MONTGOMERY — Lawmakers could begin recommending public reprimands or criminal penalties for untruthful testimony at Sunset Committee meetings.
Legislators began swearing in testimony by board to the Sunset Committee in August 2025.
The legislative committee examines audit findings of occupational licensing boards for various professions, and sometimes recommends altering or abolishing some of the boards.
Zach Kervin, an attorney with the Alabama Legislative Services Agency, said during a Sunset Prep meeting on Wednesday that the committee could vote to publicly reprimand or recommend criminal penalties for individuals who lie to the committee.
“There are two things to consider with that approach. One being the seriousness of crimes. A crime is a crime. It’s serious. The implications of being a criminal, all that comes with that. I’m not sure how the ease of getting a conviction for perjuring oneself in front of the sunset committee. That’s one option,” Kervin said at the meeting. “A second option, which maybe is somewhere else on that spectrum in the middle on the other end, would be and there may be some procedural things to work out with this approach but in my mind…upon the agreement vote of the committee for the committee to issue a public reprimand to a person or an entity for conduct that the committee deems in need of reprimand.”
Lawmakers generally seemed in favor of some kind of punishment for lying under oath to committee members.
“If we want to update the sunset law to put some stronger language in there, for this year I really just want to start out with a public reprimand is where I’m leaning if we do find evidence that someone has told us something that is untruthful and we don’t want to stand for it I think we take a vote and do a public reprimand to them at this point. That’s where I’m headed,” State Rep. Margie Wilcox (R-Mobile) said.
State Sen. Sam Givhan (R-Huntsville) said, “Depending on the magnitude of misrepresentation, I think sunset is always on the table.”
Sunset generally means the committee sets an expiration date on the board so the board automatically shuts down. Usually, it is replaced by a different board or combined with a different, existing board.
“Nothing like the guillotine,” Givhan said.
State Sen. Keith Kelley (R-Anniston) said, “I think there definitely have to be consequences because we have experienced here those that have given testimony, we know they’re lying, we can prove they’re lying, they’re standing right there lying to our face, and they know they’re lying.”
“If you’re doing something like that, the punishment needs to be fitting as well. The reprimand I think might be a good first step. I think there probably might be some spaces where there may be something more warranted,” he added.
In the most recent Sunset Committee meetings, lawmakers have criticized interagency agreements with the Alabama Security Regulatory Board managed by Smith Warren Management Services and other licensing boards.
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Original Source: 1819 News
