can't tell the governor under separation of powers not to sign it, but…representatives that we put forth to represent the legislature on that committee can recommend that it not be signed. And I think that's something that can let us have more of a fingerprint on what happens," he outlined.
State Rep. Barbara Boyd (D-Anniston) asked for additional information on the current process.
"That's just a delay," Givhan said, adding that under the current system, lawmakers "can't make any expression other than 'Well, we've delayed it 45 days. And sometimes, as we've all seen in the press, the 45-day delay may have nothing to do with the actual merits of the contract. It may be something totally unrelated. This would allow an option of saying, 'Governor, we don't think you should sign this,' and then if the governor chooses to sign it, they own it."
State Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Range) put a hold on contracts in December 2025 to send a message to cities that were suing the state over the Simplified Sellers Use Tax (SSUT).
State Sen. Chris Elliott (R-Josephine) delayed about $80 million in contracts in 2024 with state agencies and boards over a dispute with the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board.
RELATED: Elliott delays contracts over online training dispute with ABC Board
In early 2023, Contract Review Committee members placed an Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) health care services contract with YesCare on hold on Thursday over its over $1 billion price tag and concerns about the fairness of the bid process.
ALSO RELATED: Legislators delay ADOC health care contract over cost, conflict of interest concerns
Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported, "Prison healthcare contractor YesCare didn't make required payments under a $75 million settlement to resolve the bankruptcy of its former affiliate Tehum Care Services, opening the door again to medical-injury and creditor lawsuits."
In August 2025, the Committee also delayed a $200,000 legal contract with the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) for William Lunsford of Butler Snow.
The delay followed sanctions against three Butler Snow attorneys, including Lunsford, imposed by a federal judge for a single legal filing in litigation against ADOC that was generated by artificial intelligence and included fabricated citations.
ALSO RELATED: Legislators delay Department of Corrections legal contract to Butler Snow over recent sanctions for AI use
The House convenes at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
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