Any county or group of counties, either individually or collectively, may establish a workers' compensation self-insurance group for the purpose of providing workers' compensation benefits for county officials and county employees. Member counties may appropriate such funds as necessary to the workers' compensation self-insurance group to provide such workers' compensation benefits. Member counties shall by the terms of this chapter be qualified as self-insurers under Title 25, Chapter 5, as amended generally and Section 25-5-9, specifically and such workers' compensation group shall be governed by the provisions of Sections 25-5-1 through 25-5-231, as amended.
Ala. Code § 11-26-1 (1975)