Everything you need to know about ranked-choice voting in one spot. Click to learn more!

2019 Alabama legislative session

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Alabama State Legislature

Seal of Alabama.png
General information
Type:   State legislature
Term limits:   None
Session start:   March 5, 2019
Session end:   May 31, 2019
Website:   Official Legislature Page
Leadership
Senate President:   Will Ainsworth (R)
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
Last election:  November 6, 2018
Senate
House
Next election:  November 3, 2022
Senate
House
Redistricting:  Alabama Legislature has control
Meeting place:
AlabamaStateCapitolBuilding.JPG

Alabama convened its legislative session on March 5, 2019, and legislators remained in session until May 31, 2019. Republicans had a veto-proof supermajority this legislative session, just as they did in 2018. Following the 2018 election, Republicans had a 27-8 majority in the Senate and a 77-28 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta.

At the beginning of the 2019 legislative session:
  • Republicans held a veto-proof supermajority in the Alabama state House and state Senate.
  • Alabama was one of 22 Republican state government trifectas.
  • Alabama's governor was Republican Kay Ivey.

    • Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2022 state Senate and state House elections.
    Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2018 state Senate and state House elections.

    Partisan control in 2019

    See also: State government trifectas

    Alabama was one of 22 Republican state government trifectas at the start of 2019 legislative sessions. 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.

    Alabama was also one of 22 state legislatures where one party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

    The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Alabama State Legislature in the 2019 legislative session.

    Alabama State Senate

    Party As of January 2019
         Democratic Party 8
         Republican Party 27
    Total 35

    From 1990 to 2019, partisan control of the Alabama State Senate went from a 28-7 Democratic advantage to a 27-8 Republican advantage. The rapid partisan change in the chamber coincided with the American South's shift from nearly 175 years of Democratic dominance to being solid Republican in the early 21st century. The table below shows the partisan history of the Alabama Senate following every general election from 1990 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Alabama State Senate election results: 1990-2018

    Year '90 '94 '98 '02 '06 '10 '14 '18
    Democrats 28 23 23 25 23 12 8 8
    Republicans 7 12 12 10 12 22 26 27

    Democrats dominated the chamber for much of its early history, holding majorities over the Whig Party for most of the early 1800s. After a brief period of Republican control in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, Democrats began winning large majorities, with Republicans often winning one seat or none. From 1902 to 1978, the Democratic advantage over Republicans never fell below 34-1. Republicans secured three seats in the chamber in 1983 through special elections that were ordered after a federal court struck down the 1982 legislative map for violating the 1965 Voting Rights Act.[1][2]

    After 1983, the Alabama Senate slowly began conforming to the overall Republican trend in the American South. Republicans won five seats in 1986, seven seats in 1990, and 12 seats in 1994, shrinking the Democratic advantage to 11 seats. However, Republican gains stagnated after 1994 as they still had 12 seats more than a decade later in 2006. But in 2010, the party picked up an additional 10 seats and a 22-12 advantage over Democrats. This was the first Republican majority since 1868. Republicans picked up another four seats in the 2014 election, expanding their majority to 26-8. The chamber's Republican gains in 2010 and 2014 were in line with a national trend toward Republican state legislatures during the presidency of Barack Obama (D). From 2009 to 2017, Democrats experienced losses in state legislative elections, totaling 968 seats all together.

    Alabama House of Representatives

    Party As of January 2019
         Democratic Party 28
         Republican Party 77
    Total 105

    Between 1990 and 2019, the Alabama House of Representatives went from having an almost 60-seat Democratic majority to an almost 50-seat Republican majority. The rapid partisan change in the chamber coincided with the American South's shift from nearly 175 years of Democratic dominance to being solid Republican in the early 21st century. The table below shows the partisan history of the Alabama House following every general election from 1990 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Alabama House of Representatives election results: 1990-2018

    Year '90 '94 '98 '02 '06 '10 '14 '18
    Democrats 82 74 69 64 62 39 33 28
    Republicans 23 31 36 41 43 66 72 77

    Democratic majorities date back to 1837 when Democrats competed with the Whig Party for control of the chamber and usually held around a 20-seat advantage. Following the end of the Civil War in 1865, Democrats began competing with Republicans. They regularly secured large majorities—usually holding all but a few seats in the chamber—until 1983 when Republicans gained 12 seats in special elections that were ordered after a federal court struck down the 1982 legislative map for violating the 1965 Voting Rights Act.[3][4]

    Despite the Republican gains in the 1980s, Democrats had an advantage of more than 70 seats heading into the 1990s. Republicans decreased the Democratic advantage to 43 seats following the 1994 elections and then to 33 seats in the 1998 elections. Republican gains slowed between 1998 and 2006 as they picked up just seven seats in two election cycles. However, in 2010, Republicans picked up 23 seats in that election and won a 66-39 majority. This was the first Republican majority since 1868, when they controlled the chamber following the Civil War. Republicans bolstered their majority in 2014 by picking up an additional six seats. The chamber's Republican gains in 2010 and 2014 were in line with a national trend toward Republican state legislatures during the presidency of Barack Obama (D). From 2009 to 2017, Democrats experienced losses in state legislative elections, totaling 968 seats all together.

