Alabama Constitution

Alabama Constitution
Preamble
Articles
I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX • X • XI •XII •XIII •XIV • XV • XVI • XVII • XVIII
Amendments

The Alabama Constitution is the basic governing document of Alabama. It was adopted in 1901 and is the sixth constitution that the state has had.

Features

The Alabama Constitution has been amended more than 800 times since 1901 and is the longest constitution in the world.

Preamble

See also: Preambles to state constitutions

The Preamble of the Alabama Constitution states:

	We the people of the State of Alabama, invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish the following Constitution.

Article I: Declaration of Rights

Article I of the Alabama Constitution is entitled Declaration of Rights and consists of 36 sections.

Article II: State and County Boundaries

Article II of the Alabama Constitution is entitled State and County Boundaries and consists of five sections.

Article III: Distribution of Powers of Government

Article III of the Alabama Constitution is entitled Distribution of Powers of Government and consists of two sections.

Article IV: Legislative Department

Article IV of the Alabama Constitution is entitled Legislative Department and consists of 68 sections.

Article V: Executive Department

Article V of the Alabama Constitution is entitled Executive Department and consists of 27 sections.

Article VI: Judicial Department

Article VI of the Alabama Constitution is entitled Judicial Department and consists of 34 sections.

Article VII: Impeachments

Article VII of the Alabama Constitution is entitled Impeachments and consists of four sections.

Article VIII: Suffrage and Elections

Article VIII of the Alabama Constitution is entitled Suffrage and Elections and consists of 20 sections.

Article IX: Representation

Article IX of the Alabama Constitution is entitled Representation and consists of seven sections.

Article X: Exemptions

Article X of the Alabama Constitution is entitled Exemptions and consists of seven sections.

Article XI: Taxation

Article XI of the Alabama Constitution is entitled Taxation and consists of nine sections.

Article XII: Corporations

Article XII of the Alabama Constitution is entitled Corporations and consists of 26 sections.

Article XIII: Banks and Banking

Article XIII of the Alabama Constitution is entitled Banks and Banking and consists of nine sections.

Article XIV: Education

Article XIV of the Alabama Constitution is entitled Education and consists of 15 sections.

Article XV: Militia

Article XV of the Alabama Constitution is entitled Militia and consists of eight sections.

Article XVI: Oath of Office

Article XVI of the Alabama Constitution is entitled Oath of Office and consists of one section.

Article XVII: Miscellaneous Provisions

Article XVII of the Alabama Constitution is entitled Miscellaneous Provisions and consists of four sections.

Article XVIII: Mode of Amending the Constitution

Article XVIII of the Alabama Constitution is labeled Mode of Amending the Constitution. It has four sections (Sections 284, 285, 286 and 287). Taken together, these sections lay out the ways in which the Alabama Constitution can be amended.

Amending state constitutions

See also: Laws governing ballot measures in Alabama

Article XVIII of the Alabama Constitution defines two ways to amend the state constitution:

• If both houses of the Alabama State Legislature by a three-fifths (60%) vote agree, then a proposed constitutional amendment shall go on a statewide election ballot. If that amendment is approved by a simple majority of those voting in that election, it becomes part of the constitution.

• Amendments can initiate in either the Alabama State Senate or the Alabama House of Representatives.
• Amendments can be voted on either at the next general election, or at a special election date determined by the state legislature. Any such special elections must take place "not less than" three months after the final adjournment of the session of the legislature during which the amendment(s) was proposed.
• Notice of the fact that an election on a proposed amendment is going to take place must be published in each county of the state for at least eight successive weeks prior to the election.

• If both chambers of the state legislature agree by a simple majority vote, then a ballot question about whether to have a statewide constitutional convention can be placed on the ballot; if that question is approved by a majority of those voting in that election, then a constitutional convention will be called.

Amendments

As of January 2015, there were 892 amendments to the state of Alabama's Constitution. A list of amendments to Alabama's constitution can be found here.

History

Alabama has had six constitutions to date, all established via State Conventions: 1819 (Converting Alabama Territory into a State), 1861 (Secession), 1865 (Reconstruction), 1868 (Ending reconstruction), 1875 and the current 1901 constitution. According to the Encyclopedia of Alabama, many of the revisions or cuts to the original document dealt with racist or disenfranchising language against black voters or poor white voters. Other revision efforts focused on repealing provisions that took power away from the counties, crippled economic development or placed burdensome tax policies on the people. The Alabama Constitution has been amended more than 800 times and remains the longest such document in the world.

See also

• State constitution
• Constitutional article
• Constitutional amendment
• Constitutional revision
• Constitutional convention
• Amendments
  • Initiated constitutional amendment
  • Legislatively-referred constitutional amendment
  • Publication requirements for proposed state constitutional amendments
  • Rules about constitutional conventions in state constitutions
  • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures

External links

Suggest a link

• Text of the Constitution
• An Overview of Alabama's Six Constitutions
• Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform
• It's a Thick Book (dead link)

Additional reading

• Connor, George E. Connor, and Christopher W. Hammons (2008). The Constitutionalism of American States. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press.
• McMillan, Malcolm Cook (1955). Constitutional Development in Alabama, 1798-1901: A Study in Politics, the Negro, and Sectionalism. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press.