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Alabama County Affairs Administration, Amendment 4 (2016)
| Alabama Amendment 4 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2016 | |
| Topic County and municipal governance | |
Status Approved | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The County Affairs Administration Amendment, also known as Amendment 4, was on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment for voters in Alabama on November 8, 2016.[1] It was approved.
| A "yes" vote supported this proposal to authorize county commissions to establish programs pertaining to the administration of their respective counties. |
| A "no" vote opposed this proposal, keeping the power of county commissions limited. |
Election results
| Amendment 4 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 1,141,004 | 71.67% | ||
| No | 450,952 | 28.33% | ||
- Election results from Alabama Secretary of State
Overview
County commissions had limited powers to create new programs to oversee the affairs of their respective jurisdictions. Any administrative powers given to county commissions must have been directly declared by local law. Amendment 4 granted more authority to county commissions to carry out administrative duties, such as community, transportation, and emergency assistance programs.[2]
Amendment 4 was approved for the ballot in the Alabama Legislature as House Bill 193 (HB 193). Although the bill was unanimously approved by the Alabama Senate, it was first opposed by over 18 percent of the Alabama House of Representatives.
Text of measure
Ballot title
The official ballot title was as follows:[1]
| “ |
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to authorize each county commission in the state to establish, subject to certain limitations, certain programs related to the administration of the affairs of the county.[3] |
” |
Constitutional changes
| Alabama Constitution |
|---|
|
| Preamble |
| Articles |
| I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX • X • XI •XII •XIII •XIV • XV • XVI • XVII • XVIII |
| Local Provisions |
The measure added the following language to the Alabama Constitution:[1]
| Amendment to the Alabama Constitution of 1901 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PROPOSED AMENDMENT
(a) Except where otherwise provided for or specifically prohibited by the constitution or by general or local law and subject to the limitations set forth herein, the county commission of each county in this state may exercise those powers necessary to provide for the administration of the affairs of the county through the programs, policies, and procedures described in subsection (b), subject to the limitations set forth in subsection (c). (b) Subject to the limitations of subsections (a) and (c), each county commission in the state may establish: (1) Programs, policies, and procedures relating to county personnel, including (2) Community programs to provide for
(3) Programs related to public transportation and programs to promote and encourage safety when using public roads and rights-of-way, provided the programs do not in any way conflict with general law. (4) Programs related to county offices, including (5) Emergency assistance programs, including (c) Nothing in this amendment may be construed to provide a county commission any authority to levy or assess a tax or fee or to increase the rate of any tax or fee previously established, or to establish any program that would infringe on a citizen's rights with respect to the use of his or her private property or infringe on a right of a business entity with respect to its private property. Except as authorized in subdivision (4) of subsection (b), nothing in this amendment shall authorize the county commission to limit, alter, or otherwise impact the constitutional, statutory, or administrative duties, powers, or responsibilities of any other elected officials or to establish, increase, or decrease any compensation, term of office, or expense allowance for any elected officials of the county. (d) Any programs, policies, or procedures proposed for adoption by the county commission pursuant to the authority granted under subsection (a) shall only be voted on at a regular meeting of the county commission. Prior to the adoption of the programs, policies, and procedures, the county commission shall provide notice of its intention to consider the matter by announcing at a regular county commission meeting that the matter will be on the agenda at the next regular meeting of the county commission and that any members of the public desiring to be heard on the matter will be granted that opportunity at the meeting where the matter will be considered. Notice of the meeting at which the matter will be considered by the county commission shall be given in compliance with the notice requirements for county commissions provided in the general law. Nothing herein shall authorize a county commission to supersede, amend, or repel an existing local law. (e) The provisions of this amendment shall not apply to Jefferson County. [3] | |||||
Full text
The full text of Amendment 4 can be found here.
Support
Supporters
- Rep. Randy Davis (R-96), sponsor
Seventy-six state representatives voted in favor of approving Amendment 4 for the ballot. They are listed here.
In a unanimous vote, Amendment 4 was approved by the Alabama Senate. A list of senators who voted in favor can be found here.
