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Representative Butler seeks to codify eviction procedures now governed by administrative rule
Summary
Representative Butler told the committee HB80 would place standard eviction procedures into statute—requiring tenant notification and setting roles for sheriffs/constables—because no current statute specifies the process for executing writs of possession.
Representative Butler presented HB80 to the Senate Judiciary Committee, recounting a request from an Etowah County eviction officer who could not find statutory authority for the eviction protocol currently used in practice. Butler said the bill would codify the process—notification to tenants, the sheriff or constable keeping the peace, the landlord’s responsibility for moving property to the curb and subsequent disposal consistent with local ordinances—because existing administrative rules have been treated as the practice but lack statutory force.
Members asked questions about non‑landlord scenarios—such as post‑divorce possession disputes—and Butler clarified that the bill applies where a landlord has obtained a writ of possession through the unlawful‑detainer process and exhausted appeals. The sponsor said the bill's goal is clarity and consistency across counties, not to change underlying property law.
The committee gave the bill a favorable report after discussion and one member agreed to vote in the sponsor’s absence.