    Leadership in 2019

    Alabama State Senate

    Alabama House of Representatives

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2019 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria yet in 2019. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Noteworthy events

    House Bill 314 signed into law

    See also: Abortion regulations by state

    On May 15, 2019, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed a bill into law prohibiting abortions in the state except those necessary to prevent a serious health risk to the woman while excluding from the definition of abortion an "act to terminate the pregnancy of a woman when the unborn child has a lethal anomaly." House Bill 314, called the Human Life Protection Act, reclassifies performing an abortion as a felony punishable with up to 99 years in prison for doctors performing it.[5]

    "Today, I signed into law the Alabama Human Life Protection Act, a bill that was approved by overwhelming majorities in both chambers of the Legislature," Ivey said in a statement. "To the bill's many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians' deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every life is a sacred gift from God."[6]

    "We vowed to fight this dangerous abortion ban every step of the way and we meant what we said," Staci Fox, president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood Southeast, told CBS News. "We haven't lost a case in Alabama yet and we don't plan to start now."[5]

    Standing legislative committees

    See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Alabama state government


    A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

    At the beginning of the 2019 legislative session, there were 60 standing committees in Alabama's state government, including five joint legislative committees, 24 state Senate committees, and 31 state House committees.

    Joint legislative committees


    Senate committees


    House committees


    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.


    Historical context:

    • A total of 95 measures appeared on statewide ballots in Alabama from 1998 to 2018.
    • From 1998 to 2018, the number of measures on statewide ballots during even-numbered years ranged from four to 15.
    • Between 1998 and 2018, an average of eight measures appeared on the ballot in Alabama during even-numbered election years.
    • Between 1998 and 2018, about 81 percent (72 of 89) of the total number of measures that appeared on statewide ballots during even-numbered years were approved, and about 19 percent (17 of 89) were defeated.


    Historical partisan control

    The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Alabama.

    Alabama Party Control: 1992-2025
    Six years of Democratic trifectas  •  Fifteen years of Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
    Governor R D D R R R R D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
    Senate D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
    House D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R


    See also

    Elections Alabama State Government State Legislatures State Politics
    Ballotpedia Elections Badge-VOTE-no shadow-Square.jpg
    Alabama State Flag-Close Up.jpg
    State Houses-Tile image.png
    State Courts-Tile image.png

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ New York Times, "Dominant Democratic Party in Alabama takes liberal turn," October 25, 1983
    2. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "1980s Redistricting Case Summaries," January 13, 2016
    3. ↑ New York Times, "Dominant Democratic Party in Alabama takes liberal turn," October 25, 1983
    4. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "1980s Redistricting Case Summaries," January 13, 2016
    5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 CBS News, "Alabama governor signs near-total abortion ban," May 15, 2019
    6. ↑ CNN, "Alabama governor signs nation's most restrictive anti-abortion bill into law," May 15, 2019
    v • e
    State legislatures
    Legislatures
    Alabama (H, S) · Alaska (H, S) · Arizona (H, S) · Arkansas (H, S) · California (A, S) · Colorado (H, S) · Connecticut (H, S) · Delaware (H, S) · Florida (H, S) · Georgia (H, S) · Hawaii (H, S) · Idaho (H, S) · Illinois (H, S) · Indiana (H, S) · Iowa (H, S) · Kansas (H, S) · Kentucky (H, S) · Louisiana (H, S) · Maine (H, S) · Maryland (H, S) · Massachusetts (H, S) · Michigan (H, S) · Minnesota (H, S) · Mississippi (H, S) · Missouri (H, S) · Montana (H, S) · Nebraska · Nevada (A, S) · New Hampshire (H, S) · New Jersey (GA, S) · New Mexico (H, S) · New York (A, S) · North Carolina (H, S) · North Dakota (H, S) · Ohio (H, S) · Oklahoma (H, S) · Oregon (H, S) · Pennsylvania (H, S) · Rhode Island (H, S) · South Carolina (H, S) · South Dakota (H, S) · Tennessee (H, S) · Texas (H, S) · Utah (H, S) · Vermont (H, S) · Virginia (H, S) · Washington (H, S) · West Virginia (H, S) · Wisconsin (A, S) · Wyoming (H, S)
    SLP badge.png
    2025
    2024
    2023
    Historical elections
    2022 •  2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 • 2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004 • 2003 • 2002 • 2001 • 2000
    Features of
    state legislatures
    State senates
    State houses
    Leadership positions
    Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=2019_Alabama_legislative_session&oldid=8577695"