SB42ENGROSSED
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SB42
I4FXZWW-2
By Senator Melson
RFD: Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry
First Read: 04-Feb-25
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First Read: 04-Feb-25
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to highways, roads, and bridges; to amend
Section 23-1-45, Code of Alabama 1975; to allow a surrounding
land owner to petition a governing body to deed abandoned,
condemned property which was used to construct a road back to
the land owner when the road is no longer being used for the
original purpose it was purchased and conditions have rendered
the road useless.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Section 23-1-45, Code of Alabama 1975, is
amended to read as follows:
"ยง23-1-45
(a)(1) Any other provision of law to the contrary
notwithstanding, the Director of Transportation shall have
authority to acquire the rights-of-way deemed necessary by the
State Department of Transportation for the construction of a
state road, either by purchase or by the exercise of the right
of eminent domain in condemnation proceedings as provided
under the laws of this state, or the county or municipality in
which such road deemed necessary by the Director of
Transportation is located shall acquire such rights-of-way
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Transportation is located shall acquire such rights-of-way
deemed necessary by the Director of Transportation, when
requested to do so by said Director of Transportation.
(2) IfShould the county or municipality fail or
refusefails or refuses to acquire said rights-of-way, the
Director of Transportation shall have authority to may acquire
such rights-of-way as first above authorized in subdivision
(1). Rights-of-way acquired under the provision of pursuant to
this section shall be paid for in the manner prescribed by
law.
(b)(1) If at any point the road that was constructed on
a right-of-way at the direction of the Director of
Transportation is abandoned, the property owner of the
adjacent property that has the abandoned road running through
his or her parcel may petition the governing state, county, or
municipal body that owns the road to deed the property on
which the road is situated back to the owner if: (i) the
governing body had acquired the right-of-way from the private
owner of the adjacent property on both sides of the road in
order to construct a road; (ii) the original owner or current
owner owns both sides of the road;(iii) the constructed road
has been abandoned and no longer serves the original purpose
for which it was purchased due to certain unforeseeable
conditions rendering the road unusable; and (iv) the property
owner can close to the midline of the right-of-way.
(2) The petition shall be granted unless the governing
state, county, or municipal body can articulate a future use
of the property consistent with the use articulated at the
time the property was purchased. "
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time the property was purchased. "
Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2025.
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1, 2025.
Senate
Read for the first time and referred
to the Senate committee on
Agriculture, Conservation, and
Forestry
................04-Feb-25
Read for the second time and placed
on the calendar:
0 amendments
................12-Feb-25
Read for the third time and passed
as amended
Yeas 32
Nays 0
Abstains 0
................18-Feb-25
Patrick Harris,
Secretary.
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