Opposition
Ballotpedia did not find any organized opposition to the measure or any public officials that spoke out in opposition to it. Amendment 4 did, however, receive 17 "nay" votes when it was being considered in the Alabama House of Representatives. A list of representatives who voted against the bill can be found below:[4]
- Rep. Louise Alexander (D-56)
- Rep. Elaine Beech (D-65)
- Rep. Christopher J. England (D-70)
- Rep. Corey Harbison (R-12)
- Rep. Ed Henry (R-9)
- Rep. Alvin Holmes (D-78)
- Rep. Mike Holmes (Alabama) (R-31)
- Rep. Ralph Anthony Howard (D-72)
- Rep. Ronald Johnson (R-33)
- Rep. John Knight (Alabama) (D-77)
- Rep. Kelvin Lawrence (D-69)
- Rep. Artis J. McCampbell (D-71)
- Rep. Thad McClammy (D-76)
- Rep. Darrio Melton (D-67)
- Rep. Mike Millican (R-17)
- Rep. Johnny Mack Morrow (D-18)
- Rep. Tim Wadsworth (R-14)
Other opinions
The Limestone County Commissioners planned to produce a resolution in support of Amendment 4 on October 17, 2016, but did not end up passing the resolution due to concerns regarding the amendment's language. Specifically, one commissioner was concerned that the measure included phrasing that could allow the county commission to act without voter approval.[5]
Background
Amendment 4 addressed the topic of county and municipal governance. Prior to Amendment 4, measures on this topic had appeared on Alabama ballots 81 times going back to Amendment 3 in 1908. Although defeated, it proposed that new counties may be formed from pre-existing counties, provided that 1) 500 electors vote on whether the land shall be taken from their county, 2) the removal of land from a pre-existing county does not reduce the population to below the threshold for the right to have a state representative, 3) the value of taxes of either county, old or new, does not drop below a million, 4) the counties’ total area remain within the constitutional limit, and 5) the new boundaries do not run within seven miles of the court of the old county, unless a county should have two court houses, in which case, one may be cut off into the new county.
Five other measures addressed county and municipal governance on the 2016 ballot nationwide, four of which appear in Alabama. Alabama Amendment 3 was designed to change the procedure for local constitutional amendments to allow local voters to decide a constitutional amendment that only affects their respective jurisdictions. Alabama Amendment 10 was designed to restrict the municipalities which have authority over police and planning regulations in any Calhoun County territories to cities located at least partially within the boundaries of the county. Alabama Amendment 11 was designed to allow cities and counties to use revenue from special districts called Major 21st Century Manufacturing Zones to incentivize and improve manufacturing facilities, including spending that benefitted specific private interests. Alabama Amendment 12 was designed to authorize the establishment of toll bridge and toll road districts within Baldwin County and permit these districts to issue revenue bonds to fund projects.
The only measure addressing county and municipal governance outside of Alabama in 2016 was Arkansas Issue 1, which was designed to increase the term lengths for elected county judges, county court clerks, and county surveyors from two years to four years and prohibiting certain elected county officials from being appointed or elected to a different civil office during their term.
Campaign finance
| Total campaign contributions: | |
| Support: | $0.00 |
| Opposition: | $0.00 |
As of February 1, 2017, no ballot question committees registered to support or oppose Amendment 4.[6]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Alabama Constitution
According to Article 18 of the Alabama Constitution, both houses of the Alabama State Legislature were required to pass the bill by a three-fifths or 60 percent vote in order to send it to the statewide election ballot. If the amendment is approved by a simple majority of the electorate, it becomes part of the constitution.
The amendment, titled House Bill 193 (HB 193) in the Alabama Legislature, was introduced by state Rep. Randy Davis (R-96).[1] The Alabama House of Representatives approved HB 193 on April 7, 2015, with 76 "yea" votes and 17 "nay" votes. The Alabama Senate unanimously approved the bill on May 26, 2015, with 25 "yea" votes.
House vote
April 7, 2015
| Alabama HB 193 House vote | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 76 | 81.72% | ||
| No | 17 | 18.28% | ||
Senate vote
May 26, 2015
| Alabama HB 193 Senate vote | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 25 | 100.00% | ||
| No | 0 | 0.00% | ||
State profile
| Demographic data for Alabama | ||
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 4,853,875 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 50,645 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 68.8% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 26.4% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 1.2% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.5% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 1.7% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 4% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 84.3% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 23.5% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $43,623 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 23.3% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Alabama. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Alabama
Alabama voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
More Alabama coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Alabama
- United States congressional delegations from Alabama
- Public policy in Alabama
- Endorsers in Alabama
- Alabama fact checks
- More...
Related measures
| County and municipal governance measures on the ballot in 2016 | |
|---|---|
| State | Measures |
| Alabama | Alabama Restriction of Police and Planning Jurisdiction in Calhoun County, Amendment 10 |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Alabama County Affairs Administration Amendment 4. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Alabama Secretary of State, "HB 193," accessed February 17, 2016
- ↑ LegiScan, "Bill Text: AL HB193 | 2015 | Regular Session | Introduced," accessed August 29, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ LegiScan, "Vote: Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass," accessed August 29, 2016
- ↑ The News Courier, "Commission pulls support of Amendment 4," accessed October 18, 2016
- ↑ Alabama Electronic Fair Campaign Practices Act (FCPA) Reporting System, "Political Action Committee Search," accessed October 27, 2016
 |
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