Bill > HB444

This bill amends existing Alabama law to strengthen requirements for identifying the country of origin of seafood and other "covered commodities" sold by food service establishments, such as restaurants and in-store delis. Key changes include authorizing the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries to test these commodities to ensure compliance, revising how this origin information must be displayed to consumers (e.g., on labels, signs, or menus, with specific size and placement requirements), and expanding the methods for notifying establishments of violations. The bill also clarifies that "farm-raised fish" and "wild fish" refer only to fish and shrimp, excluding other seafood like crabs and oysters. Furthermore, it establishes a graduated scale of civil penalties for violations, with a written warning for a first offense and increasing fines for subsequent offenses, while also providing a defense for establishments that unknowingly violate the law due to good-faith reliance on supplier information. The State Health Officer will now be required to regularly publish a list of violating establishments, and their health scores will be reduced by five points for a period. The bill also allows for injunctions to prevent ongoing violations and specifies how collected fines will be used to enforce the law, with an effective date of October 1, 2026.

Health and Social Services

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