Section 33-4-3 - l(a) of the Code of Alabama provides that the State Pilotage Commission shall when necessary maintain a Register of Applicants containing no more than nine applicants for apprenticeship....". This Rule is to set out the operation of that Register.

Findings by Commission

The State Pilotage Commission makes the following findings: there are very few bar pilot positions and fewer vacancies. The Commission consists of members who serve only for the civic good and it has no state office space, no state file space, and no state operating funds. Record space is quite limited. Under the circumstances, there is need for only a modest and simple Register of Applicants, and this rule is to establish a simple method of operation.

1. (a) "Open Period". If the Commission establishes and maintains a Register of Applicants, shall from time to time establish an "open period" for the receipt of applications for apprenticeship, which shall be published in Port of Mobile magazine.
2. (b) Applications Other Than In "Open Period". Except during open periods, the Commission need not accept and need not retain applications for apprenticeship.

3. (c) Operation of "Open Period". When it establishes an "open period", the Commission will state the maximum number of applications which it will accept. If the actual number of applications exceeds the number of openings, then the Commission, within its statutory power as "the sole judge of the seniority and statutory qualifications of applicants to be apprenticed" [ALA. CODE 33-4-30(b)] shall select those persons which it considers to be the best qualified among the applicants to fill the available slot on the Register based upon the following factors:

   1. 1. a minimum age of 18 years (as required by statute;
   2. 2. degree, extent and continuity of progress toward meeting the statutory qualifications;
   3. 3. degree of cooperation with the Commission in its attempt to determine the best qualified applicants;
   4. 4. holding of or progress toward the necessary Coast Guard licenses;
   5. 5. the nature and extent of appropriate maritime employment and experience (not necessarily limited to the statutory minimum);
   6. 6. college education from an accredited college, university, or nationally recognized maritime academy;
   7. 7. the views in writing, if any should be submitted, of the Mobile Bar Pilots Association, the private organization comprised of all current licensed bar pilots; and
   8. 8. good moral character, as required by statute.
4. (d) Stale Applications. The experience of the Commission has shown that in the light of the few available bar pilot positions, applicants for apprenticeship might have to wait on the Register for extended periods of time, and their qualifications might become stale, inactive or invalid. For that reason, the Commission at reasonable intervals and with reasonable notice may require applicants for apprenticeship, or apprentices, to update their applications or their files. If the Commission decides that the application of an applicant or apprentice is stale or invalid, or that he or she should no longer be considered a serious candidate, or is not making adequate progress toward ultimate branching, an if it deems it appropriate in a particular instance, an applicant or apprentice may be suspended or dropped from the Register or from the apprenticeship program, after reasonable written notice and opportunity to respond.

5. (e) Divisions in Register of Applicants. The Register of Applicants shall contain two divisions.

   1. 1. "Ready Division". There shall be a "Ready Division" of the Register containing the names of those applicants who have already established that they were then qualified under Code of Ala. 1975, §33-4-31 for immediate apprenticeship if accepted. These shall be ranked in the order tentatively expected under §33-4-31(b).

   2. 2. "Training Division". Those applicants who have not yet established to the satisfaction of the Commission that they have tentatively qualified for apprenticeship shall be maintained in a "Training Division" of applicants, consisting of persons who are in the process of tentatively qualifying for apprenticeship. These shall be maintained by the Commission in any administratively-convenient manner, (such as alphabetical order or order of application) and shall not be ranked in any priority. When the Commission receives adequate proof that an applicant in the training Division of the Register has met all qualifications for apprenticeship, his or her name shall be moved to the Ready Division of the Register of Applicants.

      From time to time, the activity or staleness of these applications may be checked by the Commission as provided elsewhere.

   3. 3. "Tentative Qualification for Apprenticeship". The time when an applicant is “considered by the Commission for apprenticeship" [under Code of Ala. 1975, §33-4-31(b)] shall be the time when, immediately prior to apprenticeship, the Commission makes a determination that the applicant has met all requirements for apprenticeship. Such a ranking does not create or vest any property interest in the maintenance of that ranking.

      Any determination on his qualifications prior to that time - such as a pre-selection ranking in order of apparent seniority - is only tentative and provisional, for administrative convenience only.

Author: Frederick G. Helmsing

Statutory Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, §33-4-11, 33-4-3l(a), 33-4-31(b).

History: New Rule: Filed January 31, 1996; effective March 6, 1996. Amended: Filed January 13, 2003; effective February 17, 2003. Amended: Filed March 24, 2004; effective April 28, 2004. Amended: Filed January 25, 2010; effective February 29, 2010.