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Alabama Removal of Age Restriction for Government Officials, Amendment 13 (2016)
| Alabama Amendment 13 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2016 | |
| Topic Civil service | |
Status Approved | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The Alabama Removal of Age Restriction for Government Officials Amendment, also known as Amendment 13, was on the ballot as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment for voters in Alabama on November 8, 2016. It was approved.
| A "yes" vote supported this proposal to remove any current age restrictions and prohibit future age restrictions for government official positions, with the exception of judicial office. |
| A "no" vote opposed this proposal to remove age restrictions. |
Election results
| Amendment 13 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 876,141 | 57.36% | ||
| No | 651,178 | 42.64% | ||
- Election results from Alabama Secretary of State
Overview
Amendment design
Prior to the passage of Amendment 13, there were maximum age restrictions placed on positions of elected or appointed office in Alabama. Amendment 13 added a new amendment to the Alabama Constitution that removed maximum age limits for state government officials and ensured that the Alabama Legislature cannot implement age restrictions in the future. Although many of these restrictions are placed on court appointments (70 years of age), Amendment 13 exempted judicial positions. According to the Houston Chronicle, trustees at public universities were affected as well, as the University of Alabama and Auburn University both implement age limits for their trustees.[1]
Amendment 13 passed through the Alabama Legislature as House Bill 31, where it was opposed by seven representatives. HB 31 passed unanimously through the Alabama Senate.
Text of measure
Ballot title
The official ballot title was as follows:[2]
| “ |
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, to repeal any existing age restriction on the appointment, election, or service of an appointed or elected official, with the exception of persons elected or appointed to a judicial office, currently imposed by a provision of the Constitution or other law; and to prohibit the Legislature from enacting any law imposing a maximum age limitation on the appointment, election, or service of an appointed or elected official.[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 |
Amendment 13 added a new amendment to the Alabama Constitution:[2]
| Proposed Amendment | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1. Any provision of the constitution or other law that imposes a maximum age restriction for the appointment, election, or service of an appointed or elected official with the exception of persons elected or appointed to a judicial office pursuant to Section 155, is repealed. 2. The Legislature may not enact any law imposing a maximum age restriction for the appointment, election, or service of any appointed or elected official. Section 2. An election upon the proposed amendment shall be held in accordance with Sections 284 and 285 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, now appearing as Sections 284 and 285 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, and the election laws of this state. Section 3. The appropriate election official shall assign a ballot number for the proposed constitutional amendment on the election ballot and shall set forth the following description of the substance or subject matter of the proposed constitutional amendment: "Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to repeal any existing age restriction on the appointment, election, or service of an appointed or elected official, with the exception of persons elected or appointed to a judicial office, and to prohibit the Legislature from enacting any law imposing a maximum age limitation on the appointment, election, or service of any appointed or elected official.[3] | |||||
Full text
The full text of Amendment 13 can be found here.
Support
Supporters
Amendment 13 passed through the Alabama House of Representatives with only seven dissenters. House Speaker Pro Tem Victor Gaston sponsored the legislation. A list of representatives who voted in favor can be found here. It passed through the Alabama Senate with a unanimous vote. A list of senators who voted in favor can be found here.
Arguments in favor
House Speaker Pro Tem Victor Gaston, who sponsored Amendment 13's corresponding legislation, told the Houston Chronicle that "trustee selection should be based on a person's ability and willingness to serve, not their age."[1]
Opposition
Opponents
Amendment 13 received seven "nay" votes in the Alabama House of Representatives. The dissenting representatives were as follows:[4]
- Rep. K.L. Brown (R-40)
- Rep. Danny Garrett (R-4)
- Rep. Ed Henry (R-9)
- Rep. Mike Jones (R-92)
- Rep. Isaac Whorton (R-38)
- Rep. Ritchie Whorton (R-22)
- Rep. Jack Williams (R-102)
Media editorials
Support
- The Decatur Daily wrote the following in support of Amendment 13:[5]
| “ |
Throughout the nation, people over 70 are leading corporations, practicing law and effectively serving in national elected positions. Arbitrary age limits unnecessarily restrict the options available to voters. We recommend a “yes” vote on Amendment 13.[3] |
” |
Opposition
Ballotpedia did not find any editorial board endorsements in opposition to Amendment 13. If you know of one, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.
Campaign finance
| Total campaign contributions: | |
| Support: | $0.00 |
| Opposition: | $0.00 |
As of February 1, 2017, no ballot question committees were registered to support or oppose Amendment 13.[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, where it would become part of the constitution upon approval by a simple majority of state voters.
The amendment, titled House Bill 31 (HB 31) in the Alabama Legislature, was introduced by state Rep. Victor Gaston (R-100). On August 17, 2016, the Alabama House of Representatives approved HB 31, with 84 members voting "yea" and 7 members voting "nay." The Alabama State Senate voted on the amendment on August 23, 2016, and the chamber passed it unanimously with 27 "yea" votes and zero "nay" votes.[7]
House vote
August 17, 2016
| Alabama HB 31 House Vote | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 84 | 92.31% | ||
| No | 7 | 7.69% | ||
Senate vote
August 23, 2016
| Alabama HB 31 Senate Vote | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 27 | 100.00% | ||
| No | 0 | 0.00% | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Alabama Age Restriction Government Officials Amendment 13. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Houston Chronicle, "Amendment would do away with age limits for trustees," October 22, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Alabama Elections Division, "Summary Information for Proposed Constitutional Amendments to appear on the 2016 General Election Ballot," accessed August 31, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 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 Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ LegiScan, "Vote: Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass," accessed September 5, 2016
- ↑ Decatur Daily, "Vote ‘yes’ on amendments 13, 14," November 4, 2016
- ↑ Alabama Electronic Fair Campaign Practices Act (FCPA) Reporting System, "Political Action Committee Search," accessed October 27, 2016
- ↑ LegiScan, "Votes: AL HB31 | 2016 | 1st Special Session," accessed August 31, 2016
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State of Alabama Montgomery (capital) |
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