(a) No public official or public employee shall use or cause to be used his or her official position or office to obtain personal gain for himself or herself, or family member of the public employee or family member of the public official, or any business with which the person is associated unless the use and gain are otherwise specifically authorized by law. Personal gain is achieved when the public official, public employee, or a family member thereof receives, obtains, exerts control over, or otherwise converts to personal use the object constituting such personal gain.
(b) Unless prohibited by the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit a public official from introducing bills, ordinances, resolutions, or other legislative matters, serving on committees, or making statements or taking action in the exercise of his or her duties as a public official. A member of a legislative body may not vote for any legislation in which he or she knows or should have known that he or she has a conflict of interest.
(c) No public official or public employee shall use or cause to be used equipment, facilities, time, materials, human labor, or other public property under his or her discretion or control for the private benefit or business benefit of the public official, public employee, any other person, or principal campaign committee as defined in Section 17-22A-2, which would materially affect his or her financial interest, except as otherwise provided by law or as provided pursuant to a lawful employment agreement regulated by agency policy. Provided, however, nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to limit or otherwise prohibit communication between public officials or public employees and eleemosynary or membership organizations or such organizations communicating with public officials or public employees.
(d) No person shall solicit a public official or public employee to use or cause to be used equipment, facilities, time, materials, human labor, or other public property for such person’s private benefit or business benefit, which would materially affect his or her financial interest, except as otherwise provided by law.
(e) No public official or public employee shall, other than in the ordinary course of business, solicit a thing of value from a subordinate or person or business with whom he or she directly inspects, regulates, or supervises in his or her official capacity.
(f) A conflict of interest shall exist when a member of a legislative body, public official, or public employee has a substantial financial interest by reason of ownership of, control of, or the exercise of power over any interest greater than five percent of the value of any corporation, company, association, or firm, partnership, proprietorship, or any other business entity of any kind or character which is uniquely affected by proposed or pending legislation; or who is an officer or director for any such corporation, company, association, or firm, partnership, proprietorship, or any other business entity of any kind or character which is uniquely affected by proposed or pending legislation.
(Acts 1973, No. 1056, p. 1699, §3; Acts 1975, No. 130, p. 603, §1; Acts 1995, No. 95-194, p. 269, §1; Act 2000-797, p. 1895, §1.)
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
35
cases (
1 in the last 5 years), 1979–2023 · leading case:
Hunt v. State, 642 So. 2d 999 (Ala. Crim. App. 1994).
Hunt v. State, 642 So. 2d 999 (Ala. Crim. App. 1994).
· cites it 26× “[1] Harold Guy Hunt, the Governor of the State of Alabama, was indicted and convicted for using his office for direct personal financial gain in violation of Ala.Code 1975, § 36-25-5 of the Alabama Ethics Law.”
Fitch v. State, 851 So. 2d 103 (Ala. Crim. App. 2001).
· cites it 27× “In Chandler , Chandler was convicted of two counts of theft by deception and six counts of violating the ethics law, specifically that he used his official position to obtain for himself direct personal financial gain, in violation of § 36-25-5, Ala.Code 1975. On appeal he…”
Hunt v. Tucker, 875 F. Supp. 1487 (N.D. Ala. 1995).
· cites it 24× “" Only when Hunt, on December 29, 1989, transferred, by check, the $11,700 from the former Cullman Friends account *1513 to his personal account to cover a $16,297 payment on a note secured by a mortgage on his farm, did he receive a direct personal financial gain within the…”
Sullens v. State, 878 So. 2d 1216 (Ala. Crim. App. 2003).
· cites it 8× “"From the above discussion we draw the following conclusions: 1) Knowledge or willfulness is an element of the offense defined in Ala.Code 1975, § 36-25-5. 2) Under Davis [ v, State, 68 Ala.”
Harrison v. State, 879 So. 2d 594 (Ala. Crim. App. 2003).
· cites it 8× “"`From the above discussion we draw the following conclusions: 1) Knowledge or willfulness is an element of the offense defined in Ala. Code 1975, § 36-25-5. 2) Under Davis [v.”
Ex parte Stewart, 900 So. 2d 475 (Ala. 2004).
· cites it 4× “Specifically, a jury found Stewart guilty of intentionally using his official position to unlawfully obtain personal gain by hiring Webster, a contractor, to perform road-construction work in his district in return for monetary payments from Webster, in violation of Ala.Code…”
Chandler v. State, 615 So. 2d 100 (Ala. Crim. App. 1992).
