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2018 Alabama legislative session

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2018 legislative sessions coverage
Alabama State Legislature

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General information
Type:   State legislature
Term limits:   None
Session start:   January 9, 2018
Session end:   March 29, 2018
Website:   Official Legislature Page
Leadership
Senate President:   Vacant
House Speaker:  Mac McCutcheon (R)
Majority Leader:   Senate: Greg Reed (R)
House: Nathaniel Ledbetter (R)
Minority Leader:   Senate: Billy Beasley (D)
House: Anthony Daniels (D)
Structure
Members:  35 (Senate), 105 (House)
Length of term:   4 years (Senate), 4 years (House)
Authority:   Art IV, Alabama Constitution
Salary:   $42,830/year
Elections
Redistricting:  Alabama Legislature has control
Meeting place:
AlabamaStateCapitolBuilding.JPG

During 2018, Ballotpedia tracked notable stories from the Alabama State Legislature. The timeline on this page shows the major events that we tracked during 2018, including events in the regular session and in any special sessions that occurred after the regular session adjourned.

If you know of any additional events that should be added to this page, please email us at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Overview

In 2018, the Alabama State Legislature was in session from January 9, 2018, through March 29, 2018.[1]

Partisan control

Alabama was one of 26 Republican state government trifectas in 2018. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Alabama State Legislature in the 2018 legislative session.

Senate

Party As of December 2018
     Democratic Party 8
     Republican Party 27
     Independent 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 35

House

Party As of December 2018
     Democratic Party 28
     Republican Party 77
     Vacancies 0
Total 105

Leadership in 2018

Alabama State Senate

Alabama House of Representatives

Regular session

Status of legislation at the end of the regular session

Click [show] on the table below for an overview of the legislation we covered during the 2018 regular session.

January 23, 2018

Alabama House of Representatives votes to end special elections for appointments to U.S. Senate
The Alabama House of Representatives approved a bill that would end the practice of holding special elections following gubernatorial appointments to U.S. Senate seats. At the time of the bill's passage in the House, the governor was required to appoint a temporary replacement in the event that one of Alabama’s U.S. Senate seats became vacant, and then call a special election for voters to select an individual to serve for the remainder of the term. The legislation would allow the appointed replacement to serve until the next scheduled general election. The bill was sent to the Alabama State Senate for consideration.[2][3]

The legislation passed after Doug Jones defeated Roy Moore in a special election on December 12, 2017. Democratic lawmakers suggested at the bill was a response to Jones' victory. Rep. John Rogers (D) called it the "anti-Doug Jones bill." Bill sponsor Rep. Steve Clouse (R) said the bill was about how much special elections cost the state, arguing that the December special election cost $10 million.[4]

Update: The bill was sent to the Alabama State Senate, where it did not move forward in the 2018 session.

April 2, 2018

Gov. Ivey signs education funding bill
Republican Gov. Kay Ivey signed House Bill 175, an education funding bill, into law. HB 175 unanimously passed the state House on February 13 and the Senate on March 15. A press release on the governor's website characterized the legislation as "a historic level of funding for all aspects of the state’s education system." Ivey further added that it was "the largest investment in education in a decade."[5]

HB 175 allocated $6.6 billion for the education trust fund, a $216 million increase over the previous budget. It included:

  • A 2.5 percent pay raise for teachers and school employees.
  • $96 million for pre-kindergarten programs, an $18.5 million increase over the previous year's funding. According to Yellow Hammer, HB 175 would provide enough funding for 100 new classrooms and open 1,800 additional enrollment seats for four-year-olds in the 2018-2019 school year.[6]
  • Increased funding for Alabama State University.
  • A $4 million increase in funding to the Alabama Reading Initiative.[7][8] Read more here.

Budget

2018

Alabama governor signs general fund budget bill
Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed a $2 billion general fund budget on March 22, 2018.[9] The Alabama State Legislature sent the budget bill for fiscal year (FY) 2019, which began on October 1, 2018, to the governor on March 21. The bill did not include funding for education, which was part of another piece of legislation.

Among its appropriations, the general fund budget included:

  • $755 million for Medicaid, a $701 million increase from FY 2018.
  • $118 million for the state Department of Mental Health, up $9 million from FY 2018.
  • $472 million to the Department of Corrections, a $56 million increase over FY 2018.
  • $52 million for the state Law Enforcement Agency, a $3.2 million increase from FY 2018.
  • funding for a 3 percent state employee cost-of-living adjustment, the first in 10 years.[10] Read more here.

Process

See also: Alabama state budget and finances
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Check out Ballotpedia articles about policy in your state on:
Budgets • Civil liberties • Education • Elections • Energy • Environment • Healthcare • Pensions

The state operates on an annual budget cycle. Alabama's fiscal year runs from October 1 and ends September 30 of the following year. The sequence of key events in the budget process is as follows:[11]

  1. In September of the year preceding the start of the new fiscal year, budget instructions are sent to state agencies.
  2. In November, agencies submit their budget requests to the governor.
  3. By the second legislative day of each regular session of the legislature, the governor must submit his or her proposed budget to the state legislature. These dates vary from session to session, occurring as early as January and as late as March.
  4. The legislature adopts a budget between February and May. It must pass with a simple majority.

The governor is required to submit a balanced budget to the legislature. In turn, the legislature must pass a balanced budget.[11]

Alabama is one of 44 states in which the governor has line item veto authority.[11][12]

Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

The methods by which the Alabama Constitution can be amended:

See also: Article XVIII of the Alabama Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Alabama

The Alabama Constitution provides two mechanisms for amending the state's constitution: a legislative process and a state constitutional convention. Alabama requires a simple majority vote (50% plus 1) for voters to approve constitutional amendments.

Legislature

See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

A 60% vote is required from both chambers of the Alabama State Legislature during one legislative session to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 63 votes in the Alabama House of Representatives and 21 votes in the Alabama State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

Convention

See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

According to the Alabama Constitution, a simple majority in each chamber during one legislative session is required to send a constitutional convention question to voters. A simple majority vote by the electorate is required to call the convention. Any proposed amendments approved by the convention require a simple majority vote of the electorate to be ratified.


See also

Elections Alabama State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Montgomery Advertiser, "Alabama legislature ends 2018 session," March 29, 2018
  2. ↑ The Hill, "Alabama state House votes to end special elections," January 23, 2018
  3. ↑ AL.com, "Alabama House passes bill to end Senate special elections," January 23, 2018
  4. ↑ CBS News, "Alabama House votes to end special elections for U.S. Senate," January 24, 2018
  5. ↑ Kay Ivey, Office of the Governor, "Governor Ivey Signs Legislation Creating Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering and Historic Education Budget," April 2, 2018
  6. ↑ Yellow Hammer, "Alabama State Legislature approves $18.5 million pre-k expansion," April 1, 2018
  7. ↑ Montgomery Advertiser, "Education budget moving closer to Gov. Ivey's desk," March 27, 2018
  8. ↑ St. Clair News Aegis, "Major bills moving as session hits final stretch," March 28, 2018
  9. ↑ Office of the Governor, "Governor Ivey Signs Bills Providing Pay Raises for Educators and State Employees, Bonus for Retired State Employees," March 22, 2018
  10. ↑ AL.com, "Alabama Legislature approves budget with more prison funding," March 21, 2018
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 National Association of State Budget Officers, "Budget Processes in the States, Spring 2021," accessed January 24, 2023
  12. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Separation of Powers: Executive Veto Powers," accessed January 26, 2024
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