MONTGOMERY — State Rep. Brock Colvin's (R-Albertville) HB226, amending the habitual offender law, passed the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
The bill would amend Section 13A-5-9, Code of Alabama 1975, to clarify the meaning of nolo contendere pleas for purposes of the habitual offender law.
"Under existing law, when a defendant in a criminal case enters a plea of nolo contendere, the plea is treated as a plea of guilty for that case only and has no effect on future cases. This bill would amend the habitual offender law, saying that prior convictions include both in-state and out-of-state pleas that include pleas of no contest," he explained.
State Rep. Ben Robbins (R-Sylacauga) offered a friendly amendment clarifying that, if a plea had been expunged, it wouldn't be counted against the defendant as a guilty plea in Alabama. The amendment passed with no debate.
The bill now heads to the Senate.
If signed into law, it would go into effect on October 1.
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