The state Legislature has developed a plan for revising the Alabama Constitution, which was adopted in 1901 and is widely held to have major flaws and omissions. A shaky foundation for state law, it has been amended more than 850 times in the past 110 years. Many amendments are local “patches” that work around the constitution’s problems without fixing them.
The Legislature plans to revise the document article by article. Its plan is explained in Senate Joint Resolution 82, which has been approved by both houses. The idea is for the Legislature to adopt a series of proposed constitutional amendments for voters to approve. This approach was used in the 1970s to revise the article that governs Alabama’s courts and the 1990s to revise the article that governs voting and elections.
Under the plan, the Legislature intends in 2011 to bring voters proposals for revising the articles dealing with private corporations and banking and removing inactive, unconstitutional language on school segregation and poll taxes.
The Legislature has created the Constitutional Revision Commission to develop proposed revisions for nine more articles over the next three years. The commission will include the governor and top legislative officials, plus their appointees; its products will be presented to the Legislature and, if approved, to voters for adoption.
In 2012, the commission will focus on constitutional articles dealing with the Legislature and the separation of powers. Key subjects will include provisions for local government and economic development. Flaws in these sections of the current document have led to hundreds of local amendments. The Legislature’s plan doesn’t say how it will handle these local amendments, but revising them is critical to improving the constitution.
In 2013, the commission will tackle articles dealing with the executive department, education and the declaration of rights. Key subjects will include the governor’s veto power, local school taxes and individual rights.
In 2014, the commission will work on articles related to impeachments, tax exemptions and miscellaneous provisions such as pay raises for public officials. The plan excludes the taxation article, which is left to a future time.
This is an ambitious plan. The route it takes will not be agreeable to everyone, but it creates an opportunity to make long-sought improvements in state government. We should all hope that is the result.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Jim Williams is executive director for the nonprofit, nonpartisan Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama. Jim may be contacted at jwwillia@samford.edu.
Share with others: