(a)(1) The police jurisdiction in municipalities having 6,000 or more inhabitants shall cover all adjoining territory within three miles of the corporate limits, and in municipalities having less than 6,000 inhabitants and in towns, the police jurisdiction shall extend also to the adjoining territory within a mile and a half of the corporate limits of the municipality or town.
(2) After May 12, 2016, and in addition to any other requirements of this section, any extension of the police jurisdiction of any municipality as otherwise provided in subdivision (1) shall not be effective beyond the corporate boundaries of the municipality without an affirmative vote of the municipal governing body. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this subdivision shall not affect the boundaries of the police jurisdiction of a municipality existing on May 12, 2016.
(3) Any municipality which has a three mile police jurisdiction pursuant to subdivision (1) may reduce its police jurisdiction to a mile and a half by ordinance of the municipality, which shall take effect on the first day of January following its adoption on or before the preceding first day of October. Once a municipality has adopted an ordinance to reduce its police jurisdiction to a mile and one-half, that ordinance cannot amended, altered or repealed except by local law.
(b) Ordinances of a city or town enforcing police or sanitary regulations and prescribing fines and penalties for violations thereof shall have force and effect in the limits of the city or town and on any property or rights-of-way belonging to the city or town. In order for an ordinance adopted after September 1, 2015, to have force and effect in a police jurisdiction of a municipality or town, the municipal governing body shall provide a 30-day notice that the ordinance shall be effective in the police jurisdiction. The notice given shall be the same as required for adoption of an ordinance under Section 11-45-8. Additionally, if available at no cost to the municipality, the notice shall be submitted to the Atlas Alabama state website or any successor state-operated website providing information to businesses. No ordinance adopted after September 1, 2015, may be enforced against an individual or entity in the police jurisdiction affected by the ordinance until and unless the municipality has complied with the notice requirements provided for in this section.
(c) The police jurisdiction of any municipality which pursuant to this section extends to include part of any island which has water immediately offshore adjacent to the boundary of the State of Florida, upon approval of the council of the municipality, shall extend to include the entire island including the water adjacent to the island extending to the existing police jurisdiction of the municipality and extending to the Florida state boundary where applicable.
(d) Any alterations to a police jurisdiction based upon the annexation or deannexation of property after September 1, 2015, shall take effect the first day of January and shall take effect for any annexation or deannexation which was finalized on or before the preceding first day of October. No later than the first day of January in each year, a map showing the boundaries of the municipal limits and police jurisdiction of the municipality shall be submitted to, if available at no cost to the municipality, the Atlas Alabama state website or any successor state-operated website providing information to businesses. No ordinance, license, permit, or tax levy may be enforced against an individual or entity included in the alteration of the police jurisdiction unless the municipality has complied with the notice requirements provided for in this section.
(e) The annexation of property by general or local law may not extend the police jurisdiction of a municipality except as expressly provided in general or local law. Any extension of a police jurisdiction expressly provided for in general or local law is subject to subsection (d) and (f) and shall take effect only on the next January 1 following the annexation by general or local law.
(f) When any noncontiguous property has been annexed or is annexed into a municipality, the municipal governing body shall not exercise any jurisdiction or authority in any portion of the police jurisdiction extended as a result of the annexation, notwithstanding any other law to the contrary.
Last modified: May 3, 2021