· cites it 5× “Ala.Code § 36-25-5 (1975). I respectfully dissent from the majority's conclusion that the appellant did not have the intent to deprive the owner of his property and I would vote to affirm the appellant's convictions on Counts I and II for the offenses of theft by deception in…”
Ex parte Chandler, 615 So. 2d 111 (Ala. 1993).
· cites it 4× “The opinion of the Court of Criminal Appeals states that "it is clear from the policy behind [§ 36-25-5, Ala.Code 1975,] that the term `gain' is not intended to be a precise or comparative term, because it is the appearance of impropriety that this statute seeks to avoid.”
Opinion of the Justices No. 317, 474 So. 2d 700 (Ala. 1985).
· cites it 4× “” Section 3 of Act 130 (codified in Code 1975 as § 36-25-5) provides: “(a) No public official or employee shall use an official position or office to obtain direct personal financial gain for himself, or his family, or any business with which he or a member of his family is…”
Alexander v. City of Bessemer, 142 So. 3d 543 (Ala. 2013).
· cites it 2× “” The complaint alleges that, because of the donor’s complaint to then Attorney General Troy King, a five-count indictment against Alexander was filed in August 2008 alleging violations of the Alabama Ethics Law, specifically Ala.Code 1975, § 36-25-5(a). That indictment…”
Hunt v. Anderson, 794 F. Supp. 1557 (M.D. Ala. 1992).
· cites it 3× “he Commission annual Statements of Economic Interests (§ 36-25-14); makes it a crime for any person to bribe a public official or for any public official to accept a bribe (§ 36-25-6); and makes it a crime for a public official to use an official position or office to obtain…”
Opinion of the Justices No. 368, 716 So. 2d 1149 (Ala. 1998).
· cites it 7× “This conclusion is compelled by numerous provisions of the Ethics Act, including § 36-25-5, which provides in pertinent part: “(a) No public official or public employee shall use or cause to be used his or her official position or office to obtain personal gain for himself or…”
Ala. Code § 36-25-5(a): 16 cases
Fitch v. State, 851 So. 2d 103 (Ala. Crim. App. 2001).
“In Chandler , Chandler was convicted of two counts of theft by deception and six counts of violating the ethics law, specifically that he used his official position to obtain for himself direct personal financial gain, in violation of § 36-25-5, Ala.Code 1975. On appeal he…”
Hunt v. State, 642 So. 2d 999 (Ala. Crim. App. 1994).
“[1] Harold Guy Hunt, the Governor of the State of Alabama, was indicted and convicted for using his office for direct personal financial gain in violation of Ala.Code 1975, § 36-25-5 of the Alabama Ethics Law.”
Sullens v. State, 878 So. 2d 1216 (Ala. Crim. App. 2003).
“"From the above discussion we draw the following conclusions: 1) Knowledge or willfulness is an element of the offense defined in Ala.Code 1975, § 36-25-5. 2) Under Davis [ v, State, 68 Ala.”
Harrison v. State, 879 So. 2d 594 (Ala. Crim. App. 2003).
“"`From the above discussion we draw the following conclusions: 1) Knowledge or willfulness is an element of the offense defined in Ala. Code 1975, § 36-25-5. 2) Under Davis [v.”
Hunt v. Tucker, 875 F. Supp. 1487 (N.D. Ala. 1995).
“" Only when Hunt, on December 29, 1989, transferred, by check, the $11,700 from the former Cullman Friends account *1513 to his personal account to cover a $16,297 payment on a note secured by a mortgage on his farm, did he receive a direct personal financial gain within the…”
Ala. Code § 36-25-5(b): 1 case
Opinion of the Justices No. 317, 474 So. 2d 700 (Ala. 1985).
“” Section 3 of Act 130 (codified in Code 1975 as § 36-25-5) provides: “(a) No public official or employee shall use an official position or office to obtain direct personal financial gain for himself, or his family, or any business with which he or a member of his family is…”
Ala. Code § 36-25-5(c): 4 cases
Opinion of the Justices No. 368, 716 So. 2d 1149 (Ala. 1998).
“This conclusion is compelled by numerous provisions of the Ethics Act, including § 36-25-5, which provides in pertinent part: “(a) No public official or public employee shall use or cause to be used his or her official position or office to obtain personal gain for himself or…”
Ala. Code § 36-25-5(f): 1 case
Opinion of the Justices No. 368, 716 So. 2d 1149 (Ala. 1998).
“This conclusion is compelled by numerous provisions of the Ethics Act, including § 36-25-5, which provides in pertinent part: “(a) No public official or public employee shall use or cause to be used his or her official position or office to obtain personal gain for himself or…”
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